Record Store #17 – Beijing, China

Music Store
Dongsi Nandjie, Beijing, China

The jewel in Beijing’s crown, Music Store is possibly one of the best record shops in Asia, let alone China or its capital.  A reprise amongst the dull smatterings of shoe and trinket shops that make up Dongsi road, the oddly shaped shop front and soft neon blue sign soothe customers into the realms of vinyl and beyond.

Inside we are greeted by an enthusiastic gang of shop workers / people hanging out, and who, on learning of my interest in the Manchurian band, play what they say is the nearest China has to Joy Division. To be honest, it sounds closer to a band imitating Interpol imitating Curtis & co.,  but surrogate bands are never high on my agenda of tastes anyway.

Surrounded by framed iconic photos of Jagger, Lenon and Cobain etc, we browse the highly stacked shelves of vinyl, which slowly dissolve into a wide-ranging collection of CDs. We slow down as we pass a whole shelf dedicated to The Beatles on re-pressed vinyl, meander through the imported LPs (why do Japan always get the good stuff?), before speed back up again on the sight of The Spice Girls ‘Wanna’, a 12” press from Hong Kong in the mid nineties’.

Its not long before I find something I can’t resist – in the shape of Underworld’s Back To Mine CD (in-case you don’t know, Back To Mine is a series of musical compilations, in which an artist/ group is asked to choose a selection or mix of music that they would play at an end-of-nighter at their place). They don’t just have Underworld’s mix, lining the shelves are similar ‘BTM’ outings of Carl Craig, Groove Armada, Royksopp, Everything But The Girl….

The assistant plays the CD over the shops PA for us, and Underworld’s intricate mix of hip-hop, acid, house and all things tribal bowls me over. Flying from Aphex Twin to TLC to Dead Prez, and introducing me to the legend who is Gil Scott Heron, the mix shouldn’t work, but it does, beautifully.

Unable to resist, I take the CD to the desk, lay down forty-five yuan, and leave the coolest shop in Beijing China.

Purchase:

Underworld – Back To Mine – £4.05 [Tracklisting]

Total Purchases:

A Camp – Colonia – £1.36 [Tracklisting]

Armand Van Helden – Ghetto Blaster – £1 [Tracklisting]

Club Azuli 1 – Mixed By Dave Piccioni – £0.48 [Tracklisting]

Club Azuli Part 2 – Mixed By Dave Piccioni – £0.79 [Tracklisting]

Chemical Brothers, The: Brothers Gonna Work It Out – £2.77 [Tracklisting]

Defected In The House – Mixed By Copyright – £0.79 [Tracklisting]

DJ Hardy Heller – Mix In Motion – £1  [Tracklisting]

DJ Shadow – The New Collection – £2.38

Elektrik 02 – Mixed By King Unique & Nubreed – £0.59 [Tracklisting]

Fabric 25 – Mixed By Carl Craig – £0.59 [Tracklisting]

Fabric 26 – Mixed By Global Communication – £0.59 [Tracklisting]

Le Le – Breakfast 12″ – £8.24 [Tracklisting]

Moby – Last Night – £0.59 [Tracklisting]

Roger Waters – The Wall Live In Berlin – £3.64 [Tracklisting]

Santos – Camels 12″ – £1.18 [Tracklisting]

Samim: Flow – £1.98 [Tracklisting]

Underworld – Back To Mine – £4.05 [Tracklisting]

Underworld – Cowgirl (Remixes) 12″ – £1.18 [Tracklisting]

Underworld – Underneath The Radar 12″ – £8.91 [Tracklisting]

Total Spend: £42.09