The first time, so I thought, that I spotted friendly and fashionable Marcus was at Ella Records in Hatagaya where his tall stature, cool threads, refined specs, and choice camera caught the corner of my eye. We perused the bins opposite of each other, and though I am normally the one to introduce myself in these instances, it was Marcus who said to me, “Aren’t you the Photohoku guy, Brian?”
I was instantly taken back to a very big photo event I hosted a couple of summers ago that was so well attended that I didn’t really have a chance to meet everybody, and I was reminded of Marcus, who kindly introduced himself at the end of the event and offered some thoughtful comments. So our encounter at Ella was actually our second, and it was great to meet again as well as photograph him for Tokyo Record Style with his newly scored copies of Lonnie Liston Smith and Kawaida. He mentioned then that he lives nearby and that if/when I were ever back in the Hatagaya neighborhood (my old stomping grounds) to hit him up for hang.
And sure enough, on a subsequent trip to Ella months later, without remembering to message Marcus beforehand, there he was walking up the street, lookin’ as svelte and stylish as the last two times I’d met him, not to mention he was wearing the same pictured field jacket, so patina’d and dope-looking I couldn’t take my eyes off it, and that he’d explained he’d just recently beeswaxed it himself, DIY style. Pretty cool. We had a nice chat, and I invited him to the next Tokyo Record Style. Though a causal connection, I left this third encounter feeling like a bond threshold had been crossed and bud-status officially been forged and that I’d like to hang and chat up Marcus more often. Lucky for me, he’d appear somewhat unexpectedly but much to my delight at Tent Records for our 7th volume of TRS Day. I was really diggin’ diggin’ records with him and it was fun seeing how similar things were catching both our eyes. Having said that, the two records we respectively walked out with couldn’t have at more opposite sides of the musical spectrum: I came away with a record of Idaho Bluegrass called “Tarnation” and Marcus left with experimental-noise, industrial-ambient, Danish techno-popers, Vår which I’ve listened to and haven’t yet quite made sense of (nor have of Tarnation, which I bought on a whim), but my musical horizons have been expanded for sure.
Thanks for showing up Marcus, for some fun chats and an interesting score, and of course it goes without saying for all the stylish digs, all tied together by that glorious and well-loved Leica M5, possibly my favorite of M family. Would love to own one someday. See ya soon, bud!
More TRS on the way.
Vår – No One Dances Quite Like My Brothers
Label: Sacred Bones Records – SBR-088
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 2013
Genre: Electronic
Style: Synth-pop, Darkwave
https://www.discogs.com/release/4575601-V%C3%A5r-No-One-Dances-Quite-Like-My-Brothers
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