PHOTOGRAPHER FINDS ORIGINAL LOCATIONS OF VINTAGE VINYL COVERS AFTER YEARS OF SEARCHING

Photographer and music lover Alex Bartsch used his love for his favourite vinyl albums and his skills in photography to pay homage to his favourite artists. In order to capture the true essence of each vinyl, Bartsch went back and documented each vinyl at the original location where the cover photo was taken. 

Bartsch searched for each location of the cover photos for years, and after finding them he held each vinyl cover art so that it seamlessly merges with its real-life setting. Bartsch’s photos not only showcases the passage of time but also provides a fascinating insight into the history and cultural identity of British reggae music.

The photographer explained, “The idea first came to me when I bought the Brixton Cat LP by Joe's All Stars (Trojan Records, 1969). I live in Brixton and took the record down to the market where the cover photo was shot, holding it up and rephotographing it at arms length, matching up the LP to the background.”

Soon after taking his first photo of his Brixton Cat LP by Joe's All Stars vinyl, Bartsch became hooked. After that he started doing more research to identify and photograph more than 50 UK reggae sleeves from 1967 to 1988 in their original locations. Bartsch travelled all over the world returning his yesteryear vinyl collection to the original places where the music originated decades before.

While many locations were much easier to find, other took some more effort and as Bartsch explained it, some “detective work.” For his Retracing Reggae Record Sleeves in London series, Bartsch cycled all over the city, creating a map of London's reggae music heritage. 

“To achieve some of these shots I had to hitch a boat ride across Regents Canal, climb onto a rooftop near Old Street, ask to enter someone's front room in Hampstead, access a back yard in Wembley, and venture on to the Westway in west London.”

Scroll down to see some more amazing vinyl locations.