Dust & Grooves at Spinnafest 2025
Dust & Grooves is honored to take part in Spinnafest, a three-day celebration curated by the legendary DJ Spinna.
DaM FunK
Damon “DāM-FunK” and I go way back. In 2008, captivated by the rawness of Rhythm Trax Vol. 4 (and “Burgundy City,” the single that followed) I was determined to know more about this emerging, seemingly elusive artist. The swells, the swing and the synth of his sound drew close to the touchstones of soulful dance music. Yet, Dam’s drum programming, arrangements and tempos had a musical intellect that felt distinctly unique.
Synthesized Africa
Join Brandon Polanco & Eilon Paz (Dust & Grooves) for a vinyl-only deep dive into Africa’s synth-driven soundscape. Originals, reissues, and rare gems from the continent’s trailblazing artists — new and old.
Kornelia Binicewicz
On an island near Istanbul, reachable only by ferry, lives a very special storyteller. She is a record collector, an anthropologist, a curator. What might read like the premise for a modern fairytale is, in fact, the story of Kornelia Binicewicz—the woman behind Ladies on Records. Through this project, her DJing, and her curated compilations, Kornelia tells us about the women both at the forefront and in the shadows of the male-led music industry. This is no ordinary record collector—this is
You Dig? | Issue #08
Issue #08 | August 2025 | Curated by DB Burkeman | Artwork by Pia Dehne | | | Down at those crossroads we reckon you’re sure to find this month’s cover art, from NY-based artist Pia Dehne. The painting’s based on her 2004 photoshoot, which recreated Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland cover – the one that didn’t make it to the then-prudish US market in 1968. The stencil-cum-cave painting style gives the iconic cover a whole new, yet curiously fitting vibe.
Paola Puente
If Paola Puente’s records, portable turntables, vintage toys and ephemera were housed in a museum, it would be enough to make The Smithsonian envious. The fact that one individual has single-handedly amassed such a meticulously curated collection is extraordinary.
Sounds of Slience
SOUNDS OF SILENCE JAZZ KISSA OF JAPAN BY JAMES HUSSEIN CATCHPOLE Whether jazz, soul, rock, reggae or even European classical, Japan has a bar that caters to every type of music fan. To become a regular at a music bar, you are not just a customer conducting a transaction, but an integral part of […]
John Armstrong
Listening to John Armstrong’s stories in his room with open cupboards full of vinyl records and books, I found to be very inspiring. Mahogany-colored shelves stretched from wall to wall. There were two other rooms crowded with vinyl in his New-Victorian house, most of them in boxes which he “still needs to unwrap.” I knew immediately that this interview would travel into deep and wide landscapes. John Armstrong started DJing in the 1970s while working as a lawyer at a Jewish law firm in
Carter Van Pelt
Carter Van Pelt had an inauspicious beginning for a reggae DJ, event producer, and historian. Born and raised in Nebraska, Van Pelt grew up surrounded by the sounds of John Denver, the Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel, and Bread—music beloved by his ever-encouraging, artistic mother. Although he had an ear for soft rock, Carter’s musical passion was grounded in something Nebraska knew little about–reggae. He found the genre as many would in the ‘70s and ‘80s, through Bob Marley and The W
Adam Mansbach
A transplant to the Bay Area in the mid-2000s, Adam Mansbach got his early musical education as a kid in the Boston area, obsessed with hip-hop. Like many of us caught up in hip-hop’s tidal surge across the U.S. in the 1980s, Adam was inspired to MC and DJ but he also found a calling to infuse his energies into writing as a journalist and novelist. While still a college student in the mid-90s, he started the hip-hop journal/magazine, Elementary, before launching himself as an author. Best know
