Avidan Weiss
Working in a record store feels like being a part of a secret society. Once you spend enough time behind the counter and serve enough weirdos, you’re in. Avidan and I have been proud members of this society since our wild and wacky twenties. The years were pre-vinyl revival, and mainstream CDs reigned supreme in […]
You Dig? | Issue #05
Issue 05 | March 2025 | Curation by Grace of Spades | Illustration by Ellen G | | | We’re thrilled to have some seriously mind-bending cover art from Ellen G for this issue of You Dig?. Depending how quickly you can get your head around her Escher-style record store illustration, says a lot about how big your Saturday night was! Continuing the reggae vibes, curating the main chunk of this month’s newsletter is New York DJ and dedicated Dust & Groover, Grace of Spades.
Alex Figueira
Like many subjects in the Dust & Grooves universe, Alex Figueira is also linked to Joel Stones, the Brazilian New York transplant who famously helmed the East Village record mecca Tropicália in Furs (R.I.P.). Alex’s love of Brazilian psychedelic music, among many other styles, led to him inviting Mr. Stones to record with him and some friends in Amsterdam for a project called Fumaça Preta (Black Smoke), including a couple of singles and one album released on Soundway Records in 2014.
Interview Post [To Clone]
Coco Maria, real name Ana Lucia, was born and raised in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, and got her start DJing “in sweaty basements” in London and Berlin in 2014. Two years later, she became more active and focused as a small club DJ, getting into radio around that time as well. Later on, she started doing her weekly radio show on Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM, and currently running her successful Breakfast Show at NTS, where she has a large international following and focuses on playing glo
Coco Maria
Coco Maria, real name Ana Lucia, was born and raised in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico, and got her start DJing “in sweaty basements” in London and Berlin in 2014. Two years later, she became more active and focused as a small club DJ, getting into radio around that time as well. Later on, she started doing her weekly radio show on Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide FM, and currently running her successful Breakfast Show at NTS, where she has a large international following and focuses on playing glo
LA Book Launch Party at Gold Line Bar | Recap
Closing out the book release party tour was a perfect night in LA. After a month of traveling worldwide celebrating Dust & Grooves Vol.2 launch, a night at Gold Line Bar delivered a bittersweet last hurrah. The energy was there from the first needle drop as the bar was packed! Gold Line Bar opened in […]
Grace of Spades
Grace of Spades is unmissable: She has a shock of short, platinum hair, extremities covered in tattoos, and the confident, comfortable attitude of a native New Yorker in that takes-one-to-know-one way. Crucially, Grace is often found with a bag of big, big tunes. "At the end of the day, I'm here because I enjoy myself. I like seeing people enjoy themselves," Grace says of DJing while sipping a beer inside the Roxy Hotel on a torrentially rainy Friday evening. "Obviously, as a Virgo, controlling
Lefto
Belgian DJ Stephane Lallemand is phoenix-like, rebirthing himself and shedding his given name in flames to become Lefto Early Bird. With the keen sight of a hawk, he hones in on sounds, always the first to get the worm. As he says in our interview, “I was the guy who had everything before everyone, being the early bird, even before I was “(Lefto) Early Bird.” Finally, like a few exquisite birds, he has the majesty to fly the world over, nesting in his global family’s dance floors.
Brooklyn Book Launch Party at Public Records
This was the kick-off of the book release party tour, in the homeland of Dust & Grooves. It was at the amazing Public Records, who accommodated the incredible amount of 550 RSVPs we had. What a way to feel supported! It was amazing to see so many faces there, reminding us all that the record-collecting community is so great and so important.
Deb Grant
As an erstwhile mod, and atheist Irish Jew who grew up in Dublin before being wooed by the bright lights of London, Deb Grant isn’t your average record collector or your average DJ. Her star has risen rapidly over the past few years as the club DJ and vocalist formerly known as Anne Frankenstein (she dropped the moniker post-pandemic when radio became her main artistic outlet) moved from London indie radio station Resonance FM, to be picked up by Jazz FM, and then taken on by BBC 6 Music to ho
