top of page
MATT KESSLER
@toomanyrecords
Matt is a resident of New York, living in the Queens area of the city. However he has only recently moved back East from living in Los Angeles for seven years. He had the unenviable task of shipping his entire record collection, almost 2,000 records, across the country! I can only imagine what a nerve wracking experience that must be!
As I’d mentioned before, when interviewing some of the other collectors, I instantly felt I had a connection with Matt and that we had been friends for years but again thats the power of music. It provides an everlasting bond for some people. I’m hoping to get out to New York City and hook up with Matt at some point in the near future to go digging in his favourite spots and spend more time talking about vinyl records.
Your channel focuses primarily on vinyl, so why vinyl? What is it you love about this format?
Well I think its two reasons really. The first is that I am a big believer of the full album experience which is a vital thing for the vinyl format. I think that’s lost on the younger generation of music listeners as streaming is so accessible and easy.I do stream a lot as well but I feel with streaming people are more inclined to not listen to that full album and flick between tracks and artists on a playlist or similar. For me, an album is intended to be listened to front to back. I also like the full package of a record. Putting on a record means you pay attention and it’s not background music like it can be with streaming. That’s of course due to the nature of having to flip the record over halfway through. The whole idea of the big artwork liner notes, inner sleeve design and if the record is a limited edition then it may come with even more extras and additional content. These things make vinyl records so special for me.
And when did you start collecting vinyl?
I bought my first record in 2013 and that was before I even had a turntable and the first record I actually bought was “Alligator” by The National which I bought as I was involved in a film project inspired by that album. For one of the scenes we dressed the lead character’s apartment up and used the record as a prop and it was my first time ever buying a record or even going into a record store! Sadly, in the move from New York to Los Angeles that record somehow got lost in transit. I’ve since replaced it now though with the limited edition version. That was the first record I technically bought but I wasn’t a collector at all then.
So when you started collecting seriously, what was the first record you set out to buy?
Do you know, I actually can’t remember at all? I know as soon as I had bought my turntable that within a week, I had a box of around thirty records on rotation. I became obsessed really quickly with vinyl. I’d have thought it would have been a classic record like something by The Beatles or Led Zeppelin. It will have been a classic like those that I wanted to hear on vinyl for the first time.
Do you know how many records are in your collection?
Do you know, I don’t know the exact number but I know a rough approximation as I use Discogs to track my collection. I never share my Discogs profile on my YouTube channel either as I like the viewer to have the mystery about what records I may show. I’m also buying records constantly so the collection is always growing quite rapidly but I also sell a few here and there so it fluctuates a lot. In terms of a number I’d say around 2,000 records which is funny because I have a running joke with some of my viewers who laugh when I say I have around 2,000 records as they know how much I buy all the time.
So what about the music throughout your collection? Is it quite varied?
Yeah completely and honestly, I think thats maybe why my channel hasn’t taken off as fast as I’d have liked it to. I like to think I create good content for the channel and people enjoy that but it’s a double edged sword a little as a lot of collectors like to watch genre specific content and maybe thats where my channel falls down a little? But back to genres, yeah my collection is very eclectic. Hip Hop is a big part of my collection and artists like Kanye West in particular I have a huge passion for and collect all his releases. I mainly buy modern releases, whether they are brand new releases or second hand pick records and sometimes buy classic second hand releases from artists like Rolling Stones or The Beatles.
I ask a lot of collectors about their favourite record stores and watching your videos, I know yours is Amoeba Music. Can you tell me a little about the store?
Amoeba Music (@ameobahollywood) is a fantastic record store and it’s currently in the middle of relocating to another location which for me, sucks a little as last time it was there I hadn’t realised it would be the last time I dug for records at that location. I’ve been to many records stores and Amoeba is the best experience for digging for records in my opinion. They have an awesome selection of both new release records and second hand and I honestly think it ruins other records stores for me as I think this is not Amoeba which is unfair but I can’t help think it. They also have a great selection of other media and collectables. It’s basically just a collectors paradise. The space they are moving to doesn’t look as big but I can’t wait to get back there!
Lets talk about your want list. How big is it and what are you looking for?
My want list is stored on Discogs, like most record collectors and like most collectors, it’s huge! It currently sits at around 2,000 records and some of the stuff on there is so expensive but I save them in the list on the off chance I find a copy of something I want for a great price. I check Discogs all the time so there is always a chance I will find something I’m looking for at a steal.
What does your girlfriend think of the whole record collecting obsession?
I’ve had a few girlfriends during the period of me collecting records and I always feel that it would be a deal breaker if they didn’t understand the importance of what records mean to me. Luckily, my girlfriend understands and gets it but she doesn’t like going record shopping with me because it takes way too long for me to find what I’m looking for. She does, however, enjoy filming me for my YouTube channel so I always feel that’s a great way to involve her in my hobby of record collecting. We had big plans to travel a lot this year together and make videos about record stores both over here in the states and overseas. However, that has been put on hold due to the pandemic for now. She doesn’t enjoy certain genres of music I like but in general she supports what I’m doing with the channel and my hobby.
Finally, I know you partake in Record Store Day but what are your thoughts on the event in general and do you see any aspects it could be improved?
I do have mixed thoughts on Record Store Day and firstly it’s an event that needs to happen to get people to go to their local record stores and remember to try show them some support. My first Record Store Day was 2015 and sadly since then I have noticed each year declining slightly whether that be the prices of the records increasing or the quality of the records decreasing. The record labels are starting to flood Record Store Day with pointless reissues of albums nobody seems to be bothered about or poor quality picture discs or also another bug bear of mine is exploiting artists that have passed away like David Bowie or Prince with reissues or special editions of their records. I do enjoy the aspect of the limited edition releases as I find that’s what being a record collector is all about and if that means queueing up to get those releases then so be it. And of course waiting in line means you meet other record collectors and I usually make a video for my channel. There’s also the downside of releases becoming readily available a couple of weeks later for usually even cheaper which is very frustrating. It’s a shame as I think that it has great potential to work so much better than it currently does. But overall I love the Record Store Day experience and will always try support the day even though I support record stores all year round.
bottom of page