AMUNET SHAH
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INTERVIEW WITH REMIX RECORD SHOP
Orlando, Florida

Foreword:

On Wednesday I had the pleasure of interviewing the owners of Remix Record store in Orlando. Remix is the premier carrier of new and used Dance Music in Orlando at the moment, and they boast a truly expansive mix of 80’s, New Wave, Rock, Metal and pretty much anything else you can think of.

I sat down with Cliff Tangredi and Nathan Maners to discuss a variety of topics, the same topics I’m always compelled to discuss with record store owners.

Cliff and I go way back to the Golden Era of Dance Music and have an amusing history of debaucheries together. Many moons ago, he was one of the first people in Orlando to support my DJ career. I'd come into Vinyl Frontier (the record store he worked for from 1993-2002, eventually managing for the last 5 years), into the back office and order records directly on their computer. He’d also make fun of me when I’d show up at the shop, listen to 800 records, and then only leave with 2 of them. Yep, that’s how I roll, lol…

But my most memorable moment with Cliff, was the time he was there for me when the day finally came to grow up and leave Orlando. The 90’s were over, Late-Night had been shut down for a few years already, and I was in literal shambles over leaving behind what was once O-Town’s legendary Dance Music scene, the scene formerly written about in Rolling Stone magazine.

It’s clear as day in my mind. Somewhere around 2001, I was standing in his living room.. and if my memory serves us right we were listening to Furry Freaks - Soothe (Cyanide Mix - 1996). I had already been dealing with the emotional reality of leaving all my friends, non-stop parties, and dance floor memories behind, but when this song came on I became the proverbial puddle of tears, sobbing and mumbling for the days gone by... Cliff hugged and consoled me and gave me his elderly wisdom (he’s only like 6 years older than me by the way, lol), explaining that this was just life and that I had to keep moving on and growing, etc..

I never forgot that moment…

Soon after, I found the strength to leave Orlando on a quest to be a successful DJ/performer somewhere I wouldn’t be expected to play Top 40 or Open format, which was unfortunately taking over Orlando at that time…

Luckily, I ended up going on tour about 6 months after this, which made it easier for me to hide from the impending doom, i.e. “The end of an era” in the states. Then, a year or two later when I was exhausted from that lifestyle, I eventually made my way to NYC.

However, when I arrived to the Big Apple I was stricken with the reality that what was happening in NYC wasn’t much different than what was happening in Orlando. Record stores were beginning to close down everywhere, the mood was melancholy, and uncertainty reigned supreme. The only saving grace for me at that time was Halcyon, our beloved record store in Brooklyn where I met Shawn, Taimur and Connie.
 
But as it turns out, I was still undoubtedly in for a very long and challenging ride, to get to the place in my career where I am today.

And I’m just so happy and gracious to have even made it this far.

And, I'm even happier that Cliff and Nate opened REMIX!!!! :)

Take a sneak peak of their beautiful store HERE..



Interview:

"Well I have a 16-year-old kid, and we get a lot of kids this age coming in here now to shop. And I think it’s not even so much about Dance Music; it’s about them being patient again and really listening to music. They’re interested in calming down, not just buying one digital track… they want to sit down, listen to music again, and read the liners." - Nate

Below are the questions I asked the movers and shakers behind Orlando's premier record shop... enjoy the read!


Can you recall the exact moment the decision was made to open a new record shop in Orlando?


Nate:
Cliff and I have known each other for 18 years and he’s always had records, and at the time I had a company called
“Remix” which was a concrete, tabletops, mid-century furniture, and vintage décor etc. type of a shop. And Cliff was always saying we should have a record shop, or put some records in someone’s bar.
 
Cliff:
Eventually Nate came to me and we had dinner, and Nate said he wanted me to get into business with him and sell records and furniture etc..  I actually drove by this space we’re in now (the current Remix location) and then I called Nate and Kelly and said “I found this spot.” We prefer this area.. Underground Record Source used to be right down the street..

