How record collectors find lost music and preserve our cultural heritage | Alexis Charpentier

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

I became obsessed with records when I was about 12 years old.

Moja opsesija pločama je počela kad mi je bilo oko 12 godina.

My parents used to give me money to eat

Roditelji bi mi dali novac da jedem,

and on most days, instead of eating,

a većinu dana, umesto da jedem,

I would save it and buy myself a record at the end of the week.

ja bih ga sačuvao i kupio sebi ploču na kraju nedelje.

Here I am with a gigantic Walkman that's about half my leg --

Ovo sam ja sa džinovskim vokmenom koji je kao pola moje noge -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

It actually looks more like a VCR.

Zapravo više izgleda kao video rekorder.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So when I was a teenager,

Pa, kad sam postao tinejdžer,

the obsession of buying cassettes, vinyls and CDs just kept growing.

opsesija da kupujem kasete, vinile i CD je prosto nastavila da raste.

I was even working in a record store for many years

Čak sam i radio u prodavnici ploča mnogo godina

and only ever got paid in records.

i jedino su me plaćali u pločama.

One day I realized that I had thousands of records more

Jednog dana sam shvatio da imam na hiljade ploča više

than I could even listen to in my life.

nego što bih ikad mogao preslušati u životu.

I became what many of us are:

Postao sam što i mnogi od nas:

record junkies --

zavisnik od ploča -

or record diggers, as we like to call ourselves.

ili kopač ploča, kako volimo da se nazivamo.

Record digging, as the name suggests,

Iskopavanje ploča, kao što naziv nagoveštava,

means getting your hands dirty.

znači da ćete da isprljate ruke.

It means spending hours rummaging through warehouses,

Znači provođenje sati u preturanju po magacinima,

church basements,

podrumima crkvi,

yard sales, record stores --

dvorišnim rasprodajama, prodavnicama ploča -

all to find records that have been forgotten for decades.

sve da biste našli ploče koje su zaboravljene decenijama.

Records that have become cultural waste.

Ploče koje su postale kulturološki otpad.

The earliest record collectors from about the '30s to the 1960s

Najraniji kolekcionari ploča iz oko '30-ih do 1960-ih

found and preserved so many important records

su otkrili i sačuvali toliko važnih ploča

that would have been lost forever.

koje bi bile zauvek izgubljene.

In those days, most cultural and public institutions

U to vreme, većina kulturnih i javnih institucija

didn't really care to preserve these treasures.

nisu zaista marile da sačuvaju ovo blago.

In many cases, they were just throwing them into the garbage.

U većini slučajeva su ih prosto bacali u smeće.

Record digging is a lifestyle.

Kopanje ploča je način života.

We're absolutely obsessed with obscure records,

Potpuno smo opsednuti nepoznatim pločama,

expensive records, dollar-bin records,

skupim pločama, potencijalnim draguljima,

crazy artwork,

sumanutim ilustracijama,

sub-subgenres.

pod-podžanrovima.

And all of the tiniest details that go with each release.

I svim tim najsitnijim detaljima koji prate svako izdanje.

When the media talks about the vinyl revival

Kada u medijima govore o povratku vinila

that's been happening these last few years,

koji se dešava u poslednjih nekolko godina,

they often forget to mention this community

često zaborave da pomenu ovu zajednicu

that's been keeping the vinyl and the tradition and the culture alive

koja je čuvala vinil i tradiciju i kulturu živim

for these last 30 years.

u ovih poslednjih 30 godina.

It's a very close-knit but competitive society, a little bit,

To je veoma tesno umreženo, ali malčice konkurentsko društvo

because when you're hunting for extremely rare records,

jer kad ste u lovu na izuzetno retke ploče,

if you miss your opportunity,

ako propustite svoju šansu,

you might not see that record ever in your life.

možda nikad više u svom životu nećete videti tu ploču.

But I guess the only person in here truly impressed by record collectors

Ali pretpostavljam da je jedina osoba ovde istinski zadivljena kolekcionarima ploča

is another record collector.

drugi kolekcionar ploča.

To the outside world,

Spoljnom svetu

we seem like a very weird, oddball group of individuals.

izgledamo kao veoma čudna, ekscentrična grupa pojedinaca.

