Mafalda
Mafalda claims the sun is her place of origin, and it’s very easy to believe her. When we spoke, it was the end of summer and Mafalda was visiting a warm and lovely Lisbon—native territories both in location and season, giving our conversation an instant sense of home. At some points, it was difficult to remember I was interviewing Mafalda because of how easy she is to talk to, and to get lost in stories with. Her warmth is a symptom of how deep her passion is for records, and her reflex to
Thes One
As far as record cities go, Los Angeles can feel like an enigma. The size and diversity of its population, in addition to long-standing music and movie industries, means that many meaningful sides were both cut and distributed here, but the geographic size and population dispersion have long frustrated those trying to explore the region’s record riches. It takes time, patience, and a lot of footwork to get anywhere in that game, and if anyone has worn some soles, hunting for soul, it’s been
John Devore
One of John DeVore’s earliest memories finds him lying under his mother’s piano while she played Bach. “When you're underneath you hear some of the sort of creeks, and you hear the pedal actuators and there's more of a physical…it's sort of like being in a really small cabin that’s making music. Literally all around you, there are three giant legs pinning you in, the roof of the cabin is the soundboard, you know the pedals are on one side going up and down, and you're feeling the fo
Gustavo Aquino
Gustavo Aquino never looks anything less than perfectly put-together, always exuding an effortless Carioca cool and a sartorial panache that honors his Afro-Brazilian heritage with a distinctly modernist twist. His style is a visual metaphor for his approach to record collecting: a deep respect for Afro-Brazilian music’s history and culture combined with a perpetual desire to push things forward. The colorful beads he wears around his neck highlight his roots from the Umbanda religion while sp
Melissa Dueñas
Melissa Dueñas made her first mixtape in elementary school, staying up late to record her favorite songs on a San Diego “Oldies” station. When she played the tape on a Walkman for her dad at a local park, a jolt of pride went through her as she watched him enjoy her mix. It was a spark that lit a long-burning fire. In the intervening years, she lived in a punk house, did a brief stint in a band, founded the long-running San Diego dance night Sleepwalking, moved to the Bay Area and got h
Alex Paterson
Captain’s Log,Star date: 05/10/2022These are the voyages of the starship Dust & Grooves.Our mission: to seek out strange new worlds of speech and sound with Alex Paterson of the Orb. Alex Paterson formed the Orb in 1988 with Jimmy Cauty, releasing several singles on the Wau Mr Modo label before parting ways, as Cauty continued […]
Andre Torres
For crate diggers and record collectors of the early 21st century, no magazine was more important and influential than Wax Poetics. Dedicated to covering a wide swath of groove-oriented music that touched upon everything from contemporary hip-hop, jazz and funk to old-school Latin, soul and disco, the magazine connected the dots between past and present with one deep dive after another into records both massively influential and impossibly obscure, as well as the folks who made them and the arti
Caroline Cardenas
Whatever shell Caroline Cardenas once had is long gone. The Miami DJ and collector has such an infectious passion that it’s hard to believe she is a stranger to anyone; her attention and energy have a radiant warmth that is easy to bask in. Raised by immigrant parents from Cuba and Honduras, her childhood was marked by Cuban poetry and Latin music, culminating in a love of music and the arts that has lasted well into the present. Her appreciation for vinyl especially came into focus once s
Cole Evelev
Whether DJing, hosting parties, or working on set as a director and cinematographer for Conde Nast, Cole Evelev is motivated by a compulsion shared by every true digger: the drive to discover something new, something better.
Kristine Barilli
Kristine Barilli is a born and bred New Yorker with a masterfully keen ability to translate her listening habits into rhapsodic DJ sets. Her work as a music supervisor yields original and authentic results while preserving an insouciant edge.
