Day 7: OYE records, into the cave

So instead of sitting on my lazy ass wishing I was doing something I decided to visit another famed record shop called OYE in Prenzlauerberg. Currently the trains in Berlin are still down so geting to OYE was really complicated and shitty. I first had trouble getting my train ticket. I thought it would be simple but no. Berlin has 3 "train areas" A,B,C. not being from Berlin I have no clue what these areas are and I decided to call upon a friend for help. He reccomended train A,B because as I later found out C is outer berlin, so it was a good call. After spending 20 minutes trying to get broken machines to accept cash I finally gave up and resorted to card. People were looking at me as if I had some problem. The machine was making funny noises and I had to do bear through it over and over. Not quite what I expected my first public DJ appearance to be.... Finally I got on the train to merringhdam where tere was construction so I had to wait for the train to Franzosiche Strasse. I arrived and quickly got outside where I had to navigate my way to a U2 stop. I don't quite remember the name, but as soon as i got there I realized something was wrong. Trains out of service. NO WAY. It was super cold out today and walking had already left me freezing, so i in no way looked forward to the long walk to the next stop, Potsdamer platz. I was about halfway there when the construction on the street began. In America usually sidewalks are still accessible during construction, but not here. I was lazy and decided to walk amongst traffic. Weird looks part 2. I raced through traffic to the end, and voila, potsdamer platz. From there it was easy. U2 to Eberswalder Strasse and a quick google maps to the entrance. To my surprise the place is really well marked, and seems inviting, colorful lettering adorns the outside.

Though I can definitely tell you the "colorfulness" ends there. When you walk in the door, or the cave. No one greets you, says hello, offers to help. I was given the impression that this was a help your self record shop, which most are, but a hello wouldn't hurt. I immediately headed towards the back to where I saw the labels for Deep House. My new favorite. I looked around for a while trying to search for familiar labels or artists, but it is clear these record shops stock their shelves with purposefully obscure tracks. If it weren't for this I don't think they would exist. As I browsed I watched the people around me shuffling through old vinyl, new vinyl, disco, techno. OYE has such a diverse mix of records, 80's classics with new age dub step? Seems like a rarity here. I noticed a group of Italians clearly excited by the sheer amount of records. They each had a huge stack, ready to listen to find a gem. I have to say the vibes that are in OYE records are definitely more communal than Hard Wax. People hung out on couches waiting for their significant others to finish their shopping, people conversed telling cool stories from the day but what struck me most was the emotions on peoples faces when they found either an old record or something they weren't expecting. They'd run over to a friend or colleague in disbelief that the record existed. I kind of started to understand how people can connect to vinyl, its like a piece of art in a way. After some people watching I got into my zone of shuffling through interesting looking records and finally found a few. I waited for someone to finish at a turntable and began. The first record was pretty dull. I quickly lifted the needle and put it away. I opened the second one, Oskar Offerman, Apple Crumble Under My Feet. 

I lowered the needle. instantaneously I was met with a tune I really enjoyed, I kept listening and found that in fact I liked a lot of this record. A keeper. The rest turned out to be garbage in my opinion. I went to put the records back. I was lifting a record into the slot I had gotten it from when I was interrupted. "Hey next time you get a record put it in the box, you put it in the wrong place." I was kind of taken aback by the hostility of the man's voice, he didn't seem very interested in pleasing the customer. I guess in an attempt to make it better I just said ok thank you, but it didnt seem like he really cared. I decided to ask him where the closest vintage analog store was kind of testing his attitude. He continued with the whole kind of, I'm too good for you bullshit, explaining in a fashion letting me know he wasn't really there to help. Unfortunately this kind of ruined the experience for me. The guy was even from America, I thought he'd think it was cool I was asking. I left the place a little bit confused. It seems to me that the people at these record shops should be happy to spread love for music, share the passion, especially with a young guy like me. Not make people in the store feel like they fucked up. I guess I should've learned better from Hard Wax. Maybe I'm a little bit against vinyl because the guys who stand for it seem to think they're better in some way for having it. You can buy all the records in the world and play the shittiest dj set ever, it makes you no better. I guess that is kind of why actually. I really feel that people who collect vinyl look down upon digital DJs and the movement towards more compact modes of DJing. I appreciate the presence of vinyl and its importance to the history of music but ultimately we're moving away from it. This group that has formed claiming vinyl is the only real way to listen to music is full of shit. Music isn't about format, it's about content. Ok no more rants. Turns out the analog shop wasn't open. I actually would really like to buy a pair of technics here! So I headed back home and ate some Vapiano (My favorite). I guess I learned a few things today. First off Berlin's train system....still confusing. Second, Berlin's record shops becoming more interesting but pretentious. Third record shops can be a lot of fun, but don't limit yourself to them, there is great music everywhere, you just gotta know where to look. Currently working on my visa still, as last time if you can help me get into contact with anyone who works in the Berlin scene email me at plusminusrecords123@gmail.com. Thanks so much for reading. Auf Wiedersehen