Record Store #12 – St. Petersberg, Russia

D2,

Nevsky Prospekt, St. Petersberg, Russia

Not to be confused with the clothes shop chain, this uninspiring record shop along the bustling Nevsky Prospect street,  is a pirate-ship of stores, albeit with a treasure trove within.

Offering knock-off DVDs and video-games in one room, and CDs (most of which are pirated copies)  in another, the shop on the whole has little of interest to anyone with more than a passing interest in music.  We had entered the shop, browsed the racks with disdain and were turning to leave as I spied the store’s single redeming feature.

A bargain bin offering legit CDs at 30 roubles (59p) grabbed my attention, with it’s pile of Fabric mixes sitting near the top of the pile.  I sort through the lot and find Fabric 25 Mixed By Carl Craig (a classic techno/ house mix with tracks from Kerri Chandler, Scott Grooves and, err, The Pasta Boys), along with Fabric 26 mixed by Global Communication (aka Tom Middleton & Mark Pritchard).

Beneath a dirge of R&B compilations, I find another mix entitled ‘Elektrik 02′, a double disc outing from King Unique and Nubreed,  filled with goodies from Modeselektor, Claude Von Stroke, Steve Bug, Booka Shade, Felix Da Housecat, Thomas Schumacher, Milton Jackson… I could go on.  The shop, despite its lack of character, ambience, or selection, is on is way to becoming legendary.

Above: Nevsky Prospect

The last CD I discover, at the very bottom of the bin, is Moby’s 2008 album, Last Night – a homage to the disco and house tracks of the early ’90s, when the bald headed leftie was still making his name.  The album got lukewarm reviews on its release in 2008, but I think it was under-rated and, as a concept album, work wells.

As I take my armful of CDs to the counter and hand them to the grimacing clerk at the till (who is fashioning the kind of vacant expression made famous by American teenagers), I remind myself that sometimes the best purchases are in the worst shops.  And with that depressing manta, I lay down the cash and give the attentdant a genuine, unreturned, smile.

Purchase:

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]

Moby – Last Night – £0.59 [Tracklisting]

Total Purchases:

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]

Samim: Flow – £1.98 [Tracklisting]

Total Spend: £21.77