New Zealand’s Longboss gets lost in Istanbul, and we reap the benefits.

In Turkey, following your nose seems to be a record digger’s prerequisite, as navigation is not easy. Signs in Cyrillic, old men nodding yes to turn left when they are really saying “wrong way son” and the labyrinthine side streets that record stores seem to be invariably be located all combine to make for an interesting experience and one not to undertake if you’re in a hurry.

Following your nose to find Istanbul’s Kurgu Books & Records means first locating the collection of pungent fish restaurants that street. The next step is to look for books, and lots of them. Finding Kurgu means traveling through Istanbul´s giant  book store arcade. Here, the volume of reading material  accumulated by owners literally spills out the doors of every stall. Obsessive compulsive collector types beware: you will get stuck here for a long time.

In amongst all this is the small but perfectly formed store of Yuksel Berksoy, Istanbul’s only serious stop for Anatolian musical treats.  Run by Yuksel and her two lovely daughters Bengi and Ozgu, Kurgu is an all woman musical operation. Combined with a hi-fi store (manned by the token bloke, Yuksel’s son) the Berksoy ladies have Istanbul’s second-hand music scene locked down.

I simply wanted to find the bin marked “Psychedelic Turkish rock 1976”  but it wasn´t until I got to Turkey that I realised the distinction between Anatolia and Antalya and understood there was much more than just the few names I’d heard of. Anatolia is basically the Turkish heartland, while the latter is the Mediterranean city. The music similarly had been a little misunderstood, but my subsequent travels and listening  revealed that 70s Turkish music spanned an incredibly diverse range, where traditional standards combine with Western covers, the pentatonic scales overlap with American funk and strange (to my ears) otherworldly Eastern instruments combine with fuzz boxes….awesome.

There was a nice selection of LPs however with Okay Temiz and Baris Manco’s prime LPs stocked at international prices it was 7”s in the tin box marked “Anatolian Rock” which grabbed me.  Over an afternoon of complimentary tea Yuksel and I worked our way through the music until I had around 15 pieces to  take back across the Bosphorus.

Worthy mentions should go to Defunkt music and others selling new and secondhand European releases, but if you are going to Constantinople for local flavours, head towards the books…

Kurgu Books & Records, Mesrutiyet Caddesi 18/38 Aslihan Pasaji, Beyoglu, Istanbul, Turkey

Friend, collaborator and committed digger Longboss reports that Thailand isn’t all bootleg DVDs and CDRs…

Bangkok’s Chinatown is where you can find Mr Chokkchai’s Broadway Records as well as Cathay records and an unnamed corner store run by the city’s grumpiest man. These three make up Bangkok’s (and probably Thailand’s) last remaining vinyl record precinct.

Rather than stock CDs, these places sell records as well as various turntables and cartridges. The digital age has seemingly completely passed them by, but Mr C does echo the oft-heard western retail complaint against “Bootlegs/Downloads/Cellphones. Mr Chokkchai’s service won out against the day-glo counter displays of Cathay Records where it wasn’t possible to listen to anything. Still, Cathay had plenty of copies of certain records which suggested “warehouse dead stock discoveries” are not an exclusively American concept.

Broadway had plenty of jukebox type 7 inches, 80s Thai pop albums and over priced Englebert long players. Cover spotting seemed liked a good way to go considering the Thai language is complete hieroglyphics to me and Chocky was happy enough to pull me out some dusty 7s . The film of street dirt covering everything has led all three shop owners to come up with elaborate plastic coverings for the record bins, but by the time I got to Broadway I let Chocky’s fingers do the dusty work.

I profess to having no knowledge of Thai music beyond a couple of Finders Keepers comps of outsider rock that I haven’t actually listened to. But I did know the word “Molam”, which I think is a traditional Thai song structure/ type that has been compiled recently. So I received six records after explaining I wanted the weirdest traditional records he could excavate. The request was duly fulfilled- I played two of them at a friends that evening and they were indeed odd….even by my standards.

The verdict is still out on whether I will actually get any listening mileage out of this stuff but at 50 cents each, if worst comes to worst the covers are still cool and can double as wall mounts.

Emptysleeve note: check out Sublime Frequencies for a journey into Molam!

 Broadway and Cathay Records  Saphan Tek & Worachek Intersection, Charoen Krung Road, Bangkok, Thailand

Imagine if you will, your favourite DJs opening a record store together. For myself and a whole lot of others this came true as the opening of Red Light Records introduced us to a stellar mix of weird and wonderful records dug throughout Europe as well as taken directly from the collections of the three co-owners, Tako Reyenga, Abel Nagengast and Jamie Tiller.

Digging through basements in Greece and flea markets in Antwerp, to the most unassuming music shops on desolate German highways, Reyenga, Nagengast and Tiller are in a league of their own with their knowledge matched only by their taste. Unlike many DJs who strive to keep discoveries “secret”, the trio has created a sharing environment in the store where the customer can feel comfortable to peruse as well as be introduced to the unknown.

While RLR was full of records from my wantlist, I was actually more excited to hear things in the store that I didn’t know before and Tako, the main store clerk who makes sure the speakers are always warm, was more than happy to introduce and expand my mind.

It really is a “world music” store with well organised crates categorised by country and then by genre, spanning from ambient and folk to electronic and funk. Conditions are very nice throughout and the prices fair.

