INDEX
A Collection of Records for Personal Enjoyment
On the day of the interview, Mr. Arayama made me an iced coffee and we chatted briefly across the counter. He shared that he used to DJ house music and bought many dance music records in the past. He mentioned that he now spends more time buying records for personal listening, regardless of genre, and has increasingly focused on jazz, including free jazz and spiritual jazz. He spoke modestly about how this unique collection was built over many years of careful and dedicated acquisition.
In short, the Instagram posts featured a collection of records accumulated over the years by a dedicated listener. They represent records gathered specifically for personal listening. DJs might buy records for playing in clubs, or music writers might buy them for articles, often with the intention of sharing them with others. Similarly, restaurants might collect records for background music. However, Mr. Arayama explains that many of the records at SILENCIO were collected for personal enjoyment. Some are easy to listen to, while others are quite experimental. The broad and intriguing nature of the collection likely stems from the fact that these records were gathered solely for Mr. Arayama’s own use.
Curious to learn more about the collection, I asked questions like, “Did you read that disc guide?” or “Did you listen to that DJ’s compilation?” Mr. Arayama responded that he relied on his instincts and the information on record covers rather than such guides. This collection, he explained, is the result of his own personal “digging” and discovery.
