Our interview with Discogs

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The guys at Discogs invited Will down to have a chat about how ColdCuts // HotWax started out in 2015, as well as running through a couple of his favourite records and our plans for the future...

Read some excerpts from the interview below:

Where did it all start, and when you first started out, did you picture this?

ColdCuts // HotWax came about really as a natural progression from my uni days spent listening to, playing and selling records. I always loved curating music for events, pushing new records to my mates and digging around record shops for second-hand bits. So when it came to graduation and the panic set in of what next, I decided to sell some of my record collection and start up ColdCuts // HotWax.

I never pictured it going this far. I always thought I’d try it out for a year, learn some lessons and move on. But thanks to all those independent record labels pushing out great music and the support of our loyal customers, we’re still going strong four years later.

You’ve had a meteoric rise through Discogs, what are the key things you focus on when it comes to selling?

From the start, I wanted to make sure the music in our store was carefully curated. If I didn’t enjoy something I wouldn’t bring it in. Over time that may change as we look to expand into different genres, but at the beginning, I think it’s important when selling records it comes directly from what you love.

Also with selling over the internet, you do lose the personal touch you get with buying a record in a record shop. So, with our service, we’ve focused on making it as personable as possible. Treat people how you’d like to be treated. It’s an often-used mantra but it’s important to remind yourself of that when your back is up against the wall with replying to messages and getting orders out in time.

When did you start using Discogs and how do you use it in the day to day operation of CCHW?

We’ve used Discogs from the beginning. It’s been instrumental in getting us off the ground, especially in helping us shift those second-hand bits. Without Discogs, it would’ve taken a lot longer to get our name and catalogue out there.

Do you have a holy grail record?

I’ve always quite liked finding an obscure record, rather than those holy grails.

JKD Band – Dragon Power

I found a tribute album to Bruce Lee titled Dragon Power by a UK band called JKD Band. ‘Africa’ and ‘Dream Machine’ are the ones that really caught my ear on the album. Real bumping disco-funk tracks, which you’d never associate with a Bruce Lee tribute album!

Bill – I Feel Good With You / Space Lady

Also, another one I’m quite rating at the moment is a 45 single titled I Feel Good With You / Space Lady by Bill. The track on the A is great but that Space Lady on the flip is honestly one of the nicest songs I’ve heard in a while. I guess that one has holy grail potential but you can still pick it up for like 50 or 60 quid, so it won’t rob you of food for a month.

 

What can we expect from CCHW in the future?

In the near future, we’re hopefully going to take a step into the record label territory. Our idea is to split our releases between two labels; one for contemporary music and the other for reissuing old gems from the past.

Also, in the distant future, we have plans to get a proper brick and mortar shop going. That’s always been the ambition from the beginning, so hopefully we’ll be able to fulfill it one day.

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