Amo Spay, the owner of Distortion Records in Amsterdam is certainly in the right business. A record collector turned retailer, Amo can now not bolster his own collection by importing records for “the shop”, but he also caters for a city which he describes as having more DJs than regular people. He’s right, DJs aren’t regular people. Let hear what else he had to say…
Please introduce yourself and your shop…
My name is Amo Spay, and you are now in Distortion Records. It’s already 17 years that there’s a shop over here in the Westerstraat. We specialize in independent music, dance but also guitar music, and I run the shop by myself, but sometimes people help me.
Do you have an internet site?
And you’re also on Discogs?
Yeh, we have 7,500 items on Discogs. The account name is “distortionrecords”.
Roughly how many records do you think you have in stock?
I don’t know, but tens of thousands… maybe 50,000. I have also the 7,500 from discogs, which are not in shop. So maybe between 50,000 and 100,000 I think.
So, why did you decide to deal with records?
I am also a collector myself, so that’s now it started. I was looking for records and I could’t find them in the shops and so I thought maybe I would import them by myself, and that’s now it started. So it’s now easy for me to get all the records I want!
Who are your customers and how old are they?
They are between 25 and 30 years old but also people more than 45. But regularly it’s about between 25 and 30.
Do you have any famous names who shop here?
Yeh, but only Dutch customers. 100% Isis comes in sometimes. And DJ Maestro. He did some compilations for Blue Note, and he does jazz/funky kind of stuff. He also only DJs with vinyl. As for the rest, sometimes I think there are more DJs in Amsterdam than regular people.
Where do you get your records from?
Different distributors. From the Netherlands, but also from the outside.
New records and used records?
Used records I buy from people… But I also go out searching for records.
Do you have an archive system for your records?
I put everything in my catalogue. It’s the best way. I’m doing that all day, putting things in my catalogue, making packages and talking to my customers.
How do you recognize an interesting record?
That’s a difficult question. I always look at the sleeve of course, and label. And those are the things I’m really looking for. And sometimes you know I read about things on the internet on Pitchfork or that kind of thing. And then I choose to order it. But also you know, I haven’t heard all the records which come in.
Do you take any regular action to preserve your records?
No, only at home. Not here. When records are really dirty I clean them. But that doesn’t happen very often.
Do you have any tips for cleaning them? Do you have a secret recipe?
No, theres no secret recipe. The best way is… but thats a Dutch thing. It’s called Dreft. You heard about it? It’s for dish washing. You clean it with warm water and then put it on the turntable, and then the first time there will be some dust on the needle, but the second time it will be OK. If there are scratches you cannot do anything about it, but when it’s about fatty fingers or something like that, you can clean it.
What would be your oldest or most valuable record in the store?
Most of the time it will be punk records. The most expensive record I have sold was Clan Of Xymox I think. They are a Dutch band, a new wave band. They still exist, but it’s really popular in Germany as well. And that was the first EP, limited to 500, which I sold for 250 euros. But in my own collection I have a lot of really rare records.
And the rarest in your own collection?
A psychedelic record for a couple of thousand euros… What’s the name again!? It’s a psychedelic, kind of swamp blues record. Really good. I think that’s maybe the most expensive. But of course sometimes you even don’t know how much it is worth because you cant find it anywhere. And you know that it must be really rare because you can’t find it on any site on the internet.
Is there any record in particular that you crave for your collection?
Yeh… It’s still the first 7inch from Nirvana. I heard it from John Peel when it came out on the radio – all these first Sub Pop singles. I have looked for it everywhere but I cannot not find it.
Do people ever steal records from your store?
Not very often. It happens but not very often.
How do you set prices for rare records?
I look at the wholesale price, and then multiply by 1.4. It’s regular. I think it’s not really expensive.
Are you a DJ, or musician as well?
No, no. Only this. I have really loads of records at home. I’m really a big collector.
And a notoriously difficult question to finish on, but what are your 5 all-time favorite records?
Love – Forever Changes
Velvet Underground & Nico
Broadcast’s first album (a bit like stereolab, but much better!)
Nirvana – Bleach
Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On
but also, Neil Young’s first album [Neil Young] and LCD Soundsystem are also really good – the second album…
Westerstraat 244
1015 MT AMSTERDAM
Netherlands
And check out their website HERE for directions and a rather nice little stroll through Amsterdam…
Photos by SEBASTIAN MARGGRAF.
