In the vinyl collecting world, the combination of the two words in this post title above is the bane of most record hoarders' lives. Sometimes their quest to keep their records preserved and free from foreign bodies can become an obsession. Personally I don't mind the odd bit of static or a crusty sounding drum break, and I buy my records to rock them not just to stick in a pile for posterity. However if we were instead talking about the website DUST & GROOVES, then I would go as far as to say it is a serious contender for the best vinyl related site on the web.
Set up and run by EILON PAZ (a serious collector himself who has a long standing love for photography also), the site documents some of the more serious record collectors across the globe and features EILON's amazing photography. The site has been running for some years already but has recently undergone a re-vamp and is now bumper full of interviews and extraordinary photos taken everywhere from New York to Paris and from Cuba to right here in London. If YOU are a serious vinyl collector then you NEED to get over to DUST & GROOVES and indulge in all things vinyl. If you've not been over to DUST & GROOVES before then you are in for a real treat I promise you.
"DUST & GROOVES is a photography and interview project documenting vinyl collectors in their most natural and intimate environment: the record room. Dust & Grooves maintains the integrity and history of vinyl, as well as the musical heritage that goes along with every record in these collections. Dust & Grooves is the only project of its kind that documents vinyl lovers and their collections in this most intimate way. The project will continue to help preserve the integrity of vinyl records as well as the many colorful personalities that collect them. As technology moves forward and many music formats go digital, Dust & Grooves helps keep the rich, warm, analog life of vinyl spinning. Originally from Israel, EILON PAZ has traveled the world, from Australia to Cuba and Argentina to Ghana, in pursuit of intriguing and memorable subjects. In addition to managing his own photography studio in Tel Aviv for eight years, EILON has shot for Israel’s top cultural publications and for the acclaimed cookbook The Book of New Israeli Food (Schocken/Random House). Eilon’s work has appeared in worldwide publications such as Wax Poetics, Saveur, Monocle, Conde Nast Traveler, and Delta Airlines Sky magazines, and French music magazine Vibrations. His lifetime of photography experience shines through in his most personal project, DUST & GROOVES"