Me:
Yep! So many memories, I used to shop there too!

 
 
The term “vinyl resurgence” has been used quite a bit over the past couple years.. at this point in time are you seeing this first-hand? And if so, to what degree? 
 

Cliff:
I think it’d been happening before we even got into it, and that would be in regard to all genres, not just Dance Music. But with my take on the Underground scene and also bringing in Jeff and Dan which really helped, the vinyl resurgence had been well on it’s way and we just needed to step up and curate the shop correctly for this demand.
We bought a 20,000 piece collection of Dance Music at one point.. We had so much stock it was overwhelming, and this was a big move that shifted us. We eventually had to really start making room for the huge amount of stock we were dealing with. We had to start phasing the furniture and other stuff out of here to make room..
 
"We’ve definitely been seeing a strong and steady increase in sales every month since we opened, it just goes up and up….”
 
Now that we’ve established ourselves, by having a little of everything we’re definitely going out of our way to try and find more of what people want. And we know that no one in Orlando carries this amount of Dance music…

 
Nate:
Yeah we’re very blessed to say that we’re making money as a record store…
 
Me:
Yes, that’s so exciting that people are making money again, I want artists to make fu**ing money off of their music..
 
 
What type of clientele do you mainly see in the shop? Would you say there are a lot of actual DJ’s or are there more non-DJ music collector types?


Nate:
We have a great mix of people; the old school people come in a lot…
We have  a lot of Dj’s from all over the world that come in..

 
Cliff:
Some of the Oldschool people come in and they’re like “I sold my collection, and I want to get it back…”
 
Me:
That’s crazy!! hahaha  I’m so glad I never sold mine!!
 
Cliff:
But being in Orlando we have a great outlet for tourism, so we get a lot of tourists from Europe, and South America. Someone came in from South Korea a few weeks ago; he bought a bunch of old Metal records…
 We curate entire sections so that when people walk in and they’re into a certain genre, they’ll see those names right away and a catalogue of releases under those names…
 
We’re definitely in the process of working on stocking brand new releases of Dance Music the way some of the bigger cities do… but it’s baby steps right now.. but as far as Orlando goes we definitely have the most of it right now.

 
 
Vinyl is expensive and heavy. These issues affected me years ago, and now that I’m back to vinyl again, I’m dealing with it all once again. If you had to give your sermon on why vinyl is better than digital, what would you say? For me, the reasons are more philosophical and existential than I ever realized in the early days... 
 
 
Cliff:
I think it depends on what kind of Dj’ing you do, and in the House and Techno scenes you’re seeing the resurgence of vinyl, maybe not so much in other genres though.. I think that people are looking to do something different. Because a lot of these kids have grown up with only digital, so now they’re looking for something new. Vinyl is something different, it’s more of an “event” like playing records is more special and you’re being more specific about what you’re playing, which makes it more meaningful. I mean we used to play the same records over and over again, if you’re going to spend $15.00 on a track it’s going to be something you can continue to keep playing, not something disposable like it is now..
 
 
If you had to give your forecast for vinyl’s progress in the market over the next 10 years, how would you predict its future? Do you think that DJ culture is slowly but surely going back to its roots? 
 

Nate:
Well the turnover rate of songs these days moves too quickly, so vinyl isn’t fast enough, as far as production and vinyl pressing goes… It’s not fast enough for the instantaneous demand. I think the Dance Music industry will need to stay very well rounded, and be a mixed market of formats.
 
Cliff:
I think you’re going to have different pockets throughout the world, some with that typical big club experience with Cdjs, or the small - more underground vibe and scene with turntables and a different type of crowd. There will always be that sector of the culture that supports the vinyl industry, vinyl will continue to live.. It comes down to what people’s interests are..

