St Albans | Stuart O'Connor

After years of touring and collecting music…

…Recently I had a clear out. If life on the road has taught me anything; it’s that most possessions are not missed when away from them. So I’m taking the time to re-distribute many of the CD’s I have acquired over the years. Half of which are by known acts and the other half are from the obscure recordings by bands I have seen and met on my travels.

Throughout the 9 years I have been musically venturing I have shared billings with a total mix of artists from touring metal bands to bedroom strummers.

Obscure Japanese noisecore to New Zealand dub.

So many times I have briefly exchanged pleasantries with such musicians and often CD’s have been swapped. All of the recordings have made their way onto my digital music collection and remain a part of my day to day listening.

Certain songs really connect me to certain times that fuels my love for music and it’s adventures further.

The discs by the “well known bands” were taken to a charity shop where they would be re-sold at cut price for a good cause. I was happy they would find a home.

But for the obscure music….

The Poster from my performance last year @ Empire Records.

…i felt this would lead them down a path where by they would probably never be listened to again. Not many people would buy a CD from any shop if they did not know the artist. So I decided to reach out to St Albans (just north of London) based independent music shop ‘Empire Records‘. I had performed an in-store concert there last year and having met them thought they might be up for the idea of re-housing these discs. My plan being to forward them on (as a free gift) to anyone who buys a record in their store.

During my concert at Empire Records last year.

I played St Albans last week and met a member of the shop staff (Dave) who was happy to house the music. But he also informed me of the tragic passing of the shops Co-Owner Derek from Cancer. It was shocking discovery having played there 10 months back and spent a day talking about the music world in all it’s shapes and sizes with Derek. He was relaxed and welcoming with not a care in the world evident.

Empire Records Staff (L2R) Marina, Dave, Derek, Eddie and Nadine

So in tribute to Derek who had such a passion to keep art alive and a visible part of the landscape.

Please consider to visit Empire records to discover some of the obscure music I have forwarded from around the world. Or yet contact your own local record store and suggest they do the same.

Tag: St Albans

0 The Horn Reborn (Acoustic Show) – St Albans – Hertfordshire – UK

0 The Boot – St Albans – Hertfordshire – UK

0 Obscure International Recordings Recycled with the Help of Empire Records

0 The Albans Arena – St Albans – Supporting the Peatbog Faeries

0 The Boot – St Albans – Free Entry

0 The Boot – St Albans