The Vinyl Nomad | Chapter 03-05: Parma, Cervia, Cattolica, Milan, Normandy, Paris

Chapter 03 – Parma, Cervia, Cattolica

Day 08 – Parma

I arrived in Parma where I stayed in the lovely home of Giovanna and Valerio, a collector couple who have been following Dust & Grooves for a while now. They reached out to me earlier this year asking if I had plans to come to Italy. In a way, they initiated the entirety of this Vinyl Nomad trip, helping me plan the Italian leg of it, connecting me with collectors, and of course, hosting me. I owe many thanks to them.

They set me up with a bed and desk in their vinyl room and I used the day to wind down and do some exploring. I took to the streets of Parma, a gorgeous city in Italy’s northern region, went for a run, and relaxed for a bit.

In the evening, we had dinner at Trattoria Corrieri, a restaurant well-known for its traditional Emilia-Romagna cuisine. We had gnocco fritto, or fried buns, served with prosciutto and parmesan, as well as some horse dish (which I skipped). Needless to say, I got a good taste of Parma indeed.

Day 09 – Parma 

Today was a rather lazy, relaxing Saturday spent with Vale and Gio. We spent the majority of the early afternoon going over their extensive collection of rare gems (follow their page @raregems.it!), which included Brazilian, West African, experimental music, and of course, some Italo disco.

Day 10 – Cervia and Cattolica

I woke up bright and early today, not just because it was my birthday (woohoo!), but because we had a busy, exciting day ahead. Vale and I were to head to the Riviera Romagnola to interview two seasoned collectors, Paolo Scotti and Daniele Baldelli. We hopped in the car, Vale put on his rally cap and promised not to go over 140 km/h, and we were on our way.

We first visited Paolo Scotti, a pioneer collector of Italian film and library music. His name came up several times during my research and visits with other collectors, who mentioned him as an inspiration for this specialty. But to my surprise, Paolo was reluctant to dive into the library stuff—he felt that Italian library had been overly documented and was getting tired of it. Instead, he delighted himself in showing us other parts of his collection, such as Philly sound records and a record by Romano Mussolini Trio, son of the notorious Il Duche, Benito Mussolini.

We ended our shoot and joined Paolo for lunch at a cafe by the beach.

Afterward, we met with Daniele Baldelli, a renowned DJ and innovator of the dance floor in 1970s Italy.

We were late, but Daniele was very welcoming and cheerful nonetheless. He took us down to the basement, which housed his studio and record room. Heaps of records were spread throughout, with everything well organized and cataloged on his computer. Daniele picked up records from the various genres he would play back in his days at Cosmic, a now-defunct nightclub in Lake Garda notorious in the 1970s for its wild parties and otherworldly mixes, often conducted by DJ Baldelli himself. Among the assortment of records were African music, Brazilian sounds and even a Cat Stevens album containing a surprising electronic track.

He showed us photos of Baia Degli Angeli, another nightclub he used to DJ at before his Cosmic residency. The nightclub’s most exciting feature was the elevator DJ booth, which would go up and down, playing on each dance floor. I have no doubt that Daniele may have been a real Playboy back then– hanging out with artists and the bohemian crowd. He eventually showed us an old photo of him and Grace Jones, who frequented Baia. After a traditional mid-day coffee break, we returned to the basement to continue the shoot and explore the many cherished 45 records Daniele received from his parents during his childhood.

We ended the shoot on a good note and rushed back to the car, hoping to avoid the traffic back to Parma. I finished all my work during the car ride and raised a small toast for my birthday to wrap up an eventful day.

Chapter 04 – Milan, Normandy

Day 11 – Milan

I took a train to Milan to meet up with Luca Barcellona—master calligrapher, independent book publisher, artist, and fantastic collector. He picked me up from the train station, and we drove to his home on the outskirts of Milan.

A fan of all fine things, Luca’s house was decorated in fine art/designs and loaded with books and cool records. Before getting into the shoot, we had some lunch cooked by Luca himself, a delicious traditional Risotto alla Milanese, which I will never forget.

As we were shooting, Luca kept downplaying his record game, insisting he wasn’t a classic collector or a completist. His collection, however, said otherwise. In fact, it was among one of the nicest-sounding and looking collections I’ve seen thus far, truly speaking to the impressive nature of Italian design and aesthetics. As library and soundtrack records have been a recurring theme in my Italian travels, I’m glad it culminated here with Luca, a deep collector and well-rounded artist.

We finished our shoot at around 5 p.m. and went out for some aperitifs and dinner with Andrea Galtieri, another young collector whose name kept appearing during my research.

The three of us sat outside on beach chairs that pleasant early evening where we drank and talked records and music. After two bottles, we decided another dinner wouldn’t hurt and headed to the Trattoria Aurora. Of course, this gringo needed to load up on some more Milanese food, so I ordered a huge Cotoletta allá Milanese, or breaded veal cutlet in Gringo language.

The evening was spent drinking more wine and continuing our discussions on records and music. We then headed to Andrea’s house, steps away from the restaurant. I was growing sleepy, but I was also glad to be in a city satisfying me both musically and gastronomically.

