It all started out several years ago as nothing more than a way for photographer Eilon Paz to make use of his idle hours. Adrift in Brooklyn after emigrating from Israel, Eilon—a record collector on the side—thought it might be fun to start taking photos of people whose record collections were both larger and weirder than his own. Adopting this as his personal project, he began traveling the world, from Australia to Cuba and Argentina to Ghana, in pursuit of intriguing and memorable subjects. Unearthing the very soul of the vinyl community, the assembly of portraits he created quickly turned into the Dust & Grooves website. In the summer of 2012, Eilon launched a Kickstarter campaign that funded his road trip to shoot collectors throughout the American heartland, and since then, the project has been embraced by many friends and supporters who have volunteered to work with Eilon along the way. This year, Dust & Grooves expands even further, complementing the website’s cloud with a physical book that profiles over 130 vinyl collectors with photographic essays and in-depth interviews. Dust & Grooves has engaged and connected the underground community of record collectors. As well as becoming a go-to place for vinyl lovers, it maintains the integrity and history of vinyl, as well as the musical heritage that goes along with every record in these collections. As technology moves forward and many music formats go digital, Eilon’s endeavor helps keep the rich, warm, analog life of vinyl spinning.
