I’ve turned into a right lazy bastard when it comes to digging for records these days. It’s so much easier to go on Discogs/Juno/Bandcamp and scour their wares than to head up town and look for ‘stuff’.
The above applies to ‘discovering’ this particular record, ‘Boro’. This recommendation was gifted to me by Luke Una, waxing lyrical about it on his Insta stories, in-between his usual nonsense/sense. He was particularly excited as not only was it produced here in the UK, but also by one of his own – from Sheffield (a fellow Blades fan). The thing is Luke is generally on point when it comes to saying things are dead good, so it was a no brainer to head straight to Yarni’s Bandcamp and purchase after a quick scan of how it sounded. You kind of know it’s going to be good.
When you actually get this record in hand you realise that it’s a real labour of love, with the attention to detail being second to none. ‘Boro’ is taken from the Japanese word for patchwork textiles so it has a prevalent Japanese theme and a homage to denim (a limited Japanese denim sleeve was also available, now gone).
It’s not all about the looks either – the music throughout is a real melting pot of influences and styles to enable you to drop the needle and listen to its entirety and feel you’ve journeyed through all the elements whether it’s jazz, beats or electronica that floats your boat.
It’s very rare to get a record that manages to give you all of the sensory delights, but this does. Don’t take my word for it, go check it out for yourself here:
We were so impressed with Yarni, we got in touch with Benji to do a mix and whilst he was doing it we got him to give an insight to him by doing a Favourite Fives too, so hit the Soundcloud link and read more about him here:
https://soundcloud.com/proper_magazine/yarni-drinking-sake-in-the-golden-gai
Book
I’m going to tie together both Moby books (Porcelain & Then It Fell Apart) as they’re kinda an extension of each other. I found these two books incredibly inspiring & inciteful. I find the attention to the detail in his stories incredible, considering that for most of his life he’s been full of drugs & alcohol! I love the nostalgia of people documenting living in historically cool places and he does an incredible job of sucking you into his insane New York life!
Clothing
Momotaro – G014-MB selvedge denim jeans. These are the most cherished piece in my wardrobe. The quality is absolutely incredible, their attention to detail with the sashiko seat liner & the little internal designs really tick all of my boxes. They have a YouTube documentary which welcomes you to their world & helps you really appreciate the craft of their pieces. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek5520fSymY
Art
As I child I discovered M.C. Escher and it introduced me to worlds beyond what we see in front of us. His piece ‘Waterfall’ from 1961 is my standout piece, I always feel a little bit agitated when people view the piece and can’t understand how the flow of the water & the pillars simply doesn’t make sense!
Music
I have a wildly eclectic taste so this question is almost impossible for me to answer! I can rephrase this into ‘1970s recordings’. I obsess about working out how certain records were made. I find myself down many rabbit holes on forums studying microphone choices, drum tuning & studio equipment from classic 70s recordings. The likes of Cymande, Steely Dan & Fleetwood Mac really set the levels for me. I could go on forever about recording techniques!
Travel
Without doubt this rivals my music obsession. Thankfully my partner and I have managed to visit some incredible places & create unique stories which I love sharing with people. From travelling across South America eating with Peruvian children to getting a taxi with two Croatian lesbian ex-lovers an hour out of Zagreb to a rave on a lake, we’ve managed to broaden our horizons and I love it! Cannot wait to get back out there meeting people and causing absolute mayhem!!