Return To The Comptoir

When I was in Casablanca in November 2009 I visited a wonderful record shop called "Le Comptoir Marocain de Distribution de Disques" (CMDD). I wrote about my trip there and you can read "Part One" and "Part Two" by clicking on the relevant links. The shop is a paradise for lovers of old school Oriental and North African music, as well for those who appreciate the artwork and aesthetics of vinyl records and their covers. You can see a selection of some of the records sold there by clicking here, here and here.

I returned to CMDD in March of this year and spent a very enjoyable hour or two browsing the racks, listening to great tunes and taking pictures. Manager Said and his two charming sidekicks Mohammed and Hassan gave me a warm welcome and we chatted a lot about Moroccan music and they filled in many gaps in my musical knowledge.

This store, like so many in Europe, is continuing to operate under very difficult conditions where there simply is not enough custom to maintain a viable business. It was clear when I walked in that the shop looked completely unchanged since I was last there. The racks are still heaving under the weight of enormous amount of classic vinyl discs but no-one is coming in to buy them, except for the odd individual like myself who really cares about this musical treasure trove. It probably doesn't help that they sell CDs for a higher price than you can buy elsewhere, sometimes at quite a high price. The 7" records are very cheap indeed (15 dirhams each = £1.25) but there aren't any Moroccan customers who buy them.

Here are some photographs from my visit.