KON & AMIR WORLDWIDE CRATEDIGGIN'

Today we break the rule: here’s an interview of some nowadays people. But don’t worry, these guys are definitly connected with the golden era we all love and respect. Kon & Amir, for those who don’t know, are maybe the world most famous crate diggers. A street art they share with everybody with their On Track mix tapes, a blend of the hottest loops, breaks and samples you could found in the world of hip hop. The last one, Trans Europ Express, as its name and cover makes you guess (a graphic sample of the Jacky Giordano Pop In Devil’s Train on Montparnasse 2000), focusing on the european groove.
Here’s another reason why these guys are interesting: their knowledge about records go far beyond the US frontiers, and probably open the ears of lot of actual producers who’re using european samples (like the Beatnuts or Madlib).
The last reason is the release of their new compilation: Uncle Jr’s “The Cleaning”, where they give you the opportunity to listen some of their most loved records, from rare afro groove to boogie and disco funk.
Let’s talk with this open mind collectors!

Could you present yourself to the frenchattack audience ?
Amir: First, my name is Amir Abdullah aka DJ Amir. I work at Fat Beats as the VP of Sales & A/R. I am from Boston, Mass., but have been living in Brooklyn, NY.
Kon: This is kon

Where and when did you guys met and why are you teammate for so long?
A: Kon and I met in Boston in 1996 in Biscuithead Records (a local boston record). I happen to be talking about records with the owner of the store and Kon overheard me. We kinda just became friends after talking for like mad long that day about record collecting.
K: Amir was promoting for edo.g, another fellow bostonian, we became friends thru music... have similar taste and we knew a lot of the same people...it’s a small world
A: We have been friends and DJ partners for so long because we respect each other and we work really well together.

You were famous in the beat diggin’ scene for your On Track Mixtapes, could you explain the main concept behind it and why did you make it?
A: The concept behind the On Track series is just showing appreciation for music and our favorite hip-hop producers. Both of us had been making tapes just for our friends and just for us, but in 97' we decided to start making those tapes for the masses.
K: The concept for "ontrack" was basically...putting together our collections and exposing the roots of hip-hop. We wanted to hear this more for ourselves as well, others just happen to like it too.
A: We felt that there were a lot of sample tapes out at the time that really didn't highlight the real hot samples that really had people open. Also we just wanted to show cats that we got records too.

I read on the Wax Poetics pages that you decide to make it because of DJ Muro claiming himself as being the “King Of Diggin’”, is that true?
A: As far Muro calling himself the king of diggin, we felt that was very wack because no one is the king of diggin.
K: We didnt really set out to do "on track" with dj muro being the catalyst, we just thought it was strange that with so many collectors and djs that have come before us..that one man can be "king", there is no king...to me anyway.

Are you agree if I say that the On Track serie is the Ultimate Break & Beats of the new century?
A: I am surprised that you are calling the On Track series the"Ultimate Breaks and Beats" of the new century. I never thought of our series as such. However, we have had a lot tell us that were blown away by the records on the series. I think when someone like Mr.Walt from Da Beatminerz says that when he gets beat block he throws on an On Track cd and gets out of beat block.
K: I think if you want to consider "ontrack" as todays version of ultimate breaks and beats...thats a complement, to say the least..they are good educational tools as well

After 5 volumes of strictly breaks and loops « On Tracks » mix tapes, Kon & Amir visit europ, highlighting polish, german and french grooves and, this is new, putting larger extracts than the usual “breakbeat or loop part” of the chosen tracks !

 

Since when are you collecting records?
A: I bought my first record in 1978. But I didn't get real serious about record collecting until 1986.
K: I started collecting when i was about 6 years old which was about 1977, but really got serious
in 1988.

What’s the size of your collection and what do we find in it?
A: I have about 13,000 records. In my collection you will find a lot of rare jazz records, funk, soul, and hip-hop.
K: I have about 10,000 records...latin, sountracks, libraries, funk, jazz, soul, kids lps...and a lot of 12"s good boogie, disco jazz funk...I don’t have a lot of 45s tho!

What’s for you to be a crate digger? Any spiritual sense in it?
A: To be crate digger one must be willing to spend a lot of time in a dirty record store. You must be willing to go thru someone's garbage to find records. It can also mean not having a steady girl because most women don't understand why we collect records. It takes a lot of dedication, skill, know-how, and patience. The spiritual sense for me in record collecting comes from me just growing up in a household of music. Music can invoke all types of emotions and feelings.
K: Digging for me is all about learning...since I’m passionate about music ...it comes easy to me. Finding an old record that blows your mind is like ...good food or sex.