The district itself is going through a cleansing process, scrubbing itself of its unsalubrious past and bringing some culture to the centre. RLR’s neighbour Red Light Radio has had an extremely positive effect on the area and the whole city since its launch over a year ago, and the record store is seldom quiet with local and visiting DJs dropping in before or after their sets on the radio station next door. When you’re there, make sure you check out Vintage Voudou directly next door which specialises in exotic vinyl. I caught the owner spinning at a party in Amsterdam when I was there and it was positively infectious music that struck you hips first!

I’m already looking forward to my next visit and to see the areas transformation into something closer to its surrounding laneways, streets and canals which really are charming.

Keep an ear out for Red Light Records’ soon to be launched label Music for Memory which will release comps and unreleased material from incredible music makers. Meanwhile here’s some mixes from the guys that will have you booking the next flight to Amsterdam.

Red Light Records Oudekerksplein 26 , Amsterdam, 1012GZ, Netherlands

I had great memories of discovering this store by accident in the final hours of a previous visit to Osaka. Three years later, it certainly lived up to my recollections. This is an absolute must for fans of progressive rock with sections marked for French, Italian, Dutch, German, Japanese and general Euro. Strange continuity of prices in this department so keep flicking for random bargains.

I also got heavily amongst their AOR (always a hidden spot for Balearics!), industrial, French, Brazilian and Latin records as well as their expansive offering of J-pop and black music. I should have pillaged through their 45s but sometimes it’s hard to find the inspiration required to look through 1000s of 7”s with Japanese only sleeves and no English shortcuts. Very happy to find Pecker’s 10” here, recorded in Jamaica with Sly, Robbie, Augustus Pablo and ‘Minnie’ Yoshida.

No listening station but the owner will let you listen to one record on shop speakers – make it count!

Maru Ka Batsu Records & CDs, Yotsubashi Shin-Kosan Building 1-5-2, Kitahorie, Nishi-ku, Osaka-shi, Japan

If you’ve got a J-Rail pass and time permits, consider jumping a train to Kobe. I had much success here only a flat battery prevented me from documenting the experience. Heaps of amazing and cheap stores within close vicinity of Motomachi station, some of which were located in a long mall under the rail tracks including one that was like playing Tetris with floor to ceiling columns of records (it was a wonder how the owner actually got in and out everyday). Hangesha  was a great boutique of cosmic, electronic, outer funk, psychedelic, wave and general weird, while Rhythm Kings was the motherlode of world music covering all corners of the globe. This day trip from Osaka comes highly recommended! Just be prepared as most stores are cash only.

Whoa! Plakhane is a super nice store. Air conditioning, polished floor boards, great racks, listening table, sweet Turkish cuts! Thought I was never going to find it and had almost given up after a good half hour of fruitless laneway wandering, then I found it opposite a kind of car park.

The dude behind the jump was playing crazy records the whole time. He even picked out some funky Turkish jams for me after I asked him if he could recommend any.

Found a Turkish record here for a lovely price that was at the top of my wantlist. Happy customer! Recommended store.

Plakhane, Hocazade sokak 22, Beyoğlu Istanbul, Turkey

The guy at this store is so nice! He has been collecting and dealing for years and has many stories of his travels he’s willing to share over a complimentary tea.

I have fond memories of lying back on the steps in the store (that lead up to a small cafe), in awe of Baris Manco’s Sözüm Meclisten Dışarı LP as its next level jams tore through the killer sound system. A nice souvenir to take home and for a nice price and good condition – both rare features of Baris Manco records in Istanbul where the guy is a real legend.

Rainbow 45, Moda caddesi zuhal sokak 3/a Kadikoy Istanbul, Turkey

This one was tricky to find (though my internal compass is always off!) Apologies for the dud photos but I didn’t have my camera the first time I visited and when I came back, it was closed. At least we can show what the front looked like…

Nice set up in here. Well ordered, heaps of 7″s. Got that feeling where I knew there was hot stuff but I didn’t know how to locate it. There’s no actual listening station, just a booth set up behind the jump, a nice one actually. The guy asked if he could assist and I told him the things I was looking for.

He was happy to help and put records on while I kept looking. He was also more than happy to answer my questions about stuff. Limited English when it came to conversing but he let the music do the talking! Vintage Records is well worth a visit.

Vintage Records, Dr. Esat Isık Cd. 20 Kadikoy Istanbul, Turkey

Unfortunately the address for this shop is drawing blanks when I Google it. I stumbled upon this place so I didn’t have an address to reference in the first place. It’s near the other  record stores in Kadikoy so you could probably ask the staff for directions.

This shop really had everything. Killer stuff and all the classics. Only thing is, they knew what they had and a lot of the records were around $100. The store guys push stuff on you a bit and it’s like “oh nice, thanks but that’s a $200 record”. That said, I got a couple of nice ones for good prices and they have a lot of 7″s to go through. A really good store to go to if you know your Turkish stuff.

Plaçki Hamit, 45-33 Tas Plak, Kadikoy, Istanbul. (maybe)

Vinyl Kitchen is a great shop! Heaps of cool stuff. A real mix of everything. Listening booths are a good set-up: like you’re at an internet cafe. Nice to rest your legs in. Owner was very friendly, relaxed in-store vibe.

Heaps of jazz, interesting world section. Great disco section! Found a killer Brazilian record here that I was surprised to find and the guy in the store even said that he had never seen it before. Vinyl Kitchen is highly Recommended.

Vinyl Kitchen, Lange Violettestraat 160, Ghent, Belgium.