Here we go folks; the next instalment of Shop Sounds brought to you by Wellgosh.
This one is a special one for us. The culmination of hours spent chewing the fat on the train from Market Harborough to London, surrounding all sorts of topics, all of which inevitably leading back to fashion and music.
When we travel to London from our hometown of Leicester, we tend to drive to Market Harborough and get the train from there. This isn’t because we like the trip through the countryside in the morning (although it is a beautiful one), or because of the rich Anglo-Saxon history the quintessentially English market town has to boast (also very interesting), and definitely not because it was the epicentre of fox hunting back in the 1800s (!!!). No, we get the train to London from Market Harborough because our wonky UK train lines mean you save best part of £30 by making the 12 mile drive. Top tip.
During our years of traveling back and forth the Big Smoke, we have familiarised ourselves with other regular faces on the platform edge, none more so than Colin McBean, aka Mr. G (when you see a limited edition pair of dead stock dunks amongst a sea suits and briefcases you can’t help but pay attention). What began as passing conversations about upcoming footwear releases, compliments on each others choice of outerwear and why the 09.13 always arrives after 9.16, it slowly emerged that Colin’s agenda in London wasn’t to do with fashion at all. He was going digging in London’s longstanding record shop scene to top up his continuously growing collection of vinyl that has formed the foundation of his illustrious career in the music industry.
Pioneer probably gets banded about more than it should, but Mr. G has been heavily involved in the UK’s house and techno scene since the early ‘90s. A founding member of legendary techno crew The Advent, and releasing music under several guises along the way. He settled as Mr.G more than 20 years ago, releasing records on labels like Defected, Warm Sounds, Bass Culture, Boiler Room, DBA (to name a few) plus a string (or more like a rope) of self released records on his own label Phoenix G. He has toured all over the world and if his Boiler Room is anything to go by, his live set looks like its a spectacle well worth trying to see in the flesh.
This mix celebrates years of dreams coming true. It is made up of records he bought during his many trips to Tokyo, a place he holds dear in his heart. Jam packed full of hard to find and unheard gems that span the electronic music scene, this Shop Sounds will go down as a future classic. It pays homage to the city where he brought back fabrics for his wife and partner in crime Cath during every trip. Little did either of them know that over two decade later these fabrics would form the basis of their next chapter. But more on that coming up soon, keep em peeled folks!
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