And --

I -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

And they're mostly right.

I uglavnom su u pravu.

All the record collectors I know are obsessive maniacs.

Svi kolekcionari ploča koje znam su opsesivni manijaci.

We know we're all crazy in some way.

Znamo da smo svi ludi na neki način.

But I think we should be viewed a little bit more like this.

Ali mislim da bi nas trebalo posmatrati malo više nalik ovome.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

We're music archaeologists.

Mi smo muzički arheolozi.

We're hunting down the lost artifact.

Mi lovimo izgubljene artifakte.

We all have a list of records that we would do anything to get our hands on,

Svi imamo spisak ploča za koje bismo učinili sve da ih se dokopamo,

that we've been chasing for years,

koje godinama jurimo,

and we actually call this list our "holy grails."

a ovaj spisak stvarno nazivamo našim "svetim gralovima".

When you're digging for records,

Kada iskopavate ploče,

you're surrounded by music you don't know.

okruženi ste vama nepoznatom muzikom.

You're surrounded by mystery and by all these dreams --

Okruženi ste tajanstvenošću i svim tim snovima -

records that people once believed in.

pločama u koje su ljudi nekad verovali.

Imagine the thousands of artists who were destined to be legends

Zamislite hiljade umetnika kojima je bilo suđeno da budu legende,

but for various reasons, were just overlooked.

ali su ih iz raznih razloga prevideli.

Many of these records only exist in a handful of copies,

Mnoge od ovih ploča jedino postoje u pregršt kopija,

and some have never even been found,

a neke od njih nikad nisu pronađene,

never been heard.

nikad nisu preslušane.

They're literally endangered species.

One su bukvalno ugrožena vrsta.

I'll tell you a story

Ispričaću vam priču

that for me sort of sums up the value of the work of record diggers.

koja za mene na neki način sumira vrednost rada kopača ploča.

The story of a brilliant Montreal musician and composer.

Priču o briljantnom montrealskom muzičaru i kompozitoru.

Henri-Pierre Noël was born and raised in Haiti,

Anri-Pjer Noel je rođen i odrastao na Haitiju,

but he lived briefly in the US and in Belgium.

ali je nakratko živeo u SAD-u i Belgiji.

He passed through Montreal what was supposed to be for two weeks,

Bio je u prolazu kroz Montreal na predviđene dve nedelje,

but he ended up staying for the next 40 years.

ali je na kraju ostao tu narednih 40 godina.

When he was young, he learned to play piano

U mladosti je naučio da svira klavir

and developed a very particular way of playing his instrument:

i razvio je krajnje zanimljiv način sviranja ovog instrumenta:

very fast and almost like a percussion.

veoma brzo i skoro nalik sviranju perkusija.

His style was a mix of his Haitian influences and folklore

Njegov stil je bio mešavina haićanskog uticaja i folklora,

mixed with the American influences that he grew up hearing.

pomešanih sa američkim uticajima, koje je odrastao slušajući.

So he created a mix of compas mixed with funk and jazz.

Pa je stvorio mešavinu od kompa pomešanog s fankom i džezom.

As a young man,

Kao mladić

he played and toured with live bands in the US and in Europe,

je svirao i išao na turneje sa živim bendovima po SAD-u i Evropi,

but had never recorded an album or a song before moving to Canada.

ali nikada nije snimio album ili pesmu pre selidbe u Kanadu.

It was in Montreal in 1979

U Montrealu je 1979.

that he released his first album called, "Piano."

izdao svoj prvi album naslovljen "Klavir".

Completely on his own, on Henri-Pierre Noël Records.

Potpuno samostalno za Anri-Pjer Noel rekords.

He only made what he could afford: 2,000 copies of the record.

Napravio je samo onoliko koliko je mogao da priušti: 2000 kopija ploče.

The record received a little bit of airplay,

Ploča je dobila nešto radijskog prostora,

a little bit of support in Canada and in Haiti,

nešto podrške u Kanadi i Haitiju,

but without a big label behind it,

ali bez velikog izdavača koji bi stao iza nje,

it was very, very difficult.

bilo je veoma, veoma teško.

