Spotlight: KillaCutz Records - Amsterdam

Tucked away in the centre of Amsterdam is one of my favourite record shops on the continent, KillaCutz Records. My wife and I try to get over to the city once a year to visit friends, and I always make time to go and have a dig.

KillaCutz Records - Nieuwe Nieuwstraat 21-hs, 1012 NG Amsterdam, Netherlands

First opening in 1997, it began by specialising in more UK driven sounds of Drum & Bass and Breakbeat which has continued to this day. Downstairs there are whole sections now dedicated to the UK sounds, alongside new releases and local talent.

There is a fantastic interview on Youtube by Music Producer and creator, Sonidy, with the current store owner, Richard, who gives a run-down on the store's history.

DJ Nubian, who is largely credited for kick-starting the Drum & Bass movement in The Netherlands, was the founder and inaugural owner, before a second owner, Dewy, took over in the early 2000s. During his reign, they got Richard involved, who was working for the legendary Midtown Records at the time, to bring in more underground genres. He even recalls selling a lot of the records he's getting back into KillaCutz now, the first time round!

The name KillaCutz comes from the process of producing dubplates in the cutting houses of England in the early 90s. Richard recalls the team going over to the UK loaded up with their own productions to get them cut so that they could bring them back to play out in their sets, he explains in the interview; 'You have your own track on that piece of vinyl to play it like 50 times and it needed to sound like a killer cut'.

It hasn't always been plain-sailing for the store though, in 2008, during the financial crisis, they closed down as a record store and reopened as a bike rental shop. However the story goes that they were still selling records from the bike store's basement, from the store's old stock and their own collections to help make ends meets.

As the economy recovered and vinyl began seeing a resurgence, Richard began buying collections from DJs who used to shop with them previously, and in October 2016, alongside previous owner Dewy, they reopened KillaCutz in the building next door to the bike shop, restoring the brand to it's former glory.

Since reopening the store has gone from strength to strength, hosting visitors from across the globe and more recently, KillaCutz Radio sets which are available to listen on SoundCloud, and in-store events for the legendary ADE festival with the like of Ferry Corsten gracing the wheels of steel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBeDApYIqHo

Ferry Corsten's set for Armada Music @ KillaCutz Records

Richard is still buying collections to this day to keep the stock rotating, most recently stumbling across a few hundred classic UK Garage records, which I spent an hour or so digging through, and there were some stone-cold cuts in there. 'Gotta Get Thru This' by Daniel Bedingfield and Sunship's remix of 'Kiss The Sunshine' by Ladies First just to name a couple, the latter of which came home with me.

If we had had more time I could've spent hours in there. He is a brilliant bloke to chat to and incredibly knowledgeable about dance music & the stock in-store. Providing recommendations upon request and always happy to help you find what you're looking for. I saw him pulling countless sleeves out the racks and dropping them off to people at the listening stations to check out.

The stock is mainly pre-owned, starting from around €3-4 and upwards, but there are plenty of new releases in amongst the crates, as well as some rare gems. I enquired about a record that was playing whilst I was digging and it turned out to be a 1/125 deep-breaks cut going for €80. If I had a credit card I can assure you that it would've been used there and then, but unfortunately I had to let that one pass me by.

If you're in the city, KillaCutz is a must-visit. They really do have something for everyone, from Albums & LPs to those super-rare plates that you won't find anywhere else. Warm, welcoming and full of bangers. Check out the interview with Richard on Sonidy's Youtube channel and make sure to subscribe whilst you're there.

Keep up to date on the socials below;

Sonidy: @Sonidyofficial / @Sonidy

Midtown Records: @Midtownrec

KillaCuts: @killacutzrecords