GonzoCast Vol7 – Gonzo Digs Maghreb

Here’s the seventh installment in the GonzoCast series, presenting some of my favorite Algerian, Egyptian, and Moroccan records bought in fleamarkets in and around Paris. Enjoy!

1. Gonzo intro
2. Mohsen Raïes – Zay El Hawa
3. Youcef Abdjaoui – Akhdhaanyi
4. Mohamed Hilmy & Ourida – Naouak
5. Chab Haj Mohamed Bouzoubaa – Bnat L’Maxi
6. Niâma – Ouahdou Ouahdou
7. Hajja El Hamdaouia – Haddaouiat
8. Felix El Maghrebi – Madinte Fes
9. Ould Chneichen – Kaouajya
10. Gonzo outro

Fun with FotoAutomat and Mexican Wrestling Masks

All over Paris some pretty cool-looking FotoAutomat machines have been popping up. A couple of weeks ago we decided to have some fun with the retro black & white effect and some awesome Mexican wrestling masks my mother brought us straight from Mexico.

I’m really happy with the results, and for 2 bucks per strip I think we’ll be taking many more. You can find many more examples here.

Found Photo Album – Belgium

Two weeks ago I went for a little week-end trip to Brussels. I loved the city, the beer, and its giant flea market at Place du Jeu de Balle.

While there I looked for old record players, books, records, beer glasses, expired photo films, and vintage photographs. For a while now I’d been jealous of HillbillyXX‘s incredible collection of old/vintage found photos. Not only does he have some amazing photos that are much more than simple vernacular photography, he updates his collection almost daily.

I, on the other hand, only updated my collection once every fortnight, since good and affordable photos are hard to come by (I’ve had anything from .50 to 5 euros a photo!). It wasn’t until I stumbled upon a collection of old photo albums in Brussels that I realized that buying in bulk was the only way to satisfy my constant cravings for old photos of unknown/forgotten people.

This particular seller had some 4 or 5 albums, out of which only one had several photos per page while the other ones had one or two photos a page. The guy wanted 50 euros for the album, but I was able to bargain for 25 bucks (I haven’t counted the exact number of photos inside, but I’m pretty sure i got it for less than if I’d bought them individually).

Since I haven’t meticulously examined the photos I cannot say for now if the whole album consists of one single family or if it’s a mix and match of different friends’ and families’ memories. What i do know is that the album itself was manufactured in Brussels, and that each page is labeled with names of places in France (“Toulouse”, “Bordeaux”, etc.). As far as I can tell the placement of each image in the album does not correspond to the label on the page, which leads me to believe that either they were hurriedly rearranged in there or that they simply do not correspond to the album (meaning that they were added to a random album).

I haven’t had time to select my favorite photos, nor to scan them individually, but for the time being I’ve managed to take pictures of each page. Enjoy!

GonzoCast Vol6 – Gonzo Digs Jazz

Here’s the sixth installment in the GonzoCast series, presenting some of my favorite Jazz/Big Band/Swing records bought in fleamarkets. Enjoy!

1. Gonzo intro
2. Toi le Venin OST – Blues à la Nuit
3. Benny Goodman – I’m Beginning to See the Light
4. Ella Fitzgerald – Saint Louis Blues
5. Count Basie & his Orchestra – Every Tub
6. Chris Barber’s Jazz Band – Tiger Rag
7. Sidney Bechet – Chacun a sa Chance
8. The Platters – Good Night Sweetheart
9. Bobby Hebb – Sunny
10. Nancy Wilson – Can’t Take my Eyes off You
11. Ella Fitzgerald – They Can’t Take that Away from Me
12. Sidney Bechet – Mack the Knife
13. Gonzo outro