A series where music lovers share some of their hidden gems.

Number 83 is by Gabriel Rai, a London based selector.

Find the record here

Tell me about your musical roots

I grew up in a home where the radio was always blaring, it was small apartment so you could hear it from all corners. Trevor Nelsons show on BBC radio was my mums favourite, she would shout from the kitchen “musical education” and I’d run in and she would explain the record that was playing and who it was, who produced the record and then go on tangents of their other musical forays. She was a working Jazz singer in those times, so I grew up on a heavy’s influence of not only Jazz but soul, funk and dance music. The dance music stemming from her heavy involvement in London club culture in the late 80’s and early 90’s, I’d hear tales of Shoom, Spectrum and Boy’s Own, the Dj’s playing and the sound they were pioneering which is what inspired me to buy turntables and start collecting records at a very young age.

What is your favourite place to dig and why?

I get the most joy out pf physical digging wether that be private sellers or in record shops, the personal connection you get when digging through someones collections and the stories they have about them is always a special value added, you get to see their reactions first hand when they see what you are buying and its a positive exchange of a shared passion.  That being said Discogs is a rabbit hole that often keeps me up into the early hours of the morning and has been a positive replacement for less healthy activities like doom scrolling on social media, I appreciate the precision you can achieve.

What do you listen to when you want to chill?

The dub mixes on old reggae 7’s, I got to see The Scientist recently which was a real treat. Other than that I listen to a lot of soul, jazz and northern soul with wave and melancholic electro for those more emotive days.

Can you share with me your favourite podcast at the moment?

Working in a record shop, while I’m not playing records from the stock, I’m often listening to podcasts so I get through quite a fair few. Hard to narrow it down to one so I would say Yuta Suzuki on Faciendo for a beautifully constructed journey, Kabuto’s boss podcast on syrup to get into gear, and anything from the Sunday Downtime series from the South London outfit for when I’m looking to switch off and have a cuppa.