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KEVIN & EDWIN
@nosey_records
The thing I love about Kevin’s collection is that he shares it with his young son and allows him to get involved in the whole process of playing records and selecting what to play on their turntable. Thats what music needs to be about, involving others! It’s great that Edwin can discover vinyl from an early age and it will hopefully stand him in good stead for him to discover music of his own throughout his life!
Being able to feature Kevin & Edwin has been excellent and learning about their collection, where things began for them with regards to vinyl and why records are so special to them has been extremely informative. The connection they share is not just as father and son but also as collectors of vinyl, even if Edwin is only just beginning his record collecting journey!
How long have you been collecting records?
I’ve been collecting vinyl properly for about eight years or so. I had built up an extremely large CD collection in my twenties, but when my wife and I bought our first house we sold them all (she used to have a lot too) as all our music was on the computer at that point. That was one of my few regrets in life, not having physical music in our house to play. I started picking up records at car boot sales and charity shops around 2012 as a friend of mine had given me an old Pioneer turntable at this time before she went travelling. I guess that was when I was truly bitten by the vinyl records bug. It became a proper hobby for me around five years ago. I was travelling a lot at the time for work and started to listen to a lot of music in the car, which in turn led me to start buying more (and more) records, and discovering new artists. I try not to get stuck in genre ruts, or stay in my comfort zone of artists. I love discovering new music through BBC Radio 6 Music, online articles, and of course, the vinyl community
Do you have anything you are looking for in particular?
I try to keep my want list to around 20 records, mostly important gap fillers in the collection, or upcoming new releases. However...we all know what it is like once you are out shopping for records, and being on Instagram often results in another ten records going on the list most weeks.
So why vinyl then? What drew you to this format?
It is such a tangible medium. Not only is it about listening to the music, but it’s also the artwork, the process of getting the record from the shelf to the turntable, examining the sleeve notes, and most importantly for me, sharing that love I have for the music with my family. The first time my son realised the needle on to the record was how the music was coming out of the speakers was a magical moment. You just don’t get that physical connection to the music from simply pressing play on your phone screen. There is also the enjoyment of crate digging and shopping at record shops. It has become so much more than a hobby for me. Some of my most rewarding conversations are with record shop owners, and other customers chipping in to your chats.
Your son is obviously a big part of your Instagram page, how did it come about him being involved in your photos?
Our Instagram page started as a bit of fun back in early 2017. I had not long joined Instagram at that point, and when I discovered the Vinyl Community I knew I had found my people, and I just wanted to do something a little different whilst still sharing the music I love. I asked my son, Edwin, to hold the record for our first post and the rest is history. He was cute back then, plus he has “Fortnite” in his life now, so it is a little harder to get him involved!
Can you recall what the first record you started off the collection with?
I honestly cannot remember the first vinyl I purchased, but the first album I bought on CD was Guns n Roses “Use Your Illusion I”. The early days of my vinyl collection were mostly records acquired through family hand-me-downs and £1 car boot sale finds. The first record I remember buying when I decided that collecting was going to be my thing was The Who “Live at Leeds” from a used record stall at a little indoor market and antique place around 2014.
Is there are record that sticks out in your mind as your greatest find whilst digging?
Tough one! If it is return for your investment then I haven’t a clue, but for pure pleasure, finding the Bruce Springsteen “Live 1975-85” boxset in a charity shop a few years ago is one that springs to mind. That is a phenomenal collection of music, and one that I return to pretty regularly. In my early collecting days, I found Neil Young’s “Decade” at a car boot sale for £3 if I remember correctly and that has also given me hours of listening pleasure.
Do you have a certain space/room you listen to your collection in?
The turntable and the collection is in our main living space in our house. Music is integral to our daily lives, from listening to BBC Radio 6 Music in the morning, sticking a Spotify playlist on whilst doing chores or sitting down in the evening to listen to a few records. Just this evening we put on Bruce Springsteen’s newest album, “Western Stars”, and my two year old daughter was waltzing around the living room to the music. I just couldn’t imagine having a separate listening room.
What do you think of using Instagram for the vinyl community to showcase collections?
Instagram, for me, is a way to connect with other collectors from around the world. I really have discovered some great accounts by like minded people, but more importantly, been pointed towards brand new artists and genres I would never have given any time to purely through the passion shown. The Vinyl Community is a great way to shout about brand new artists and spread that love. As the community grows it obviously ends up having the same issues as other platforms, such as unwarranted comments (especially towards female collectors) and an element of cliques, but that fortunately is still in the minority. Overwhelmingly people care about one thing - the music! And in this coronavirus madness we’re in, so many collectors are spending time with their vinyl and sharing the love, and that is pulling the community closer together than ever before.
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