We have some sad and disappointing news to share with you. DJ Hut can no longer battle the dual headwind of the demise of the music retail industry and the economic downturn. As a result, we are forced to shut down the store and go strictly online at the end of April. Effective immediately, all vinyl records, CDs, DVDs and books will be liquidated at the rate of 20% off the regular price.
We would like to thank you for your support over the last 7 years at the store and we look forward to your continued support online.
Best,
DJ Hut Crew
So many of my formative years as a DJ, and later my sense of community in the DC music scene were wrapped up in that place. The last time I reminisced on it, they were recovering from a fire.
We could all probably see this one coming with the way things are now but it’s still a huge blow. It also delineates some interesting market trends, as other stores that cater less to DJ’s/artists and more to niche collector types continue to do well, or at least okay. I’ve still got those long overdue posts about DJ’ing in the digital age to write.
*Sigh*
Farewell to The Hut/12-inch and thanks for the memories.
I’ve been back for a while so I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m not going to get around to detailing all the historical, cultural and social experiences I had in Bahia. This weekend I carved out some time to hit a pile of not yet listened to vinyl so I can at least post the digging wrap-up of my trip (with covers, since that’s a big part of the fun.)
Unfortunately, the holy grail remains outside of my grasp, even though I did visit their hometown. I saw a couple of vinyl copies that cats were not trying to part with and it’s been out of print forever. I’ll probably have to find a questionable Japanese bootleg or something.
I didn’t have much room to bring stuff back to the U.S. so I kept my aspirations low. I scouted out four spots and managed to hit three of them. One of them had massive stock but everything was too beat to be worth buying. Record condition was a recurring problem that I had been warned about.
Right around the corner is another spot I highly recommend to anyone traveling in Salvador. Cana Brava is all CD so it caters to you normal folks that don’t share the wax addiction. Pardal runs the store with his wife and he’s very helpful and knowledgeable. We ended up talking music for so long that I almost forgot to shop. But on impulse I came away with…
Banda Black Rio – Gafieira Universal (CD) [Basically the Brazilian Earth, Wind & Fire. I saw the afros and the disc pretty much jumped off the shelf into my hand. My hunch was rewarded by not a single fast-forwardable track on the whole record. Word to reissues. They've got four other albums that you can find with some due diligence.]
The main transaction went down in this random closet of a store in Barra. The mission posed several challenges. I had to whittle down a huge stack to a handful of critical purchases while dealing with a language barrier, no turntable to screen the records and large holes in my knowledge about the artists.
Then I had to haggle. I was somewhat concerned that I might have been hustled but my gut told me that the proprietor was a serious music head who recognized a kindred spirit. As I dug and asked questions in infant level Portuguese, he went deep into the stacks pulling more stuff and explaining it to me. I definitely paid more than the pieces would be worth in the U.S. but I haggled him down by a significant amount, had fun and most importantly, learned a lot in the process. That’s worth a few reais. Here’s the haul:
Egberto Gismonti – Corações Futuristas (LP) [Fusion bordering on free jazz. Definitely bugged out. I asked for something like Chick Corea and Azymuth and this was the recommendation. Apparently out of print and not often seen stateside.]
Cesar Camargo Mariano, Victor Assis Brasil, Helio Delmiro – Performance (LP) [Electric jazz cats I'd never seen or heard of. Quite luscious with killer guitar action. This is going to yield some juicy beat fodder. I think I made a come-up.]
Zezé Motta – Dengo (LP) [Lightly funky post-'70s tropicalia with pop accents from this major brazilian actress who also had a singing career.]
Elis Regina – Elis (LP) [If you're ever at a loss for a place to start exploring Brazilian music, you can't go wrong with Pimentinha. Her tone and phrasing are unforgettable]
MPB-4 – Antologia (LP) [This is a 1974 compilation of MPB (otherwise known as Música Popular Brasileira) and it's quite a goldmine. It sounds like an in-house vocal group at the record label doing medleys of the works of significant composers but I have to study up more to get the back story.]
After funneling huge chunks of my income to Dusty Groove for years, I finally had a chance to visit them in person. I’ve been to bigger spots and have had transcendent digging experiences elsewhere but I’ve not had a more significant, extended relationship with any shop outside of DC than Dusty Groove. They put an enormous amount of care into their stock and that discerning hand is prominently reflected in my collection. For this trip, I had to really blind myself to the beckoning shelves of enticing re-issues and left field jazz and soul bits from around the world. I could order all that stuff online from them like I usually do. If I was going to be there in person I had to focus on things that I’d miss if I weren’t putting my fingers through the bins. And I also had to grab a few instant gratification joints that I might not see again for a while.
Beady Belle – Belvedere (CD) [This group CAN DO NO WRONG with me. I've been a stan since 2001 and they're completely incapable of making anything that isn't stunning. What I love about them is that every album is a unique experience that touches different styles from the others. You really never know what you're going to hear every time they drop a new record. Most of my favorite artists share this same characteristic. So many fans want their favorite groups to re-hash the stuff they love best. I prefer a gift-wrapped surprise package.]
Phase N’ Rhythm – Swollen Pockets/Hook-N-Sling (12″) [I knew I could finish my odyssey at this point. I'd been looking for this for a long time. Wasn't cheap either, but worth it. It's out of print and I caught a promo. R.I.P. Paul C.!]
I’ve been meaning to write a post about how the digital dj’ing age has completely changed my relationship to vinyl, particularly the acquisition part. I’ll get to that later because it definitely doesn’t mean that digging ceases. Our relationship has evolved but it’s still going strong. Today it was Death Valley outside and I was getting stir crazy from cowering in the A.C. so I ventured out hoping that I wouldn’t suffer heat stroke. Fortunately one of my most reliable spots is close to my house and it yielded some nice treats. And that was after passing up a crate’s worth of joints that would have been mandatory purchases in the pre-digital days.
I told Aunt Viv that it was going to be egregious. And it was, although it could have been worse. I got a late start and didn’t get to hit up Red Onion or CD Warehouse.
But it was a lovely day. I had just given Stealth a spring overhaul and was prepared to 2-wheel it across the city, filling my bag with an afternoon of digging and running errands.
Som was the first stop. The dollar bins were on fire, cuz!!!! Here’s the haul:
DJ Hut was next. They’ve been going hard since their triumphant return, stocking a bigger variety of interesting bits as well as more dj equipment and accessories. I came away with some heavy bangers.
The Greatest Hits of GAMM (CD)
J-Dilla – Jay Love Japan (CD)
GOOD GOD! Heavy Funk Covers of James Brown From All Over The World 1968 – 1974 (CD) The Rebirth – Love Issue (12″) let the stannery continue!!!
Alexander O’Neal feat. Bianca Lindgren – Saturday Love remixes (12″) cruuuucial!!!
Amerie – That’s What U R, DJ Leo & Guy Robin House rmx (12″)
Piranhahead & Diviniti – Music (12″)
Yam Who? – Wanna Make Luv 2 Ya/Buzz Reaction (12″)
Tony Allen – Kilode Reworks by Waajeed (12″)
I was running out of time by this point (late for a date!) but I had to dip in to Melody. They had huge bins of freebies and deep discounts but I didn’t have time to dig. They’re usually my source for DVD crack when I want to support the home team instead of the chain stores. Sadly, they didn’t have the Celia Cruz jont that’s at the top of my list now (bammas was CRANKIN’). I still came up on some staples.
Marvin Gaye – Live in ’76 (DVD)
Erykah Badu – New Amerykah (CD)
Pete Rock – NY’s Finest (CD)
