Soundcheck Supercollectors Report | WNYC | New York Public Radio, Podcasts, Live Streaming Radio, News

January 24, 2012 07:43:31 PM

Name of nominator:

Luke

Neighborhood, City and State:

"Columbia Waterfront" / Cobble Hill
Brooklyn, NY

Supercollector:

Luke Ratray (DJ Cool Hands Luke)

What is your relationship to the collector?:

Self

Collects:

Anything funky, or with a funky beat.
In descending order of sheer amount:
Funk & Soul
Hip Hop
Disco
Club/House music
Jazz
Rock
Other

What is special about this collection?:

Here's a short video I made:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwFBLvrJTdI

Well, everything is special to the collector!
This represents record collecting since I was 15 years old. I was actually buying records BEFORE I had a turntable. I simply knew that one day I would be spinning records and there were records of the day that I wanted to be sure I had. (Soul II Soul's Back To Life 12" single was one)
I have literally sweated, stolen, and bled to acquire some of these records. It is something akin to drug addiction...

Number of items in the collection:

I haven't counted for many years. Between 8-10,000. I just got rid of a great deal (many hundreds)of records that I simply had no more room for - I just put them on the street one day.

How and where is the collection stored?:

In my apartment. Behind locked doors. With alarms. And lasers. And Ninja watch dogs.

But once inside I keep it very loose and open. The records are out front, meant to be seen and heard. They rotate. They get out of order. They end up in piles, completely mixed. But that's okay.
I buy records first and foremost to PLAY them, not covet them. There's only a very few that I buy multiple copies of, just to have.
I don't care how rare a record is - I have to want to listen to it. I HAVE spent some big money on a single record, more than once, but it was because I really liked what it sounded like.

How does the collection affect other people?:

Most people love it. Other collectors' eyes get wide. It makes people curious. They want to look through it and see whats there. Which I encourage. I love sharing it with other people!!!

And that's maybe the biggest way that it affects other people, or rather my relationship with other people. It can sometimes dominate a conversation. I'll often be like "Oh, You have to hear THIS one! And THIS one and THIS one next..."
Instant party.

You could also say that it affects other people because it makes them shake their body parts. Hard.

Supercollector Gallery: