A city, which some claim has a ‘record shop-shaped hole‘, has recently gained another string to its bow with the opening of Plates. Impact went to their opening party to survey.
The gathering got started early in the day: a very chilled affair with people making conversation and playing table football, while Mr Beatnick played some house, soul and funk records. This allowed for a good chance to suss out the shop itself. Perusing through the stock revealed quite an encompassing selection of vinyl, for fans of many different genres, and a conversation with the owners indicated that they stock with producers in mind: catering especially to those looking for samples to loop. At a glance, there seemed to be lots of bargain finds, and in general, the pricing seemed quite reasonable.
The evening commenced with Paddy Steer’s in-store performance, which was a sight to behold. A multi-instrumentalist in the strictest sense of the phrase: he had a unique assemblage of drums, synths and even a foot-organ, which combined with his wizard-like costume, gave him the appearance of an old, white Sun-Ra. The music was just as exciting as his setup: a cosmic mix of experimental electro and avant-garde that defied categorisation. Later on, the party moved next door to the I-Club, where Mr Beatnick played his formal slot: a great early 90s Jungle and Hardcore set which was somewhat of a departure from his usual modus operandi as a house DJ. The Plates residents also contributed to what was, all in all, a lively evening. The club wasn’t as full as it rightfully should have been, but turnout was still pretty good for their first event (especially having to compete with Todd Terry over at Riverbank!)
https://soundcloud.com/paddy-steer/biomass-noon
There’s definitely a sense that Plates has a promising future, filling a hole where Nottingham once lacked a second-hand record shop of this calibre. The owners say they plan to “run production/ listening sessions for any budding producers, in-store open decks for DJs wanting practice, dubplate cutting and discussions, Q&As and sampling classes” … If so, this could very well be the start of something quite special.
Catch Plates’ next event on Halloween
James H Elsey
James is listening to: ‘I am Mark E Smith’ – Fat White Family