Back then,

Tada,

if your record wasn't getting played on mainstream radio,

ako vašu ploču nisu puštali na vodećim radio stanicama,

if you weren't in jukeboxes or if you weren't invited to play on TV,

ako niste bili u džuboksima ili vas nisu pozivali da svirate na TV,

the odds were completely against you.

niste imali ama baš nikakve šanse.

Releasing an album as an independent artist

Izdati album kao nezavisni umetnik

was so much more difficult than it is today,

je bilo umnogome teže nego danas,

both in terms of being heard and just distributing the thing.

i u smislu toga da vas čuju kao i prosta distribucija istog.

So, soon after, he released a second album,

Pa je ubrzo potom objavio drugi album,

kept a busy schedule playing piano in various clubs in the city,

imao je tesan raspored klavirskih svirki po raznim klubovima u gradu,

but his records started to accumulate dust slowly.

ali njegove ploče su polako počele da sakupljaju prašinu.

And those 2,000 copies in the span of 30 years

A tih 2000 primeraka u rasponu od 30 godina

easily started to get lost

je lako počelo da se gubi

until only a few copies in the world remained.

dok svega nekoliko primeraka nije ostalo u svetu.

Then in the mid-2000s,

A onda je sredinom 2000-ih,

a Montreal record digger that goes by the name Kobal

montrealski kopač ploča, koji se predstavlja kao Kobal,

was doing his weekly rounds of just hunting for records.

obavljao nedeljnu rutinu prostog lova na ploče.

He was in a flea market

Bio je na buvljaku

surrounded by thousands of other dirty, dusty, moldy records.

okružen hiljadama drugih prljavih, prašnjavih, buđavih ploča.

That's where he found the "Piano" album.

Tada je otkrio album "Klavir".

He wasn't specifically looking for it.

Nije baš tragao za njim.

Actually, you could say it sort of found him.

Zapravo, mogli biste reći da je ploča našla njega.

You could also say that after 20 years of record digging every single week,

Mogli biste takođe reći da je nakon 20 godina kopanja ploča svake nedelje

he had developed a sixth sense for finding the gold.

razvio šesto čulo za otkrivanje blaga.

He took the record and inspected it:

Uzeo je ploču i pregledao je:

the front, the artwork, the back, the liner notes,

prednju stranu, ilustraciju pozadinu, beleške,

and he was intrigued by the fact that this Haitian musician made a record

i bio je zaintrigiran činjenicom da je ovaj haićanin snimio ploču

in Quebec in the late '70s,

u Kvebeku kasnih 1970-ih,

so he was intrigued.

pa ga je to zainteresovalo.

He took out his little, plastic, portable turntable

Izneo je svoj maleni, plastični, prenosivi gramofon,

that he brought with him whenever he was on these digging quests

koji je nosio sa sobom kad god bi išao na te pohode kopanja,

and put the record on.

i stavio je ploču.

So why don't we do the same thing?

Hajde da i mi uradimo isto.

(Music)

(Muzika)

He fell in love with the music instantly,

Istog trena se zaljubio u muziku,

but he had to know the backstory behind it.

ali morao je da zna priču iza nje.

He didn't know where it came from.

Nije znao odakle potiče.

He knew the artist,

Znao je da je umetnik,

at the time of the recording,

u vreme nastanka ploče,

was living in Montreal,

živeo u Montrealu,

so for months, he tried to track him down.

pa je mesecima pokušavao da mu uđe u trag.

He even found Noël's business card inside the record sleeve.

Čak je pronašao i Noelovu poslovnu karticu unutar omota ploče.

That's how DIY Henri-Pierre Noël was.

Eto koliko je Anri-Pjer Noel bio sam svoj majstor.

So he found the card inside the record sleeve --

Dakle, pronašao je karticu unutar omota albuma -

of course he did try to call,

naravno da je pokušao da pozove,

but after 30 years, the number didn't work anymore.

no nakon 30 godina, broj više nije bio funkcionalan.

So it was only in Belgium,

Tek je u Belgiji,

where the artist had once lived,

gde je umetnik nekad živeo,

that Kobal managed to find someone that knew the artist personally

Kobal uspeo da pronađe nekoga ko je lično poznavao umetnika

and gave him the contact.

i dao mu je kontakt.

So when he finally sat down with the artist,

Pa, kad je konačno seo sa umetnikom,

he made him a promise to someday find a way to get the album rereleased.

obećao mu je da će jednog dana da nađe način i reizda njegov album.

