SUSO

The Lone Collector

One man’s anthological record collection should not go to waste.

Paul Mawhinney likes his records. Over the years, he’s amassed a few; over two and a half million in fact. Yep, Paul Mawhinney owns more records than anyone else on earth. He’s dedicated his life to it; he believes in it. Yet today, blind and desperate for his archive to be put to good use, he’s learned, through his struggles to move it on, that no one else really cares. His public access archive/shop has been closed down and no individual or organisation around the world will take the collection off his hands. It’s valued at $50 million, but it’s surely worth every cent. Of the music he owns released between 1948 and 1966, only 17% of it is available to buy anywhere today. The collection is more than just another archive. It’s a unique record of humanity’s musical output that we can’t afford to let slip. In this beautifully put together short film, Mawhinney introduces us to his life’s work while raising his own concerns about the health of recorded music today.

Read More (3 comments)

Categories Music Tags Music Records

By on 22/10/08