You guys are not producers or well known DJs (at least in europ), describing you more as archivists and connectors between past and future, could you develop?
K: I am a producer, I’ve produced for j-treds on bobittos now defunct label "fondle'em" as well as 12"s for ripshop on the rawkus label with High & Mighty" also ripshop 12" with Mr.Lif "shoplif" which also appears on Mark Farinass "mushroom jazz vol.5" and I did a track for the High Times compilation and I’ve also done work with Edo.g for a 12" of “sayin somthin'” remix....I’ve been producing since 1990.
A: We are well known in europe for digging because record collecting is huge in europe. In fact, I believe people in Europe appreciate good music more than americans. Which is sad because most of the music that record collectors go crazy over is american. To be honest, Kon and I never started to be archivist or connectors between the past and future. We just wanted to expose people to good music that we knew about and grew up with.

I presume you provide in wax lot of well know producers.. are you proud when you hear on radio a killer track with a sample coming from a record you give or sell to the producer? Do you think beat diggers like you deserve some props in the track success? Or all eyes have to be on the track maker?
A: Well, I definitely believe that beat diggers should get some kind of props for helping a producer find a rare gem to make a great song. However, the new school of hip hop producers in America don't care about record collecting they just want to make money. They don't care about records at all. If you look at all the legendary hip-hop producers, they are record collectors and djs. These new cats just want to have us to show them the hot samples, they don't wanna dig for records at all.
K: When I hear tracks that I have the original break for, and the way the producer uses it sucks ...it makes me feel like they wasted it. When I have been sitting on a track with the same sample, years before the other producer uses it, and I flip the sample 10x better then the producer..its like it makes you dig deeper I guess.

What’s your main ways to find US records?
K: finding records in the US is not as easy as it was...but still go to flea markets, thrift shops, dealers...etc
A: There are many ways. Like going to old furniture stores, antique shops, a lot of bodegas in NYC have had a lot of great records. We have a lot of good records in the smaller US states too. Local record shops haven't had people looking for the record that I am looking for.

One of the plus in your On Track serie is that you give large part to the european records, for example Egon from Stones Throw said that you’re the first to put on light the La Planete Sauvage soundtrack in USA, what’s your way of finding foreign records?
A: The way I have found many european records is thru research, and my european friends that are record collectors too. I found the La Planete Sauvage record in the basement of a records shop in Colorado for 79 cents. Now that record back in NY used to go for 150 dollars. I read a lot too, so I used to read a lot about european jazz artists.
K: I get foreign lps from contacts I have overseas too, and sometimes they pop up in the USA.

Lot of US producers don’t know about and don’t need european breaks, mostly because of the large amount of US records existing, what or who make you discover and give you interest to the european stuff?
A: I got interested in european records and breaks because I am into jazz. I wanted to know about Ian Carr who played with Miles Davis. Then I wanted to know about other european artists. I wanted to know about all the american jazz artists that came to europe to live and play with
european cats.
K: I discovered euro records in the usa...from just digging and also this guy Bob Gibson who was a dealer/collector.
A: Most americans think that the only good music comes from the US, but we all know that's not true.

(Picture courtesy of Wax Poetics) On this Kon & Amir “Floor of Fame”, mixed with world gems like Star Reality LP and Placebo Balls Of Eyes, you can notice some dope french stuff, from Michel Sardaby Gail and Harlem Pop Trotters LP to Vincent Gemignani Musique Pour Un Voyage Extraordinaire.

 

 

 

 

 

Is A1 in NYC, which was famous for his foreign section some years ago, was one of the source?
A: A-1 Records was definitely a major source for me learning and buying european records.
K: Aldo (NDLR: Aldo Rosatti, one of the french owner of A-1 back in the days with Romain “Lord Funk”) is the man that hooks me up with a lot of good shit.

Any anecdotes in your life of crate digger?
A: I used to be intern at Big Beat records in 1995. And I wasn't a paid intern, so I would steal Artifacts promo or Madskillz promos and exchange them for rare records at A-1 records. I even used to steal the hip-hop stickers at Big Beat and sell them to a japanese dealer. One time he couldn't pay me in cash, so he gave me four Mulatu Of Ethiopia LPs instead (Note: The Mulatu LP
is an Ethiopian jazz holy grail leaving these days for about 500$).

