CRATERY

November 1993. I walked past Yonge-Dundas station sporting baggy jeans and a newly acquired pair of white Adidas Torsions with splashes of fluorescent green and navy blue. I remember cause I had a fluorescent green sweat top and a navy corduroy Gatsby to match. I used to sport the hat backwards when I was going […]

John Kong loves those little Coffee Crisp bites. It’s just that he insists they be stored in the refrigerator. “What is this? Amateur’s hour?” he laughed, taking the bag off the counter and placing it in the fridge. Lesson learned, John. Cold storage makes chocolate taste better. Plus, you avoid covering your rares in brown […]

I’ve messed with Mayer Hawthorne from the first time I heard his cover of the New Holidays’ overlooked soul classic Maybe so, maybe no. Some might have tried to pigeon hole him as a Motown revivalist after his first album. But Mayer has always been influenced by more than just soul music. The DJ/Producer had […]

The first time I went record shopping with Lord Finesse I had an epiphany. I realized that I was diggin’ in the crates with an actual member of Diggin’ in the Crates. How is that not a trip? I’m a kid from the suburbs of Toronto who used to blast “Keep the crowd listening” on […]

Skeme Richards once told me that he’s not afraid of a real job. He’s not afraid of rolling up his sleeves and departing the DJ life that takes to him places like Germany, Switzerland, Amsterdam and Tokyo year round. He wouldn’t be upset about not being able to shop in all the best record stores […]

“I need to stop buying records”. Most collectors have said it at some point. Even contemplated doing it, albeit for a brief second. But actually following through is damn near impossible. You think of all the reasons to stop. The money. Your woman. The space. Your woman. So one evening, you convince yourself it’s time […]

Label owner. Globetrotting DJ. Musical encyclopedia. Record store rat. You might use all of the above to describe Amir Abdullah of 180 Proof Records. But at his core, he’s really just a dude that loves music. Coincidentally, our favourite kind of dude. So it was a no-brainer to hang out and play records at Cratery Headquaters […]

Our dude Jake One happened to be in town for a beat battle a few months back, so it was only right for us to record another episode of Cratery. Jake first appeared on our 22nd episode back in October 2010. This time, he was armed with a small box of 45’s, primarily sweet soul and […]

A fellow record head once told me that a collection is nothing without focus. Do you collect Libraries? Psych? Jazz? Rare grooves? Hip-Hop? Choose. You can’t be an authority on everything. His theory was that trying to stockpile all forms of music can often leave your collection feeling oddly random and not necessarily comprehensive in any […]

Like many of us who’ve spent our lives loving music, this months’ guest Birdapres is a bit of a renaissance man. Rapper and producer. Collector and dealer. Radio personality and record store employee. He’s called places like Victoria, Vancouver, Toronto and most recently, Winnipeg home. But these are the things I already knew about Bird […]

A think piece on the almighty 45 might have been appropriate given this month’s episode. But the timeliness of Record Store Day 2014 and the recent debates about the growing popularity of this event have prompted me to share a few thoughts of my own. What began as an annual act of solidarity to champion […]

CRATERY 63: Dollarate V f/ Paul E. Lopes Kaewonder didn’t exit his mother’s belly until 1984.  Paul E Lopes started dj-ing in 1982. Things were different in the city of Toronto back then. The ‘hip-hop culture’ that we associate with places like The Bronx (breakbeats and block parties) wasn’t exactly what you’d find in a […]

I find myself divided on the issue of record collecting and secrecy in the social media age. Some collectors are happy to ham it up, flossing their rarest pieces and recent arrivals without apology on Instagram feeds around the globe. Others choose to hint at the jewels hidden within their collection, by snapping shots of […]

We kick off our 6th year in business with a James Brown production. Who better exemplifies the lesson of consistency than James? The Godfather of soul got his start around 1953 as a drummer for the Famous Flames – not even as a front man. 6 years into his career would have been 1959. That’s […]

Just like that, it’s been 5 years. I can’t fucking believe it. When Kaewonder and I started this podcast in January of 2009 it wasn’t even its own brand yet – it was still under the Real Frequency umbrella – a monthly bonus for fans of my former hip hop radio show with Musiklee Inzane, […]