Salt Box Records has never steered me wrong. So, when I saw a 7” with a tag on cover the sleeve that read “Italo-style Spanish synth pop,” I grabbed it. I had never heard of the band Tango?— or, at least, in that moment, I thought that I hadn’t heard them— and the song title “Breve Síntesis de los Huecos,” sounded completely unfamiliar to me. I bought it strictly because that descriptive tag, written in Sharpie by an actual human, said, “Listen to me, Liz” in a way that algorithmic suggestions never do.
Later on, I would realize that I had previously heard Tango?, who were based in Barcelona and active in the mid-1980s. They had a self-titled song that was included on the stellar compilation, Ritmo Fantasía: Balearic Spanish Synth-Pop, Boogie and House. The two songs couldn’t be more different, though. “Tango?,” the song, is a slow groovy piece suited for pool parties and bars where they serve tapas on shady, outdoor patios. “Breve Síntesis de los Huecos” should have accompanied a montage in an ‘80s movie. It’s a vibe.
But, back to the record shopping.
On Saturday, I went to The Music Center for On the Record Vinyl Fair with Carlos, my husband and crate-digging partner, despite every limb in my body telling me that I don’t need more records. Earlier that day, I temporarily relocated stacks of records from one side of a room to another and my arms were sore af. I cursed myself for developing this obsession. Why couldn’t I be into old show flyers or stickers or something else lightweight?
Yet, here I was, at another record fair. At least I was only looking through the 45s, I thought as I picked up Milk Talk’s “Wagamama Riso” single at the Salt Box booth. Milk Talk is a fantastic synth-y, funky duo based in Japan and this 7”, out on MoFunk Records, has a killer boogie remix from XL Middleton, who is also the proprietor of Salt Box. I had already heard the original and the remix online and was excited to pick it up on vinyl.
I thought I might just stick with 45s on Saturday, but that quickly changed a few minutes later, when I spotted Carlos at a nearby booth and he asked if I had any Cristina records in my collection.
Cristina was one of the late ‘70s/early ‘80s New York artists whose legacy outlasted the city’s actual cool phase. She was a writer who contributed to Village Voice and then released a single, “Disco Clone,” on Ze Records, which led to more singles and two full-length albums. She half-sang lyrics that were funny, dark and a little twisted, setting the stage for everyone from Julie Brown later in the ‘80s to Miss Kittin at the cusp of the 21st century. Cristina, who died in the early weeks of the pandemic, was influential on so much of the music that I enjoy, but I actually didn’t have any of her records. Fortunately, Carlos spotted both the “Ticket to the Tropics” single and the “Things Fall Apart”/“What’s a Girl to Do” 12”. I snagged both and realized that we were at the booth of a vendor who, at the last In Sheep’s Clothing record swap, had a smattering of Italo 12” singles that I bought. I might have also bought a Yello EP that I love from the same vendor.
Once you start going to record fairs, you notice that a lot of the vendors are the same from one event to the next. You’ll probably also notice that some vendors consistently carry records that you want. I try to keep tabs on where I buy vinyl so that I know who to look for at the next fair.
I headed over to El Marchante’s booth next because, at a previous record fair, I bought a Spanish cover of “Da Da Da” from the vendor and that 12” has been going over really well at my all-vinyl DJ gigs. I found the 12” single for Olé Olé’s cover of “Lili Marlen,” a song with a long history that’s been remade by everyone from Marlene Dietrich to The Divine Comedy.
The real score at El Marchante’s booth, though, was the first album from Dexys Midnight Runners, Searching for the Young Soul Rebels, which had been on my wish list for a very long time. Back in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, when I had started going to indie clubs and then DJing at them, the real Dexys dance floor heat was “Geno,” their first chart-topping single in the U.K. that didn’t do much of anything in the U.S.
At that point in time, “Come on Eileen” was mainly reserved for ‘80s nights. Dexys big hit was too much of a radio standard to get play in the same sets as bands like Pulp and Bis. “Geno,” on the other hand, was the cool song, a post-punk soul stomper with a bit of a two-tone edge that was written as a tribute to the singer Geno Washington. If you were new to the clubs, you likely wouldn’t know the song until you hung out long enough to spy the record in the DJ booth or got up enough courage to ask someone.
Many years passed and I never came across a copy of Searching for the Young Soul Rebels at a price within my budget. On this particular Saturday, though, I looked at the price tag and thought, hey, this is reasonable for a 1980 U.K. release in an L.A. record bin. And the album was worth it for more than just “Geno.” I love Dexys’ cover of “Seven Days Too Long,” the Chuck Wood song that became one of the Northern Soul classics almost as much. It’s truly a fantastic album from start to finish and to have it with the 12”-sized cover, as well as the band’s origin story and song lyrics printed on the inner sleeve, is the reason why I keep buying records.
Still, records are a pain (literally) to carry, as I was reminded that Saturday morning. I had to stop, even though I saw some Italo disco singles at another booth that I would love to own and even if there were a few other vendors who I knew always had choice finds in their bins. Sometime soon, I’m going to have to move a bunch of records back to the shelves where they’re usually stored and organize them too. Just thinking about that makes my shoulders tense and my brain hurt.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Read her recently published work and check out her upcoming gigs.
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DIGGING FOR VINYL AT IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING X JAPONESIA X HOMAGE RECORD FAIR