Day 12 – Milan

Today marked my last day in Italy. I met up again with Andrea Galtieri, and we spent a couple of hours going through his collection of spiritual jazz, as well as Italian library and soundtrack rarities. He showed me a record by Alessandro Alessandroni, the world-class Italian film and library composer and multi-instrumentalist (if you’re into spaghetti Westerns, you’ll find his iconic whistle hard to miss.) The record, titled “Alessandro Alessandroni & Il Suo Complesso,” which includes songs like “Bossa Italiana” and “Primavera,” was the gateway drug that began Andrea’s quest for library records—a great record to end my extensive exploration of the genre.

He also pulled out a couple of Ennio Morricone albums in which he found an original ticket stub to one of his last-ever live concerts!

With this insightful day, I officially concluded a two-week adventure to this amazing country—from the raw, gritty streets of Napoli to the slick, sophisticated sounds of Milan.

Once again, I want to extend my warmest gratitude to Giovanna and Valerio, my new best friends in Parma, for helping me through this Italian trip by hosting, cooking, coordinating, driving and supporting me. To Luca Sapio for his wonderful hospitality in Rome and excellent local tips. I also thank all of the friends and collectors I’ve met along the way for your time and wonderful tunes. Thank you!

Day 13 – Normandy

I started off early in the day in Paris for a photo shoot with a client of mine. The shoot was quick and fun; I always enjoy catching up with clients and, of course, picking up jobs that help pay the bills.

Afterward, I resumed Dust & Grooves duties. I headed to Normandy, where I was to meet with Francis Falceto, music lover, researcher and creator of one of the most successful ethnic compilation series in the world—Ethiopiques. This series was highly influential for me growing up as a music lover in Israel. Being a longtime fan, I have to say that meeting Francis was one of the high points of my Vinyl Nomad journey.

I was picked up by Stephane Jourdain, a friend of Francis and a documentary filmmaker who had just completed a documentary centered around Francis’ life and career. We headed to Francis’ home, an hour-and-a-half drive to the Normandy countryside.

Upon arrival, Francis and his wife, Jappy, greeted us with a warm welcome and a hearty, home-cooked Ethiopian lunch. Full and in good spirits, we went straight to digging into Francis’ 7-inch collection consisting of over 500 titles from various Ethiopian artists: Alemayehu Eshete, Mulatu Astatke, the brilliant pianist nun Emahoy Tsegue-Maryam Gabru, and the record that started it all for him, an LP by Mahmoud Ahmed.

During our interview, Francis also expressed his ambition to create a coffee table book dedicated to Ethiopian music and records, an interesting conversation that will indeed be continued in the future. We took coffee breaks and wine on his terrace in between shoots, which I think definitely helped increase my drinking tolerance while working.

All in all, this was an insightful visit, accompanied by great storytelling, good food and wine (as expected in a French household) by someone I’ve admired for a long time. Many thanks to Manu Boubli of Superfly Records and Budamusique for connecting me with Francis.

Afterward, I returned to Paris, where I would continue my Vinyl Nomad journey. I ended the day very tired but highly satisfied.

Chapter 05 – Paris

Day 14 – Paris 

I decided to take a day off. No planned shoots; just keeping up with my travel journal, trip planning, posting tasks, and winding down. I took the time to catch up with some local friends and went for a run along the Seine, enjoying every bit of the city.

I couldn’t help but sprinkle in some more vinyl exploring and paid a short visit to Heartbeat Vinyl, a record shop in Paris’ 11th district specializing in vintage and collectibles. Here, I took some photos for another “secret” record store photo project (can’t say much here). Overall, it was a slow day, much needed after non-stop traveling and shooting.

Day 15 – Paris

A visit to Paris would’ve been remiss without a rendezvous with its resident DJ and producer, Dimitri from Paris. Starting in the 1980s as a radio DJ, Dimitri eventually became known for helping set France’s house music scene in motion. In the 1990s, he worked with various fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent and Chanel, curating soundtracks for the runway, and released the experimental electronic record “Sacrebleu” in 1996. In 2023, he shows no signs of stopping, and today, I was welcomed into his cozy home in the 11th arrondissement for a photo shoot.

Going through Dimitri’s extensive collection, it became clear that his music taste is nothing short of eclectic. To name a few examples: spy movie soundtracks, hip-hop collage records (like Double Dee and Steinski’s “Lesson” series), Jamaican cover versions of pop hits, indie disco, and Prince bootlegs—a diverse catalog of sounds that have undoubtedly influenced him as a producer.

A bit of a camera/social media-averse figure, my shoot with Dimitri wrapped up after a quick hour and a half.

We bid farewell, and I treated myself to a classic Parisian brioche to conclude a day’s work.

Day 16 – Paris

This day was dedicated to my other “secret side” project, which involved visiting two record stores: Betino’s, a long-standing staple in the Parisian vinyl landscape, run by the lovely… Betino!

and Heart Beat Vinyl, a relatively new-ish store (over 10 years in business), serving all kinds of world grooves, including second-hand finds and new releases and re-issues.

As this was my last day in Paris, I spent a good amount of time walking around, meandering through the streets, just to enjoy it one last time. Paris, indeed, justifies all of its cliches, including being the most beautiful city in the world (and perhaps also becoming the most expensive one??)

Next stop: Short stop in Brussels to meet my old friend Alex Figuera, who just moved to Brussels, and Christine Renee, who will be interviewing Lefto for us. Afterward, a short train ride to Amsterdam for more exciting photo shoots. Vinyl Nomad, signing off.

Follow our adventures as told to our editorial intern Vanessa Tirok.