For all the vinyl-lovers out there, we take a look at the rarest and most expensive electronic music records that money can buy.
This year, UK artists made more from vinyl sales than they did from Youtube views, which proves record collecting is back in a big way. For vinyl virgins and longtime hoarders alike, here are the rarest electronic and dance records to add to your collection, if you can afford the cost of entry.
Jim Musicman – I Can’t Help Myself [Bosh]
Fetching up to £500 on the open market, this four minute anthemic deep house track comes on purple vinyl with a white label. The only upload of the track comes from Tonton Decibel, who felt the need to plaster their name all over the track as self-promotion. Jim Musicman himself is a mysterious entity. ‘I Can’t Help Myself’ appears to be his only release, and the only release from label Bosh. He has absolutely no online presence whatsoever. Is Musicman the secret alias of a well-known producer? We may never find out.
Chip E. – Jack Trax [Gotta Dance Records]
Selling for around £100, this 1985 Chicago house EP is an absolute classic. Featuring some of the earliest work from ‘Godfather of House Music’ Chip E. Every track on this release is up there with the best of Chicago house. Get Jack Trax on vinyl and you will be holding a true piece of house music history.
John Forde – Woman [Sidewalk]
‘Don’t You Know Who Did It’ from the Woman EP is a poppy track with all the makings of a disco hit. But it wasn’t a hit. Very few copies were printed, and if you can track one down, it will cost you up to £200 to purchase. The EP had two resurgences of popularity. The first was when Italian DJ Mozart started to play it in Baia Degli Angeli, Italy. The second was in 2001 when DJ Harvey included it on his seminal Sarcastic Study Masters Volume 2 mix. Buying this EP will put your collection on the path to DJ Harvey-level eclecticism.
Paul McCartney – Temporary Secretary [Parlophone]
In another latent popularity surge, Erol Alkan started playing Paul McCartney’s 1980 track at his club Trash in 2004. Parlophone quickly printed 500 copies of a promo edit and collectors swiftly snapped them up. ‘Temporary Secretary’ is one of McCartney’s first forays into electronic music, with a rapid synth riff forming the song’s backbone. Once again, this one will cost you over £100.
Clarence – Hyperspace Sound Lab [Fluorescent Forest Rec.]
Clarence G is an alias of James Marcel Stinson, better known as half of Drexciya. 1991’s Hyperspace Sound Lab is one of his earliest known productions, and it is quite different to the Drexciya sound. Two of the tracks feature a rapper, possibly Stinson himself, bragging about his skills on the mic, but it is unsurprisingly the production that really stands out. The soundscapes are dark and bottom-heavy, but a far cry from Drexciya’s techno pulse. A mint, original copy of this EP can cost you up to £500, and sometimes over £1000.
DJ Deeon – 2 High 2 Lift! [Dance Mania]
MN2S artist DJ Deeon rounds off this list with his highly coveted 1998 double 12” release. The records can fetch up to £100 for mint first run copies. The album includes the caliber of work you can expect from the legendary DJ Deeon, blending the best of Chicago house, ghetto house and Detroit techno. Some have hailed it as his best collected body of work.
Header image is ‘Records’ by Will Folsom via Flickr.