Last blog post was in September…. it's kinda strange this blog thing, constantly want to write stuff for it, and also the zine… it happens when it happens!
So this time round there's a couple of books I really wanted to mention, so here goes!
First up is '25 Years of Techno Art' by Abdul Qadim Haqq (You'll have to forgive the crude photo's). I became a fan of Abdul's work from when I first got into Underground Resistance and saw the artwork that he contributed. I was really into the way the visuals worked with the music. A few years after that I stumbled upon a compilation album that he put together, Technanomicron (it was an influence for the 'Light of Day' cdr that was released last year). I was exposed to more of his artwork:
He's created visuals for Model 500 (Juan Atkins):
From reading the book, it's clear that those he has worked with hold him in high regards. His art has a very futuristic feel to it, it's beautiful, appealing and warming to the eye. His book contains some of the art he has created over the years. It also tells his story of how he started, to where he is now. It's a really interesting read, and it's evident that he has a unique experience and history in Techno (there's lots of very cool people he has worked with: UR, Drexciya, Jeff Mills, Rick Wilhite, Orlando Voorn, the list goes on!). I can't recommend the book enough for fans of techno, and also for those that are interested in futuristic images. It's honestly written and you can't go wrong with that.
Next up is a book by Eilon Paz, it's called 'Dust & Grooves - Adventures in Record Collecting'.
This book is about the beauty of collecting records and what it means to the various people that were photographed and interviewed. The book is roughly split between photos with captions, and in-depth interviews on some record collectors, for instance: Gilles Peterson, Gaslamp Killer, King Brit plus more.
I haven't read the whole book from cover to cover, it's nice to flick through it here and there whenever there's a few minutes. Personally, I like to collect records and I have a preference for this format over mp3's and other 'digital' formats. While reading the book it cements how I feel about records, and there's some really nice quotes in the book to help confirm that.
You don't have to be a record collector/enthusiast to appreciate this book either. I see the book as documenting vinyl culture. It's something that's important to me because it almost feels like it's becoming extinct - but when it becomes documented like this it's available for future generations and I think that's a great thing.
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