Mark Szawlowski waxes poetic about records. Plus a handful of places to find ‘em on both sides of the Bosphorus.

 The vinyl experience. A large square of occasionally inspired artwork. A clean cardboard and-print smell when bought new. A whiff of damp squat and house dust when second-hand. That slither-sound as record exits protective sleeve. The off-chance of inserted liner notes by the artist (see Brian Eno), or other esoteric digery-poguery. If it’s a double-album, which order do you play it? And Christ, looky-here! This one has a fold-out sleeve, and it’s a different color from the US release. A quick hold up to the light for any knowing messages etched near its belly-button. Then that needle-thread-careful delivery to the platter, and finally, the audible pop as stylus meets vinyl. Pure undiluted mojo. All this action, and track one of the A side has yet to kick in.

 

Yes, yes, I know. Even the CD, once revered for blending light technology with light weight and stackability now seems passé. Today, every song you’ve ever heard is storable and searchable on a chip made by a gnat on half an atom.  Be honest though, as a virtual artifact, the MP3 has less charm than Ronald McDonald with a boner. But don’t misunderstand me. Records are not a rival to zeroes and ones. And they don’t really try to be. Your iPod, after all, has more processing and storage technology than NASA c.1985, and came free with your last six-pack of Stella.  So, what then to be said of an audio technology so mechanical that it attracts more fluff than a PR flyer in a trouser pocket? And with an old-school tendency to repeat itself... repeat itself... repeat itself, while you’re way across the room lost in safe sex? Perhaps inevitably, records for the current generation of audiophiles are largely props, sonically useful only to DJ’s in cans and stupid hats. This is a bit sad; especially when you think that the 33rmp record (like the 78rmp before it) captured for posterity all those pioneering artists that formed our understanding of modern popular music. And as for the 45rmp, well... Singles have got to be one of the most stylish round objects since Jean-Jacques Rousseau invented plastic. Or was it Barry Rousseau, I forget? Anyway, I recall the first single I ever bought, in 1979, was “Cool for Cats” by post-punk ensemble, Squeeze, with self-taught neckphobe Jools Holland on keyboards. It was neon pink, and the sleeve (embarrassing to recall now) had pills all over it. The B side was called Model, and hadn’t made the album for one reason. Like a Hoover, or a babe-in-arms, it sucked.

 

And that slightly overweight jog down memory-lane brings me up to the present. Readers will now hopefully be in one of two camps: A) Already friends of the vinyl, or B) converted and shamelessly gagging to start their own collections. Anyone in group C) can f....

 

So, where to buy in İstanbul? Well, some years back larger music stores like Megavizyon in İstiklal Caddesi took the plunge with shiny new records, even stocking those Numark™ portable turntables to cheaply get the ball rolling for novices lacking hardware like amp, turntable, and so on. This attempt however, had the longevity of a tubercular butterfly in a walk-in fridge. So, secondhand it is then. But where..? What now..?

 

The shopping passages off İstiklal, such as Balık Pasajı offer a dusty cornucopia of local music, mostly nostalgic 1970 and 1980 singles, and mostly without sleeves. This reflects that heart-crunching tendency years ago to stack records like toast in a rack that didn’t fit the sleeve. Why? No, the real groove is to be found at Deform Records on Turnacıbaşı Street parallel to İstiklal Boulevard, and just down from the historic Galatasaray Hamam. Here you can buy from vinyl aficionados who regularly stock up abroad, and whose collection ranges from classic rock and disco to soul, post-punk and a rather nice range of alternative sound. Oh, and of course they also sell cds. Next month, I call for the return of C90 blank tapes and public workhouses. I simply won’t tolerate homeless people with iPods.

 

Deform Müzik, Çukurcuma

Turnacıbaşı Cad. No: 45 Çukurcuma // Beyoğlu

Istanbul

Turkey

Tel: 0212 245 33 37

 

ON THE ASIAN SIDE

 

 

Aral Koleksiyon 
Kadıköy İş Merkezi (Ptt Arkası) No: 28 (Orta Kat) Kadıköy
Tel: 0216 449 09 50

Atlantis
Akmar Pasajı

Engin Plak Evi
Kadıköy İş Merkezi (Ptt Arkası) No: 10/3 (Zemin Kat) Kadıköy
Tel: 0216 348 83 09

Zero Müzik
Caferağa Mh. Kadife Sk. No: 8 Kadıköy
Tel: 0216 347 27 37

Zihni Müzik 
Mühürdar Cd. Akmar Pasajı 70/13 Kadıköy
Tel: 0216 349 22 68

 

 

ON THE EUROPEAN SIDE

Deform Müzik, Çukurcuma
Tel: 0212 245 33 37

Turnacıbaşı Cad. No: 45 Çukurcuma // Beyoğlu
 

Karga
 
Tel: 0212 245 48 36 Beyoğlu

Köstebek 
Tel: 0212 292 94 16) Beyoğlu

8kitap (Sekiz Kitap) www.sekizkitap.com
Telefonlar: 0532 541 02 16
mail: mkalkan@sekizkitap.com

Hey Plak
Unkapanı
Unkapanı cd. No: 41 (İMÇ 6. Blok Otopark İçi)
Telefonlar: 0212 520 09 35 - 0533 529 81 49
mail: heyplak@hotmail.com

Zaman Tüneli
Şisli
Abide-i Hürriyet Cd. Reha Yurdakul Sk. 269/1
Telefonlar: 0212 231 47 07 - 0537 831 96 96
mail: plakdostu@hotmail.com

Mamati Koleksiyon
Bakırköy
Kartaltepe Mahallesi (İstasyon Tarafı) Filiz Sokak No : 9/A 
Telefonlar: 0212 466 34 81 - 0542 773 39 91
mail: mamatikoleksiyon@hotmail.com
web: www.mamatikoleksiyon.com