"Most people know him as one of the co-founders of the Beirut Groove Collective, a group of music lovers on a mission to bring quality music and live shows back to Beirut. Ernesto Chahoud (AKA DJ Spindle) has become a staple of the city’s underground music scene, and with a personal collection of over 10,000 vinyl records, he is perhaps the unofficial guru of vinyl in Lebanon. Now DJ Spindle is ta
king his passion a step further by carving out a small space in Beirut's cultural landscape entirely dedicated to just that: records. What was once his grandfather's shoe factory on the busy street of Maraach in Bourj Hammoud is now a “DJ crate-digging space” that hosts a wide variety of selections from his collection, as well as some handmade accessories including leather bags. It's not so much the profit Ernesto is after, but bringing together like-minded people over their shared love of all things authentically audio. “My friends, they come in, they hang out, we listen, we exchange,” he told Beirut.com. The space could also be seen as an extension of Ernesto’s own house, which he calls “a warehouse of records.” But what you get in Ernesto's shop is a labor of love. He brought in some furniture and a gorgeous floral vintage chandelier which commands attention at the center of the ceiling. Every single one is a tile sample that differs in both color and texture, and all were installed by Ernesto himself. “It took me eight months to do this because I did everything by hand,” he told Beirut.com"