Ever since we opened I’d constantly stay up every night until 4am and research online what was going on in the market. I’d be seeing all these strictly vinyl Dance Music record stores opening up all over the world again. And I was so excited to see this! I couldn’t believe it, I hadn’t seen that in 15 years. But also I think over in Europe that market is much more successful, here in the states it just takes a bit more time..
Then again, these stores, whether they’re in San Fran, L.A etc.. are doing a lot of this for the love, they’re probably not making a ton of money..

 
Now, if we all the sudden had like 50 people in here every day demanding new Underground Dance Music releases, then we’d be buying new stuff all the time for us to take it to the next level, and then maybe find a bigger space… I think our common goal is to eventually take this thing into more of a late-night / nighttime environment, etc..
 
Me:
(my ears perk up…) Oh reeeeeaaaalllly……..??? Sounds exciting!!
 
 
I’m sure you guys have been witnessing the 90’s revival - Not only in the Underground Dance Music sector, but also across the board.  This is definitely exciting for Cliff and I, and probably everyone at Remix, lol. 
Would you agree with me when I say I don’t believe this is just a trend within the Dance Music community...there seems to be more of a permanent change taking place, a bit of a “Back to Mine” scenario.... ?

 
 
Nate:
Well I have a 16-year-old kid, and we get a lot of kids this age coming in here now to shop. And I think it’s not even so much about Dance Music; it’s about them being patient again and really listening to music. They’re interested in calming down, not just buying one digital track… they want to sit down, listen to music again, and read the liners…
 
Me:
Wow, that’s so great to hear that you’re seeing such a difference in our culture emerging..
 
Nate:
I mean we already went through the whole process, a period of impatient thinking in music when mp3’s were coming out, the file transferring, etc. Once that all started happening, it was just rapid microwave-food type of thinking...
 
Me:
Ooff.. yeah that’s the type of mentality I’m trying to move away from now regarding the digital realm..
 
Nate:
Now we get a ton of kids coming in here all the time… every Saturday we have this one Father who comes in with his 13-year-old daughter, and they buy one Oldschool Metal record.
As far as Dance Music goes, I think that old school crew from the 90’s... they know the artistry of mixing, and that’s where the beauty still lies..

 
Cliff:
Taking people on a journey
…
 
Nate:
Yes, like knowing how to work a room, and start it slowly..Instead of just going in and “big-rooming” the whole place out..
 
Me:
So you feel like that is what’s coming back.. like the artistry and what we had in the late 80’s and 90’s..?
 
Nate:
Yeah and I feel like that interest is coming back in general, like these kids want to know how these Dj’s are doing it… they’re interested in the nostalgia of doing it with no sync button etc. The ones who’re vulnerable to that and want to learn the true musicianship of mixing, yes that’s all coming back..
 
Cliff:
I mean there’s always going to be just party music, which is more surface… But then you have the deeper more underground stuff, the stuff that takes you on a journey..
 

(Cliff and I then give each other the Oldschool nod in sincere agreement, lol....)
 
 
So, Orlando was a leader in Underground Dance Music in the late 80’s and 90’s. I lived through much of its heyday and the changes that followed but I haven’t lived here in years.. What’s your take on the Orlando scene now? How would you describe it?
 
 
(……. Long silent pause……..and funny faces…..lol...)
 

Nate:
Well we have great restaurants.. lol, well I don’t really go out..
 
Cliff:
There’s a burgeoning underground scene. There’s Vinyl Arts Bar, there’s Elixir.. and they do a Sunday thing, Deep Therapy pool parties…which just brought Lee Foss. And of course, Matt now has the Iron Cow, which is great.. he’s smart because he’s doing a mix of all kinds of music.. bands etc.. but it still retains that real feel.
At my DJ residency, I have to walk a fine line because we get so many different people coming in there.. but still I’m able to push way more on the House music side of things than I used to be able to.. you know in the club scene in the past 10 years EDM had gotten huge here.. but Hip-Hop is kind of taking over the scene now.. but we still have been able to maintain what we do on the weekends at Aero..

