Eilon Paz’s ‘Dust & Grooves’ Digs Into the Private Lives — and Libraries — of the World’s Most Obsessive Record Collectors

By Matthew Ismael Ruiz

Sep. 16, 2015

Dust & Grooves is the result of an Israeli-American photographer’s six-year obsession with records and the weirdos who collect them. First inspired to become a photographer by the powerful imagery covering Pink Floyd’s Animals record, Eilon Paz turned a passion-project record-collecting blog into a self-published book, and now, a beautiful 428-page hardcover volume of photos, essays and interviews out now on Ten Speed Press that’s worthy of the obsession that brought it to life.

Since 2009, Paz has been touring the globe, seeking out the seekers — collectors of all ages, tastes and colors. He found Japanese jazz heads, West African dealers, New York nerds and all manner of weirdness in between. There’s a guy who collects Sesame Street records, a woman who specializes in ’60s girls groups, and countless dudes with cats. His blog, and the subsequent book, makes no judgement about the characters it features, rather, it allows them to share a piece of their private selves, a glimpse into their lives and listening rooms.

The Ten Speed Press version of the book features some big names: The Wu Tang Clan’s RZA wrote the foreword, Jeff “Chairman” Mao the introduction, and everyone’s favorite late-night bandleader Questlove is interviewed. The glossy front half of the book is image-heavy, showing off the photos Paz made on his tour of the globe, peppered with pull quotes from the collectors featured. The matte back half of the book is populated by interviews, featuring the aforementioned Questlove, Gaslamp Killer, Gilles Peterson, and Four Tet’s Kieran Hebden. The book even highlights the communal aspect of the project; Sheila Burgel, the collector who specializes in girl groups, is listed on the Dust & Grooves website as an editor.

Paz is currently touring to promote the book, with events in both NY & LA. And while the project is now a book and the book is now published, the community that has developed around isn’t going anywhere. To buy a copy, click here.