He then arranged for a British label called Wah Wah 45s

Potom je udesio sa britanskim izdavačem nazvanim Wah Wah 45s

to get the two albums reissued.

da reizdaju dva albuma.

And what happens very often is,

A često se dešava,

in these reissue projects,

kod projekata sa reizdanjima

that it becomes very difficult to find the master tapes --

da bude veoma teško pronaći master trake -

the original recording of the sessions.

prvobitne snimke sesija.

Art can be destroyed by fires, floods, earthquakes,

Umetnost mogu da unište vatra, poplave, zemljotresi,

thrown in the garbage,

može da završi u smeću

or just lost forever.

ili se prosto trajno izgubi.

But thankfully,

Međutim, srećom,

the Henri-Pierre Noël tapes were safe

trake Anri-Pjer Noela su bile bezbedne

and they were ready for remastering.

i bile su spremne za remastering.

The record was finally rereleased

Ploča je konačno objavljena

and received praise from music critics, DJs and listeners worldwide --

i dobila je pohvale od muzičkih kritičara, disk-džokeja i slušalaca širom sveta -

the praise that it should have received in 1979.

pohvale koje je trebalo da dobije 1979.

The artist was so inspired that he decided to revive his music career,

Umetnik je bio toliko nadahnut da je odlučio da oživi muzičku karijeru,

get back on a stage, and play for new audiences.

vrati se na scenu i svira novoj publici.

The artist, now in his 60s,

Umetnik, sad u 60-im,

told me, "This changed everything for me.

mi je rekao: "Ovo mi je sve izmenilo.

I went from planning my retirement

Od planiranja penzije sam prešao

to playing on the BBC Radio in London, and on Radio Canada and more."

na svirke na Radiju Bi-Bi-Si u Londonu i na Radiju Kanada i šire."

But also it gave him a chance to play

Takođe mu je pružilo priliku da svira

in front of his three sons for the first time.

prvi put pred svoja tri sina.

To me, this story shows perfectly the work of record diggers at its best.

Meni ova priča savršeno pokazuje delatnost kopača ploča u svom sjaju.

Beyond the rarity and the dollar value --

Mimo rariteta i novčane vrednosti -

and I'll be honest, we're totally obsessed by that --

i biću iskren, potpuno smo time opsednuti .

the true beauty is to give art a second chance;

istinska lepota je pružiti umetnosti drugu šansu;

to save art from oblivion.

sačuvati umetnost od zaborava.

The work of a good record digger is a constant loop of three phases.

Rad dobrog kopača ploča je stalna petlja koju čine tri faze.

The first thing we do is hunt.

Prvo što radimo je lov.

We spend hours, days, years of our lives

Provodimo sate, dane, godine naših života

rummaging through dirty and dusty record bins.

preturajući po prljavim i prašnjavim otpadima ploča.

Everything that we can do to find our hands on the gold.

Radimo sve što možemo da se dokopamo zlata.

Da, možete da pronađete dobre ploče na internetu,

Yes, you can find good records online,

but for the deepest treasures,

ali za najskrivenija blaga,

you need to get off the couch and into the wild.

morate da ustanete sa kauča, pa u divljinu.

That's why we call it record digging and not record clicking.

Zato to nazivamo kopanjem ploča, a ne klikanjem ploča.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So what we are is music archaeologists.

Dakle, mi smo muzički arheolozi.

But then the next thing we do is we gather.

Potom, sakupljanje je sledeće što radimo.

Based on our taste, expertise, personal agenda,

Na osnovu našeg ukusa, stručnosti, ličnog plana,

we choose carefully which records to save,

pažljivo biramo koje ploče ćemo da sačuvamo,

which records mean something to us.

koje ploče nam nešto znače.

We then try and find out every little thing we can about that record --

Potom pokušavamo da otkrijemo svaku moguću sitnicu o toj ploči -

the artist, the label

umetnika, izdavača

and supervital information

i suštinsku informaciju,

like "Who's that playing trumpet on track three?"

poput: "Ko svira trubu na trećoj kompoziciji?"

Then we file them, we contextualize them,

Potom ih arhiviramo, dajemo im kontekst

and we keep them safe.

i držimo ih na bezbednom.

