Selling my records on Discogs has been an intense process. I have parted with 1,866 items since August 7th. There have been ample opportunities for reflection on the past, upon the original activity of finding them in shops, and my historic participation in those musical worlds.
Even though carefully considered, many separations were emotional, and inevitably there were a few regrets. I’ve been fortunate to be able to rectify the handful of mistakes I’ve made. Mostly, though, I’ve been glad that they have gone to new homes.
One unexpected result was that, after not engaging with vinyl for over three years, whether I liked it or not, I was thrust back into its universe. Thinking about it all the time became necessary, not just in practical terms so as to deal with the flow of orders, but to stay on top of my own feelings; to be certain I wasn’t making mistakes.
Having to confront actually parting with this stuff, rather than just having it packed away unconsciously in storage, some attachments became surprisingly pronounced. I didn’t know I felt so strongly about certain items (talismans?) – that I would be compelled to rescue things from the inventory at unusual moments (before breakfast) or in odd places (on a walk over Dartmoor). What stood out most was a deep reverence and affection for the dance music of 1989-1996 that I anthologised in mixes. I’m referring to that run through New York House, Chicago House, Detroit Techno, UK Techno, Hardcore, Jungle, Two-Step, and Grime. The demand for these old records is insatiable…
Not, in the strictest terms a dance music record, one of the last items I rescued from the sale was Holden’s “The Inheritors” LP, which I had bought in 2013. I found an old download code for it in the inner sleeve, which actually worked still. From thence I found my way to this his 2023 album. I also read a nice interview with him conducted by John Doran at The Quietus.
Holden is enchanted by this same era of dance music and the possibilities for a new society that it suggested. Indeed, it’s striking how little of the retro-rave music goes deeper than reviving old technology and fetishising old twelve inches. The reason that music glowed, even as it was at the end crushed into tiny clubs and pirate radio stations, was that behind it was a dream.
Nothing can stay the same and mean the same thing, and where “Imagine This Is A High Dimensional Space Of All Possibilities” dazzles is in its invocation of that elevated optimism in a new form. Holden finds a way to channel that spirit in these troubled times.
I really admire Holden not (apparently) being preoccupied by physical formats, as is evident in his sharing of his collection of digital music and his expression in interview of “an idea for a rhizomatic, decentralised, community owned version of Bandcamp”. I bought this album as a 24bit 48khz FLAC. It sounds better than even a CD ever could, and that did give me food for thought.
