The Vinyl Nomad – Kick Off

On our final photo trip, before diving into the editing room and putting the final touches on the upcoming Dust & Grooves Volume 2 book, Dust & Grooves founder and photographer Eilon Paz—A.K.A. The Vinyl Nomad—invites you on a journey as he meets with the world’s greatest vinyl collectors. Follow Eilon’s two-month trek through The Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the western U.S. to capture grooves from across the globe, obsessive collectors, and other exciting happenings he may encounter along the way.

Are you a local who can show us around? Do you have any tips for the best local food or hidden vinyl spots in town? Do you know a great place to stay? Perhaps your mom’s guest house? Or The Waldorf-Astoria? or even a mattress in your personal record room??

Eilon will be happy to meet you! Drop us a line, tag a local friend, and lend a hand to The Vinyl Nomad 

Brooklyn to Tel Aviv

After much planning, endless phone calls, and emails, we are officially ready to kick off our final photo tour for Dust & Grooves Volume 2! 

I left home in Brooklyn and took a 10-hour flight to Israel to visit my family and friends. During my stay, I couldn’t help but dedicate a day to meeting with my long-time friend, Avidan Weiss. We met up at his ninth-floor apartment in Ramat-Gan, a blue-collar satellite city of Tel Aviv. Avidan and I go way back, from exploring the best shabby hummus plates in the country to taking photos and planning books about funny, stupid street signs. Avidan is a long-time vinyl veteran in the Tel Aviv record-digging scene and has spent most of his adult life (he’s still a teenager at heart) in record stores and record fairs worldwide. I’ve been meaning to get to his crazy record collection for a while now, so now that I finally had the chance, I knew I had to take it. And we made it happen! Avidan had an impressive collection—plenty of super rare Israeli gems sprinkled with Mediterranean grooves and British psych.

Short vacation in Crete

My brother and sister-in-law insisted I join them for their annual short vacation to Crete. I resisted at first, claiming a lack of time and funds, but resistance was futile. So, between turquoise beaches, fresh organic food, and serene mountain villages, I found the time to jump on my laptop, communicate with our fantastic intern team, and continue planning the Vinyl Nomad photo trip. 

Naples, Italy 

Naples has been on my go-to list for quite a while now. Music acts like Nu Guinea and Napoli Segreta have had a lot to do with Neapolitan music’s rise in popularity, making this a perfect destination to start this epic trip. 

In the next four days, I’ll be touring the city and its surrounding regions with plans to meet with Massimo of Nu Guinea and Lorenzo and Gianpaolo of Napoli Segreta. In between, pizza excursions and early morning flea market record digging will also be planned.

Stay tuned with the Vinyl Nomad for full reports.