We are music archivists.

Mi smo muzički arhivari.

And the last thing we do to close the loop is we share.

A poslednje što radimo, da zatvorimo petlju - delimo.

Most record diggers that I know have some sort of a way

Većina kopača ploča koje poznajem ima nekakav način

to share their discovery and elevate the artist

deljenja svojih pronalazaka i isticanja umetnika

through an album reissue,

putem reizdanja albuma,

a web article, a radio show.

veb članka, radijskih emisija.

We give records back their rightful place in music history.

Vraćamo pločama mesto koje im pripada u muzičkoj istoriji.

We are tastemakers and curators.

Mi oblikujemo ukus i kustosi smo.

We are musicologists.

Mi smo muzikolozi.

So for myself

Dakle, ja,

and most of the record collectors I've encountered in 20 years,

i većina kolekcionara poloča na koje sam naišao tokom 20 godina,

I think that we all have some sort of an outlet

mislim da svi mi imamo nekakav medij

for these discoveries.

za ova otkrića.

I think it's our way to keep our sanity and sort of sense of purpose

Mislim da je to način da očuvamo zdrav razum i osećanje svrhe

in this very maddening obsession,

u ovoj zaluđujućoj opsesiji

because it can be sort of a lonely one.

jer može da deluje usamljenički.

But I think we also do it because it serves the human need

No, mislim da to radimo i zato što je u službi ljudske težnje

to pass along cultural knowledge.

da se prenese kulturološko znanje.

Speaking of the need for curation,

Govoreći o potrebi za kustošenjem,

in an era of overwhelming choice,

u dobu preplavljenosti izborom,

it's been demonstrated

pokazano je

that too much choice actually hinders discovery.

da prevelika mogućnost izbora zapravo ometa otkrića.

For example,

Na primer,

if you're trying to watch something on Netflix,

ako pokušavate da odgledate nešto na Netfliksu,

you're actually only browsing through a catalog of 6,000 titles.

zapravo pretražujete katalog od svega 6000 naslova.

Now, compare that with Spotify;

Sad, uporedite to sa Spotifajom;

if you want to pick something to listen to,

ako želite da izaberete nešto da slušate,

you're browsing through a catalog of 30 million songs.

pretražujete katalog od 30 miliona pesama.

So I think as you can see,

Te smatram, kao što vidite,

this notion of paralysis by choice

da ovo osećanje paralisanosti izborom

affects music more than movies,

pogađa muziku više nego filmove,

for example.

na primer.

And there's a few studies

A postoji nekoliko studija

that are starting to show the effects of this.

koje počinju da pokazuju efekte ovoga.

A recent look at the UK music market

Skorašnji osvrt na muzičko tržište UK,

shows that the top one percent of artists in the UK are actually earning 77 percent

pokazuje da 1% najuspešnijih umetnika u UK zapravo zarađuju 77%

of the total revenues inside the music industry.

ukupnih prihoda unutar muzičke industrije.

That's 2013,

To je bilo u 2013,

and that's progressively getting worse,

i progresivno se pogoršava,

or progressing.

to jest napreduje.

Anyway, if you're in the one percent, I'm sure you're happy.

Kako god, ako spadate u prvih 1%, siguran sam da ste srećni.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

So the takeaway for me is

Stoga zaključujem

it's easier for people to listen to music than ever before.

da je ljudima lakše nego ikad pre da slušaju muziku.

People have more music at their disposal than ever before,

Ljudima je na raspolaganju više muzike nego ikad pre,

yet people choose to listen to more of the same music than ever before.

ipak, ljudi biraju da slušaju više iste muzike nego ikad pre.

And that's a sad thing.

A to je tužno.

Inspired by my love for music research, record digging and curation,

Nadahnut ljubavlju prema muzičkom istraživanju, kopanju ploča i kustošenju,

I started a website called "Music Is My Sanctuary" in 2007.

osnovao sam 2007. vebsajt pod nazivom "Music Is My Sanctuary"

Our slogan has always been "Future Classics and Forgotten Treasures."

Naša krilatica je oduvek bila: "Budući klasici i zaboravljena blaga."

