Hello! Welcome to Press Test. Since this baby is fresh out of the Mind Womb–amorphous and unshaped by time, practice or any conscious decision beside the one to start writing about records–an introduction is is probably in order. My name is Tony Fairchild. I’m a record collector, DJ, label owner and sometimes-promoter at Hot Mass here in Pittsburgh, USA.
I’ve imagined Press Test to be many things over the years, but the dawn of Substack and its resuscitation of the blog format has landed me here. This page will be the drop-zone for my musings on dance records new and old, the artists and labels who birthed them and the parties, scenes and communities that have arisen in their wake. At the very least this will be an exercise in putting my thoughts into (hopefully cogent) words and to “write as well as I can and learn as I go along”. Maybe you’ll enjoy reading and contribute to the conversation in the comments. Perhaps you’ll even find enough value here to throw me a few dollars a month for access to subscriber-only posts.
To keep things moving and make writing a regular practice for myself, I will be posting at least once per week. Expect monthly round-ups of my favorite new releases, interviews with the game’s movers and shakers, yammerings on classic and slept-on records, hot tips for frugal grips and more. Hopefully with time, practice and your participation Press Test will take shape and grow into something special and unforeseen.
Shouts to Joe Delon and Shawn Reynaldo for the excellent writing on their own ‘stacks. Thank you both for providing examples of how to express oneself on this platform. Check out their pages below.
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Looking forward to reading this Tony!