In her portrait, Charline Giebel asked Moritz Wenk, alias Mono Moritz, what listening is. The DJ and record collector has only recently found solace in indulging his passion for hi-fi systems and takes an interest in this question on various levels.

Moritz is a passionate music collector and listener. Keyword listening: The topic of active and conscious listening has become increasingly important in recent years. Even in nightlife. So-called listening bars, originally from Japan, have found their way to Europe.

„(...) And then I found the JVCs. Now I'm all in. I love it and I realise how important sound quality is.“ – Moritz

Listening is also very important to Moritz: "For me, listening means focusing on quality, on what is being played, on the selection that DJs and selectors bring to the table. That everything is a bit more thought through. That you concentrate on it [the music] and listen carefully."

At listening sessions, Moritz, who is also known by his DJ pseudonym "Mono Moritz", prefers to play calm, atmospheric music. His sets mainly feature jazz and Brazilian music. "Music to drift away to", as he calls it. But his collection also contains faster, danceable music. This is where Moritz often uses his ‚hidden gems' to get people dancing.

Moritz' best recent buy:

But it's not just the music and records themselves that interest and fascinate him, it's also one major part of the equipment that produces the sound: Hi-Fi speakers. His former job at "Stereo" (club/bar in Zurich) immersed him in the wide world of loudspeakers. In his basement, he restores speakers that are both visually and acoustically of the highest quality. With a twinkle in his eye he tells me: "(...) And then I found the JVCs. Now I'm all in. I love them and I realize how important sound quality is."

Moritz has been working at Amiamo café-bar for a few weeks now. Bright orange JBL speakers from the 1970s and a turntable that is played several times a week by local DJs and selectors with their favourite records show that music and vinyl also play a big role there.

Moritz' current Top 3 records:

Imaging by Oli Schmocker from studio canapé, video and words by Charline Giebel. She's the initiator and producer of "near mint" – a portrait series about Swiss vinyl culture – and also DJ as honeydip, art director and designer.

"near mint" is a series of portraits dedicated to the Swiss vinyl scene, highlighting the values that unite this small but special community beyond music: mindfulness, community, sharing and conscious listening.

For additional behind-the-scenes insights into the vinyl collections of the portrayed persons follow @nearmint.stories on Instagram.

This project originated as a bachelor thesis in the "Trends & Identity" programme at the Zurich University of the Arts.