There’s been a box with a shelf in it in the corner of the In Deep library that was originally supposed to be in that room, but the space didn’t allow it (or was it the spacemen)? Today it occurred to me that there was a space for it in the main Archive room, so I broke it open and was faced with the IKEA CONUNDRUM!!! Would these simple instructions have me put it together the wrong way ‘round, upside down, inside out? Would I be left with more screws than I should have? Would I break one of those wooden pegs that you are supposed to insert into the appropriate hole, line up and push together? Yes, I definitely would.
So I put this square white Kallax by the door in the main Archive room and at last had a place for the record cleaning machine (a necessity in an Archive). It’s been sitting on the mini-fridge by the window in the front, a place where it can never get used, too high up and no room around it. It’s a Moth (the brand) and it’s noisy, you can only really use it wearing noise-cancelling headphones, it’s like working in the machine room of a late 19th-century factory. But it does a great job of sucking dirt out of the grooves, getting into the places where wiping with a damp cloth is not going to make a difference. A record has valleys where nasty critters live and crackle (and cackle).
On other meaningful events, Nicklas has played Mellotron on another track which he sent to me today. We’ll have a chat about it tomorrow, but that’s three songs that will find their way to a release and I will post about where they will appear in the coming months. Also, we’re in the process of trying to find a booking agent in America and today we sent some songs to him, fingers crossed, we need an agent to play.
Because of the IKEA scenario, I spent time today emptying boxes, disposing of them and continuing to sort records and put them away, if I don’t do it, I will be 99 before it’s done. Back to mixes tomorrow, the mystery project and NJ Brian’s Valley of Salt and exploring the possibility of a live stream as the reality of the Archive expenses hits home, I keep on saying it’s one thing having it, it’s another thing keeping it. The whole income issue for musicians post streaming hits home when you don’t sell enough records to find an audience, or when the streaming competition is so massive. Never before have people had such a choice and been able to listen to so much for relatively little. It doesn’t really matter to the big bands, it means everything to the little ones.
Music today has been Wishbone Ash – s/t (1970), Gary Clark Jr. – JPEG Raw (2024), Emilíana Torrini – Miss Flower (2024), Nancy & Lee – s/t (1968), The Cars – Candy-O (1979), Paul Quinichette – Moods (1954). So pick one, let’s go with Wishbone Ash, the first album I played today.