Michael Kurtz
Now firmly established as an important part of the music retail ecosystem, Record Store Day was launched in 2008 as a celebration of the independent record store, as well as a means to boost consumer awareness of the mom-and-pop retailers that were still stocking new vinyl releases even as big music chains like Tower Records were going under. Initially conceived as an annual US event (but now expanded to a twice-yearly international one), RSD introduces hundreds of new limited-edition vinyl reis
You Dig? | Issue #06
Issue 06 | April 2025 | Curation by DJ Scribe | Artwork by Soundpapered | | | This month, we put virtual pen to paper, with DJ Scribe curating the cultural choices and Soundpapered providing the artwork. Soundpapered, the alter ego of British-American artist Rachel D. Abrams, has created some truly memorable cover art for You Dig?, above. Famously, art has no rules—but not so with Soundpapered.
Kassin
If you spot Alexandre Kassin in Rio de Janeiro’s Botafogo neighborhood, you'd be forgiven for thinking he might work at a tech startup around the corner. There is little about his demeanor or outward appearance to indicate that he is one of the most prolific and accomplished musicians, composers, producers, and arrangers in the contemporary Brazilian music scene. Despite his impressive body of work, filled with legendary names like Caetano, Elza, and Jorge Ben, Kassin prefers to stay far from
Mary G
Born and based in São Paulo, Brazil, Mariana Mendes Guarnieri—known as Mary G—has become a staple of the Brazilian house scene. It took years to break into the mainstream, but now she plays the biggest stages alongside artists who once filled her parents’ modest record collection. At the Coala Festival, she opened for the father of so many generations, Gilberto Gil, and at Blue Note São Paulo, she set the stage for the legendary “wizard” Hermeto Pascoal.
Pierpaolo De Sanctis
There are reissue labels and there are archive labels. Somewhere in between, in a league of their own, lies Rome’s Four Flies Records. Specializing in lost Italian soundtracks and library records of the 1960s and 1970s, much of the label's output was never previously available outside the world of Italian film and television production.
Editorial Notes – February/March 2025
Hi, I’m Sam, the new editorial intern here at Dust & Grooves. I’ve lived in New Jersey all my life and am currently studying journalism at Rutgers. When I realized I lacked a gift for performing music, I did what all music journalists do: write about the music they long to play. I write concert and album reviews for The Daily Targum and host Slanted and Enchanted Radio on WRSU. I’m also a record collector (check out my Discogs!); when I see an original Blue Note or a Beatles’ bootleg, i
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