“[Eilon Paz’s] lavishly illustrated coffee-table book contains portraits of some 130 ‘record diggers,’ as he sometimes calls them, who have often gravitated to genres as obscure as Turkish psychedelia, ‘Sesame Street’ albums, lounge acts, sexploitation and horror film soundtracks, ’60s girl groups from France and Japan, and even colored discs … visceral and joyous.”
“Each collection is a reflection of its owner—the cherished result of, as one DJ puts it in the book, the ‘self-inflicted pleasurable pain’ of ‘a senseless and punishing neurosis.’”
“Eilon Paz spent nearly six years photographing record collectors, starting in New York’s East Village at the store Tropicalia in Furs before moving onto the private rooms where collections are kept in all manner of order and chaos … Some of the more fascinating photographs show the enormity of a collection but also feel extremely intimate.”
“[Paz] peers into the peculiar private lives and passions of these collectors. He took this inspiration, packed a suitcase, and ventured around the world to document the lives of music lovers—hopefully illustrating how music moves throughout humanity. He photographed record dealers in West Africa to various hip-hop producers’ collection in Japan. Seriously. Dude went everywhere.”
“Over the next six years Mr Paz traveled from Los Angeles to Ghana and Berlin to document collectors in their environments.
The collections are epic. Some resemble hoarder’s dens, while others are stored alphabetically in boxes. Yet another features albums organized by the colors of the rainbow.”
“While the book might be of special interest to music lovers (and especially vinyl lovers), almost any reader will find something to appreciate in the passion of collectors and the beauty of Paz’s images.”
Eilon Paz’s gorgeous photos of collectors and their prized possessions elicit altogether different emotions: awe and wonder in the face of some overwhelming archives, their owners and the individual records these guys treasure.
“Paz’s beautiful coffee table book … features 250 staggeringly pretty full-page photos of record store collectors across the world.”
“This book lavishly illustrates why collectors are so passionate to keep hunting for more records … It’s full of quirks and delights.”
“Dust & Grooves: Adventures in Record Collecting looks set to be an essential companion to every record collection and a reminder of how much there is still left to discover.”
“A dazzling trip through the arcane wonders of record design, from multi-coloured vinyl slices of all shapes and sizes to the fantastically morphing universe of cover art … But the human faces of collectors holding these prized possessions aloft tell a larger story, whether beaming in neatly shelved apartments, jealously guarding basements lined with priceless 78s, or fossicking in filthy attics piled high with scuffed 45s.”
“A true highlight of Record Store Day 2014“
“It’s a feast of geeking-out that’s half photo-essays and half in-depth interviews that plumb into why vinyl means so much to people. Subjects include Four Tet and Gilles Peterson, and The RZA himself … But big names aren’t the draw – it’s the brimming affection and priceless quotes from genuine music lovers.”
“A lavish book full of endless delights for the vinyl fetishist.”