Have you ever done something tricky to grab a record?
A: I used to be a college radio dj at my university. I would still go back after I graduated pretend that I still went to school there. They would let me in the radio station and I would try to take as many dope records as I could. One time I got caught by the program director of the station, and I got out of it because explaining I was taking the records for research for my socialogy class. He actually believe me and he let me go with the records.
K: I’ve done some grimy shit to get records too: radio stations, public libraries, etc… ha ha!

What do you think of internet and Ebay in the crate diggin’ game?
K: Ebay is good and bad...good if you know exactly what your looking for, bad if you’re guessing...and also you’re competing with a global market...so things that go for $3-5 dollars I see go for $50 ...so you gotta know your shit!
A: The only problem I have with internet digging or only using ebay to dig is that you don't learn about digging. If you go only with what people give you or present to you then you'll never find that good gem that no one else knows.

What do you think of reissues?
K: Reissues are great for playing out records in your collection you dont want to bring out... the OG's stay safe at home...
A: Exactly, but if you only have reissues and nothing else then that's wack. Not all the great music has been reissued.

Could you explain the main concept of your new release: The Cleaning, second volume of the Fish Fry serie?
A: The main concept of the Cleaning is just trying to bring good grown music to to people looking for a more mature type of music. We wanted to create a “party feel good” vibe on this cd. If you
put this cd at a party it would definitely rock that party.

The main idea in The Cleaning seems to be the pleasure of music and to refuse any “record nerdery”: I mean by this that you don’t put the rarest record you can tracklist in it but the one you love the most and could be appreciate by anybody, is that true?
A: We didn't put the rarest records in our collection, but there are some really rare records on the cd. We also didn't want to go over most people's heads, so we put some more familiar songs on the cd as well. But even the more familiar songs are still very rare songs. We want everybody to enjoy this cd as much as possible. That means serious record collectors and just the average music lover too.

Avoiding the strictly record nerdery and one-break track, Kon & Amir, with The Cleaning, mix rare dope classics 100% Pure Poison “Windy C” and Mighty Ryders “Evil Vibrations” with more obscure stuff like Band X “Home”, just for moving the crowd!

 

 

 

It seems to have a lot of you in it too, every tracks seems to be close-connected to your history, this is more than just a rare groove compilation, right?
A: A lot of the songs that are on the cd mean a lot to me because it reminds of the time period in my life when I first got those records. Whether I was going through some hard times or good times, most of the songs I choose because they reflect something of myself definitely.

You went on tour in europ, do you see Djing activity as a sort of way to make discover and educate people about records, or is it just plain fun?
A: I see our tour in europe as fun and as us trying to educate people about good music that may not know about. Plus, we did a lot of record shopping in europe as well. I got a lot of dope european records.

What would be your advice(s) for a guy who would start to dig and collect records?
A: My advice to anyone getting to record collecting is to ask questions and most importantly just dig in your local record shop. Try to look for certain artists, instruments, or labels that you like. Everyone started off collecting Blue Note records first then they went to other obscure labels and artists. Don't get influenced by what other people are buying. Try to develop your own style and technique.

Finally, could you tell us about your most loved record and give a top5 for french records/track/breaks?
A: My favorite record is a Horace Silver record called Six Pieces of Silver on Bluenote Records recorded in 1956. This is definitely my favorite record!!
My top five french records/breaks are as as follows:
1. AIRTO FOGO – S/T (Studio Davout)
2. HARLEM POP TROTTERS – S/T (Les Tréteaux)
3. CORTEX - Troupeau Bleu (Disque Esperance)
4. GODCHILD - S/T (Les Tréteaux)
5. CANE AND ABLE - S/T (Epic)

K: Big up to all who support Kon and Amir... “on track” trans europe express and uncle jr's "the cleaning". Peace…

Kon and Amir Trans Europe Express and the On Tracks Serie can be found in all the good on-line hip hop shop like TurntableLab.com, hiphopsite.com or dustygroove.com
Kon and Amir present Uncle Junior’s Friday Fish Fry The Cleaning is in stores since May 2004 in all the good record shops

ITW led by Bobwall

A huge thanks to Michelle formerly @ RoomService