 
 
Are there any excellent vinyl Dj’s in Orlando you’d like to mention and give some shout-outs to?
 

Nate:
Yep, Blair Sound Design on Lobster Theramin lives here.. he comes in here twice a week.. JC Lozada is great, Will Castro/Mars radio,  he’s an amazing vinyl DJ.. and we had Noel Sanger come in here the other day for a vinyl set. He came in here and picked all his records just an hour before his set.. then Smilin’ Dan, Def Jeff, they all know what they’re doing and of course, Cliff, Tommy Mot..
 

Cliff:
The vinyl thing never really went away for the Hip-Hop guys.. the ones that do Hip-Hop on Sundays at Aero are still using turntables, even if it’s Serato they’re still focused on the scratching and turntablism etc..
 
Me:
Yeah it’s interesting, what I see happening with myself is that I’m losing more and more interest in watching anyone DJ on the Cdjs - total snooze fest in my opinion..
 
Cliff:
Yeah I’m extremely, extremely, extremely picky when it comes to going to shows to hear Dj’s.. I mean I think it’s probably because we’re Dj’s ourselves and we’ve just been doing it for so long (Amen)…I want to be taken on a journey.. I like Eric Prydz for this.. He’s that guy for me, no matter what format he’s playing, it’s just about his music and presentation.
 
Me:
Yeah, I mean I want to see someone who can really, really mix. The art of mixing.. ya know? And I personally feel that I just can’t seem to take people on a journey with digital music the way I can with vinyl. I’m not sure if this simply comes down to the production style and sound of music that’s pressed to vinyl verses the digital or what.. I feel like I can’t be my best self as a DJ if I play all digital music. And I feel like people in NYC are really starting to respond to the artistry of turntablism in my sets and the sets of vinyl veterans across the board..
 
Cliff:
I mean yeah it’s  a fresh and new concept and it’s exciting for the young people that haven’t really been exposed to it enough.. for sure..


Have you guys ever considered offering vinyl Dj lessons to kids between the ages of, say.... 13 and 18? If not, I think you should do it!!! 
 

Nate:
I’d be a horrible teacher, lol.
 
Cliff:
Actually yeah, a friend of mine Remington Steele mentioned that he’s been wanting to that with his friend Live Wire(former DJ for Doug E. Fresh). He’s interested in that… and I told him that we’d love to be involved with it as a store..
 
Me:
I think you guys should definitely do it…
 
Cliff:
Well I mean I learned how to do it myself.. I’m not even sure how we’d teach someone this stuff.. lol
 

And last but not least, what releases are hot in the shop right now?
(Please give a list of 10 of your hottest releases in the shop)

 
They then asked me to compile a list of MY faves after digging through their creates for a few hours…
 
Here’s a few of my own Mega-serious/Golden record discoveries at Remix!!!!

 
1)  2 Guys – Pleasure E.P – UMM label (1993 baby!)
2)  Catz’ N Dogz – RMXD – Pets recordings
3)  Tina Turner – Never In Your Wildest Dreams (Deep Dish remixes – Promo/White label (SCORE!!!!!!)
4)  Planet Funk – Inside All the People – Deep Dish Tata 80’s mix – Virgin
5)  Dynamix II – The Album – Dynamix II Records
6)  A-Town Players – Atown drop – Life Records
7)  Company B – Fascinated – Atlantic
8)  Rhythm Invention – Chronoclasm – Warped
9)  Harddrive –
Deep Inside – Strictly Rhythm
10)New order – Bizarre Love Triangle - Warner


Interview by: Amunet Speaks




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  • Biography
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  • Culture
    • Interviews >
      • Interview: REMIX of Orlando, FL.
      • Interview: Cinderblock People - Harlem, NY
    • Articles >
      • Pop vs. UDM and the Influx of Hybrid Recording Artists
    • Musician Sanctuary
    • Video Art
    • Friends & Affiliates