And it shows our love for discovering music

A to pokazuje našu ljubav prema otkrivanju muzike

and introducing music both old and new.

i predstavljanju i stare i nove muzike.

From humble beginnings,

Od skromnih početaka,

we've built a worldwide platform with a massive audience

sagradili smo globalnu platformu sa ogromnom publikom

with over 100 collaborators.

sa preko 100 saradnika.

We've created over 10,000 pieces of content,

Stvorili smo preko 10.000 članaka,

over 500 hours of audio content.

preko 500 časova audio sadržaja.

Our audience consists of people

Našu publiku čine ljudi

who just want more than what's being offered to them

koji prosto žele više od onog što im nude

by mainstream music channels.

vodeći medijski kanali.

They want to do --

Žele da delaju -

they want to dig deeper,

žele da kopaju dublje,

but they don't necessarily have 20 hours a week like us nerds,

ali nužno nemaju 20 časova nedeljno, kao mi, štreberi,

so they trust us to do that for them.

pa nama poveravaju taj posao.

Curation is at the heart of everything we do.

Kustošenje je u srži svega što radimo.

We believe in human recommendations over algorithms.

Verujemo u prednost ljudskih preporuka nad algoritmima.

I could talk about the passion of record digging for days,

mogao bih danima da govorim o strasti za iskopavanjem ploča,

but let me conclude this way.

ali dozvolite da zaključim ovako.

After many years of doing it,

Nakon mnogo godina bavljenja ovim,

a record collector's collection becomes sort of his autobiography.

kolekcija kolekcionara ploča postaje nešto kao njegova autobiografija.

Last year, I was DJ-ing in Poland,

Prošle godine sam bio u Poljskoj kao Disk-džokej,

and the people that were hosting me,

a judi kod kojih sam odseo

they had this amazing record collection,

imali su zadivljujuću kolekciju ploča,

and of course I was intrigued

i naravno da sam bio zaintrigiran

and I said, "Are you selling these?"

i rekao sam: "Da li ih prodajete?"

They then explained to me that it was the collection

Potom su mi objasnili kako je to bila kolekcija

that belonged to their dear friend Maceo who passed away a few months earlier.

koja je pripadala njihovom dragom prijatelju Maceu

koji je umro pre nekoliko meseci.

And they were doing a project of inviting different people

A radili su na projektu gde su pozivali razne ljude

to take the collection and to create something new from it,

da uzmu kolekciju i da od nje naprave nešto novo,

whether it's sampling or DJ mixes,

bilo u vidu semplova ili disk-džokejskih mikseva,

you know, just to give it a second life.

znate, prosto da joj udahnu novi život.

And so after a few hours of going through the collection myself

Pa sam nakon nekoliko sati prelistavanja kolekcije

and creating a DJ mix from it,

i pravljenja disk-džokejskog miksa od nje,

even though I never got the chance to meet him,

čak iako nikad nisam imao priliku da ga upoznam,

it felt like in a special way,

osećao sam na poseban način

me and him,

da smo on i ja,

we got to talk about records for a few hours.

razgovarali o pločama nekoliko sati.

So, as record diggers,

Dakle, kao kopači ploča,

our work and our record collections are there

naš rad i naše kolekcije ploča su tu

to be passed on to the next generation.

da se prenesu na sledeću generaciju.

Beautiful art deserves to be cherished, shared and rediscovered.

Lepa umetnost zaslužuje da je pazimo, delimo i nanovo otkrivamo.

Embrace curators;

Prigrlite kustose;

we are alternative voices to the mainstream music channels,

mi smo alternativni glasovi vodećim muzičkim kanalima,

digital or otherwise.

digitalnim i drugim.

Go beyond the algorithm.

Idite mimo algoritma.

Whatever kind of music you like,

Kakvu god muziku da volite,

there are so many websites, radio shows, DJs, record stores out there

ima toliko vebsajtova, radisjkih emisija, disk-džokeja, prodavnica ploča tamo negde,

that are just waiting to share their discoveries with you.

koji samo čekaju da s vama podele svoja otkrića.

We do this work for you.

Obavljamo ovaj posao za vas.

All you have to do is open your ears and take risks.

Sve što treba da uradite je da načuljite uši i rizikujete.

This music will change your life.

Muzika će vam promeniti život.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)