There is no denying it; the retail music business has been in a serious decline. Big retail chains such as SAM THE RECORD MAN and CD Plus have been closing up shops all of the country and in similar fashion, many independently-owned record stores are closing their doors, as well. What’s causing all this? The popular business notion is that downloadable music -by way of the internet- has taken money from the stores leaving them with no choice but to close their doors. In other words, we can’t compete with the internet so let’s just quit without putting up a fight.

Enter Ian Fraser, the owner and operator of OBSOLETE RECORDS, who rather than following the so-called “popular notion” is going against the grain and providing his loyal and still growing customer base with the hard-to-find; sought-after physical records which the other stores aren’t carrying.

I sat down with Ian to talk about the current retail business, downloading music vs. owning physical recordings debate, his personal playlist, and more. Hard work isn’t a new concept and although he’s not a fan of Curtis Jackson’s music, Ian does embody the hustler’s ambition: be your own boss, provide people with great music, and get paid while doing it.

Read the full interview here.

The graffiti artist Aroe paints a large memorial painting for the recently deceased MCA from the Beastie Boys. The painting is based off the cover to the Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill album.

Source: Heavy Artillery

Tons of broken records, 1 record player, too many attempts to count and 18 hours later a vinyl record trick shots video is made.

Watch as classic board games and toys are turned into an incredible stop-motion music video for Delta Heavy. The video was directed by Ian Robertson.

Source: Colossal

Bristol, or ‘Brizzle’ as it is affectionately known to its rude-boy protégés, plays host to an urban music scene that is the equivalent of a stocky little Staffordshire Bull Terrier. Not the biggest dog on the block, but certainly a force to be reckoned with. It will stand up and fight its corner against pretty much anyone, and can lay claim to being a truly iconic feature of bad-boy culture. Bristol bass culture is revered by teenage rebels and urbanites across the UK as a place associated with being, well, rude.

If you’re not sure what I mean by ‘rude,’ and think I’m being impolite then you probably aren’t reading the right publication, so jump on to YouTube right now and type in the words ‘drum and bass,’ ‘grime,’ and ‘garage.’ Then type in ‘bass-face’ for good measure. Turn the volume up and prepare to be educated. For the rest of you, read on.

Bristol’s musical roots are steeped in both multi-culturalism and radicalism, with a melting pot of black and white culture generating strains of dub, reggae and ska across the rooftops of the little city ever since the 1950s. The dark side of the city’s political turmoil has imprinted on the landscape, with riots, slavery and the struggle for black rights at the heart of Bristolianism. As often found in cities with a high proportion of minority ethnic cultures, its music scene has flourished as a direct response to issues like poverty, unequal rights, social uprisings and change.

Tapping into a rich musical legacy and adding fresh perspectives, Bristol artists like Portishead and Massive Attack began to experiment with New York hip hop sounds, psychedelic funk and soul, and dance beats to produce an aural formula later known as the Bristol Sound. Characterised by tracks like Massive Attack’s ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ the sound evolved and was dubbed ‘trip-hop,’ a well respected global niche in the hip-hop genre today. Graffiti art and music worked in partnership to create an urban scenography which is the essence of Bristol youth culture today.

As drum and bass, grime and later dubstep evolved from and alongside the Bristol Sound, intertwining with it and ultimately diversifying into new tendrils, the city’s reputation as an urban Mecca has been cast in stone with the local street artist Banksy’s rise to global acclaim. The sights, sounds and air of the city is captured in its urban scene and continue to influence new generations of young and aspiring DJs, producers, artists and ravers. Bristol. Long may it reign.

Byline: This article was sponsored by 8Ball.co.uk. Make sure you check out their street art t-shirts.

Mr. Simo takes high quality speakers and audio components, and builds them into vintage suitcases to create the ultimate self powered portable stereo system. Check out more of the suitcase speakers here.

Source: Design You Trust

COGOO is a Japanese company that’s created a kit that turns a regular BMX bike into a DJ toolkit. As the rider does tricks different sounds are created from the bike’s movement. The wheels become jog wheels; brakes do double duty as sound pads; and a gyroscopic motion sensor perched on the bars feeds the fader pad. Various sounds are transmitted to the bike through an iPhone or iPod.

Source: Gizmodo, Freshness

“The Old Man and the Sea”, the classic from Ernest Hemingway, narrated with speed drawing and stop motion by illustrator Marcel Schindler, on music “Sail” by Awolnation.

Source: Ufunk

The artist Shepard Fairey has designed two limited edition posters for the Black Keys. Each of the prints are signed and limited to 550. They are 18 x 24 inches in size and are available to purchase for $45.00 on the Obey online store on March 27, 2012.

ZZBRA is a group featuring Moka Only and Evil Ebenzer, their music and videos are all produced and directed by Stuey Kubrick. The Track in the above video is “ZZBRA – Elephant Remix ft Snak the Ripper” it is available for free download here.