Record Shopping in Greece

Record haul from Zaharias Records in Greece - your favorite record store's favorite record store. Plus Latin Gold Record Sales in September

Sep 08, 2024

Summer break may be over, September is heating up . . . LITERALLY. It’s nearly 100 degrees right now in Los Angeles, with multiple heat wave warnings going out, cooling centers on blast, and numerous event cancellations due to excessive heat.

Better put, in the immortal words of Rob Thomas as featured on Santana’s scorching smash single “Smooth”:

Stereogum on X: "Our retrospective on Santana's #Supernatural album? https://t.co/PCwSNh0C3A https://t.co/7Fp7PpGONT" / X — Like seven inches from the midday sun

But you know what was even hotter? GREECE. For ten beautiful days, my wife and I, along with her parents, traveled to the islands of Sifnos and Milos to have a real, proper vacation. Not a trip. A VACATION.

I turned off and tuned out and recharged in places like this:

we stayed in one of those tiny boat houses in our private beach cove

While every day was a humid 100 degrees, I was cooling off, taking a break from the bustle of work, family, and life. This trip was exactly what I needed. However, no trip, domestic or international, for me is ever complete without visiting a local record store, and let me tell you - GREECE DID NOT DISAPPOINT. There were a ton of record stores I wanted to visit but with limited time and so much to see, we strategized on spending a good amount of time at one shop instead of trying to see them all (shout out to Rock and Roll Circus, Diskadiko Vinyl Records, and Underflow Record Store & Art Gallery).

On our last day in Athens, Greece, we visited Zaharias Records, your favorite record store’s favorite record store. It was everything I dreamed of in an international third place for vinyl:

Tucked away in an innocuous alley with 1 euro bins? Check.
Incredibly cataloged rows and rows of crates in every genre imaginable? Check.
Neon vibes and eccentric owners? Oh you betcha.
MORE records in the basement sold at fair prices? HELL YES.

Record Haul From Greece

I can’t stop thinking about Zaharias, but more, I can’t wait to start listening to everything we bought. Shopping in a different country with a different language meant not knowing who all the artists were or even understanding the album titles, so we just had to go off recognition and vibes - and let me tell you - the vibes were vibing.

Christophe - Aline: Christophe is a French singer and songwriter who experienced huge commercial success with 1965’s “Aline” which I first heard in the trailer for Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch.” See? You should really watch this lyric video. It’s hauntingly cool.
Λίτσα Διαμάντη – Τι Άλλο Θάθελες: “Litsa Diamanti (born in 1949 in Kolonos, Athens) is a Greek laïko singer who became famous in the 1960s and 1970s. She has been described as the "child-wonder of the '60s decade and the absolute diva of Metapolitefsi" (Discogs). “Laiko” is a Greek music genre in Greek language in accordance with the tradition of the Greek people. Also called “folk song” or “urban folk music” singer. Thanks, Wikipedia!
Bohannon - Dance Your Ass Off: Funky stomper Bohannon spreads the groove and makes you dance your ass off in this electronic funk-disco mash-up.
Olé! - Olé!: Found in the Latin section of the basement collection, this one spoke to me because of its first song title “Disco Flamenco” and I just felt that the merging of those two genres, found in a Greek record store, would be a recipe for awesomeness.
Nena - Nena: 99 LUFT BALLOONS. Enough said.
Νάντια* – Μπράβο: Found in the single euro bin, “Nantia Konstantopoulou sings Edith Piaf.” Here’s an extract from the notes roughly translated in English: "[…]If I was asked to sing Edith Piaf in her own language and her country, I would deny, because I would be afraid of the comparison. Therefore, I borrowed the songs’ wonderful melodies, and having I kept -in most of them- the same subject, I arranged them with Greek lyrics[…]" (Discogs).
Γλυκερία – Live Στο Λυκαβηττό: Alysia bought this one because her and her sister grew up listening to this iconic Bazouki player.
Konstantina - Η Καρδιά Μου Τραγουδά Τη Μεσόγειο: This album by Konstantina, who was the Greek Madonna of the 90s, was the best find in the store. When Alysia saw it, she grabbed it immediately and exclaimed “Yes!”. She proceed to share that she now understood the thrill of crate digging, and honestly that ruled.
Δημήτρης Μητροπάνος, Thanos Mikroutsikos – Στου Αιώνα Την Παράγκα: Alysia also grabbed this live album by Glykeria - it was a personal pop fave she grew up listening to.
Various Artists - Στή Ντισκοτέκ: To be honest, I have no idea what this one means, but it was in the “Greek Synth Pop” section and there seems to be a cover of the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” on this.
Various Artists - Surprise Party: Since meeting Vincenzo and Nikki from Radio Isaura, who specialize in Italian imports,DJ-ing and hosting the Highland Park Record Fair, I’ve been wanting to explore more Italo disco. Zaharias happened to have one full crate of Italo disco, and this cheesecake cover (which I just learned is the term for covers that feature pin-up style women; for men, it’s ‘beefcake’), with its amazing green color scheme, spoke to me. This one’s got a Thompson Twins track on it too.
Various Artists - Disco Box: Another italo disco compilation, another cheesecake cover.
Iggy Pop - Lust For Life (Greece 1990 Reissue): The holy grail of my discovers that day. A VG+ ‘90 Greek pressing of one of the greatest solo albums of all-time. “Lust for Life” and “The Passenger” alone will make you pay top dollar, but the entire album is wall-to-wall incredible, a masterpiece produced by David Bowie, and Iggy’s comeback after a drug foray almost took him out of the business. Original US pressings go for $50-60. This 90s Greek reissue was 11 euros.

Latin Gold Record Sales in September

While I was a little radio silent this summer on Substack (LA wasn’t the only thing burning out), Latin Gold Records kept busy with pop-ups at the Frogtown Flea Crawl in July and the Highland Park Record Fair in August. They were both amazing events with great turnouts, but I want to make this September a month to remember, especially since it’s also my birthday month.

Church of Wax Pop-Up - Sunday, Sept. 8 (Long Beach, CA)

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