“Basically I like to DJ the store”
If you’ve ever enjoyed the aural ambiance while shopping at either Omoi Zakka Shop location, then give some props to store owner & HBIC, Liz. Please enjoy this super mini Q&A between Liz and web manager, M about the store’s summer sound, and enjoy the playlist above.
M: Do you have a certain criteria when it comes to selecting music for the stores?
LIZ: So, aside from generally keeping up with current releases, I like to explore certain themes and sounds across decades, generally chronologically, and link together artists from way back that sound current in that context.
M: Is there any one sound lately you’re really into for summer?
LIZ: So [in the store] we’ve been listening to more long-form tracks that evolve and develop, both jazz and psyche, and then I’m kind of in to synthesized sounds and electronic piano. I also had us listening to a lot of older stuff after the Trump election that would have been considered protest songs/protest artists way back when our parents were young… So I guess I’m into finding these cyclical patterns in social studies thru music.
LIZ: Other fun fact: every Sunday night during childhood, I’d watch the Simpsons and make a mixtape to take on the schoolbus for the week.
M: Wow what?
LIZ: Yeah. I still have a lot of them. I’d make them on my AIWA and play them on my walkman.
M: Wowww
LIZ: Yeah so pretty much I would only take jobs that I could play my own music at lol
M: Ok what’s your listening set-up lately?
LIZ: Like, how do I listen to music? CD’s FTW! I like to drive, so I like to play them in my car. CD’s are the new cassette. I also like the idea of listening to full albums at a time and learning the story arc, if there is one. Bandcamp is a great resource for getting smaller and international releases, though the sound mixing can be a wildcard. I also enjoy the occasional sit-down with my dad where we dig up albums both new and old and I record a bunch of random shit to discover later on.
And that’s how we get our store music! Happy listening. =}