Paris: DJ Kicks

Touched down at CDG International a week ago and headed straight to a fave cafe in St. Germain des Pres to begin our caffeine-shopping blow-out in the French capital. Yeah, baby, the hunt was on for crisp new warez just as the summer sales season was kickin' it into a highgear. If there was one French word that got burned into our retinas it was "soldes." Paris was on sale, and we were ready to drop some Euros on some choice merch.

The first stop was a record store called Jazz Ensuite where he hooked up with Mattias Gomez. He's the guy sitting behind the counter manning the turntables, taking notes, and sneaking cigarettes in between spins. Gomez plays in a band that creates long experimental tunes that fuse jazz and '70s German electronica (think Can, Damo Suzuki, Kraftwerk, et. al.).

Jazz Ensuite has a large collection of vinyl spanning all kinds of jazz, blues, gospel, and Latin recordings. The only good vinyl Mattias says is hard to find in Paris is bossa nova stuff.

"All the best bossa nova recording on vinyl have been snapped by Japanese collectors...the best records are in Japan now." Gomez says he's about to make another of his regular record-buying visits to Tokyo later this summer. In the meantime, he's plugged us into some new discs coming out on some French labels, notably from Comet Records.

Paris has an in-touch Afro music scene issuing top product. We really liked Comet's series of afro-jazz compilations, especially the second volume called simply "Another Collection of Modern Afro Rhythms," with tunes from Letta M'Bulu, Antibalas, and Marius Cultier." Wicked, mate. Wicked!—Le Kid Shibuyanaise