THE COOLEST RECORD STORE IN LOS ANGELES..? (Yes!) - Take a guided tour...

Take note, ye olde record stores in LA and the surrounding area...

There's a new kid in town!

Flowering Spikes is the brand new record store venture of one Gregory Arnold - musician, artist, gourmet chef, and himself a longtime serious collector (he will be familiar to those of you who tune into the Classical Bums livestreams, and who watch his YT channel).

This record store is something really special!

From it's carefully curated racks of mainly classical, jazz, contemporary, avant-garde (and even some rock thrown in) you can select record after record (or CDs) in immaculate condition (actually play graded), cleaned, re-sleeved - and priced to sell. Many highly desirable OGs and reissues are priced in the $10 - $30 range. Even the grails are priced reasonably - and they look brand new!

This is a true Aladdin's Cave for the serious listener and collector, and the space itself is warm and inviting, with Greg himself on hand for chats short and long. Add to that some beautiful art books and ephemera also available to purchase (or simply browse,) plus a state-of-the-art sound system playing any record you care to sample, and you have what is rapidly gaining a reputation as THE Destination Record Store in the area.

For those of you too far afield to make the trek to Westlake Village, situated about 35 miles northwest of downtown LA, nestled into the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains, Greg does a dedicated website drop every Wednesday morning at 8am PST, with a video going up on his channel the day before to give you an idea of some of the goodies up for sale. (Always check the website itself for records not featured in the video).

Join me as I brave the rush hour traffic to visit the store and meet Greg for the first time, and also hang with another noted YouTuber ("Noted and Archived") and Deutsche Grammophon recording artist, Michael A. Muller.

You will seriously not want to leave...

**N.B. And BTW a bunch of the records you will see in this video go up for sale on the website this Wednesday November 12th). **

   / @floweringspikes  

Store website: https://floweringspikes.com

The record by Michael A. Muller you see on the wall is "Mirror Music", and you can read my review of this fantastic album here: https://trackingangle.com/music/enter...

The French film I reference (and from which I extract the "thru the mirror" sequence) is "Orphée" (1950, dir. Jean Cocteau) - a modern retelling of the Orpheus myth. A stone cold classic of French cinema.

You can read more of my articles and reviews at https://trackingangle.com

Follow me on instagram: / music_on_record

Recommended channels for classical music fans and collectors:

Poetry On Plastic
/ @poetryonplastic

Flowering Spikes
/ @floweringspikes

The Pressing Matters
   / @thepressingmatters  

The most recent Classical Bums livestream:
https://www.youtube.com/live/PDG0DZ48...

An invaluable guide to all the different pressings of the main classical labels:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iJYk...

The Ultimate Classical Music Guide by David Hurwitz
/ @davesclassicalguide


My system, which has evolved over 25-plus years, is tube based and many pieces were acquired used. It was mostly put together with the invaluable help and ears of Eliot Midwood at Acoustic Image (https://acousticimage.com) who is also responsible for many of the fine recordings on the Yarlung label.

Well-Tempered Classic Turntable (round motor)
Micro-Benz Ruby 2 MC Cartridge

Phonostage: Zesto Audio Andros Spirit

Cary Audio CD/SACD 306

Preamp: Kora Equinoxe

Amps: Genesis Monoblocks 60 Amp Valve

Speakers: Silverline Sonatas with upgraded crossover and tweeters (Dynaudio)

Cabling: Aural Symphonics

Custom-made stands, with a Townshend Seismic Sink for the Well-Tempered turntable