In NICS 2 we published a piece written by Mike Steyels on the surviving Caribbean record stores in Brooklyn, accompanied by some beautiful black & white photographs from Alex Solmssen. We could only fit a few into the zine, so here is a further selection of photos from the shoot. Be sure to grab NICS 2 from a retailer near you to check the full article.
Records stores are shuttering loudly across the globe, and New York is no exception. But if you take a trip down Nostrand Ave. in Brooklyn, you’ll find a number of shops weathering this technological storm. In the three miles on a strip between Crown Heights and Flatbush filled with vegetarian restaurants, 99 cent stores, and churches, about half a dozen music shops remain. These are dense Caribbean communities, and the selection at the shops reflects that. While mix CDs of dancehall and soca are standard fare at all of them, the main focus is different at each. There’s a breadth of sounds to be discovered, ranging from Calypso to Rap Kreyol to Zouk.
