UK | National Album Day to adopt ’80s theme for 2020 edition: National Album Day is adopting a 1980s theme for its third edition, set for Saturday, October 10. This year’s event will honour the artists and music genres of the influential decade in the first in a series of campaign themes that will be rolled out annually. Billy Ocean, Blossoms, La Roux, The Psychedelic Furs and Toyah Willcox have been announced as official ambassadors, with further names to be announced in due course. …ERA CEO Kim Bayley said: “The ’80s really had it all – glamour, fun and great music. After a horrible year of lockdown and bad news, National Album Day will be celebrated by digital services and retailers alike to give everyone a real lift.” Geoff Taylor, CEO of the BPI & BRIT Awards, added: “For many artists the album remains the ultimate expression of their creativity and the story they want to share. The ’80s were a hugely creative time – musically and across other aspects of our pop culture, and it will be fascinating to engage in this year’s National Album Day through the lens of the most influential decade in pop history.”
London, UK | London Gets New Record Store, Next Door Records: It’s located in Shepherd’s Bush and will stock new and second-hand vinyl. A new record shop is opening this week in West London. Located in Shepherd’s Bush, Next Door Records will operate as a record shop, café and bar, and will stock new and vintage vinyl which, the shop’s owners say, “will span a variety of sounds for both the living room and the dancefloor.” In addition to selling records, Next Door will host exhibitions, workshops and events such as book launches and music performances. The shop is the second record store to open in London this year after the team behind a crowdfunding campaign set up last year raised enough money to set up Disc Word in Deptford, South London. Next Door, which opens on August 12, came about following a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, which saw the team behind it raise £4,231 of their original £3,000 goal last month. Next Door Records can be found at 304 Uxbridge Road, London, W12 7LJ.
Record Store Recs: Simón Mejía Of Bomba Estéreo Takes Us To Colombia: The bassist/ producer and co-founder of beloved electro-cumbia act Bomba Estéreo takes us on an adventure through some of the sounds and hidden vinyl haunts of his home country. With the unprecedented global disruption of 2020, it’s important to support the music community however we can. With our series Record Store Recs, GRAMMY.com checks in with vinyl-loving artists to learn more about their favorite record stores and the gems they’ve found there. As the co-founder and producer of the lively electro-tropical outfit Bomba Estéreo, Simón Mejía has been crafting irresistible cumbia-infused beats that have been getting the world dancing for over a decade. Formed in Bogotá, Colombia in 2005 with vocalist Li Saumet, the GRAMMY- and Latin GRAMMY-nominated group made their mark globally with the explosive “Fuego” in 2009 and have been unstoppable ever since.
Dundalk, IE | Bringing a Dundalk music community together in the centre of town: A long time had passed since Dundalk had a fully-fledged – traditional – record shop on its streets, but when Classified Records opened its doors back in August 14, 2015, music-lovers rejoiced. At a time when the idea of buying a physical record seemed to be a thing of the past, owner Neil Waters thought otherwise, a brave move at an already difficult times for high street shopping. But five years on, this ever-popular shop, situated in the Demesne in the centre of town has, Neil feels, helped “accelerate the re-emergence of vinyl as a popular music format that was once considered defunct.” He adds: “Once again, vinyl is universally en-vogue and has also developed into a concrete interest for younger music lovers who grew up in the digital age. It’s truly a small wonder that this analogue technology can thrive in a wireless world of Spotify, music apps, free downloads and cloud sharing.” Neil, who takes up station in the shop every day, comes across as a record addict, he lives, breathes and eats music. For him, still being in business five years down the road is more about having a thick neck and holding firm.
St. Louis, MO | Papa Ray’s Vintage Vinyl Roadshow Airing Soon on the Nine Network: Vintage Vinyl, a St. Louis music institution for some 40 years — one that is frequently ranked as one of the best record stores in the entire country — is ready for its big premiere on the small screen. Papa Ray’s Vintage Vinyl Roadshow, a project years in the making, will be making its television debut on the Nine Network. As the RFT reported back in February 2019, the show is envisioned as a documentary focused on the independent record store as a cultural entity, with Vintage Vinyl owner Tom “Papa” Ray playing host. Ray and his team, which includes his wife Laura, who serves alongside Ray as a co-executive producer, first traveled to Santa Monica with the show’s producer, Brad Hodge, to pitch it in November 2018. “The pitch I was giving was this: What does it mean to be an independent urban record store in a city that is one of the great foundation cities of music in the world — we gave the world ragtime, jazz, blues, soul, rock & roll, gospel — and yet somehow is always in the top-ten list of cities to avoid?”
San Francisco, CA | In a time for Black voices, the terrific ‘High Fidelity’ gets canceled. Why? Zoë Kravitz’s show updated musty stereotypes about music and brought color back to Brooklyn streets. Now, it’s gone. Welp, I was wrong. HULU may actually be an acronym for stupid. As we move with GREAT hesitation these days—government mishandled pandemics and all—the need for Black Voices reminds me of one of my fave De La Soul recs: Stakes Is High. We mourned publicly over the murder of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, marched for justice, burned shit down in disgust, trying to be heard by a larger populace. We removed racist statues, bringing newfound sensibility about Black Lives to a section of America that finally could not look away. …All of this took place after HULU’s High Fidelity series, starring Zoë Kravitz, premiered on Valentine’s Day this year. Feels like a decade ago huh? Last week the streaming platform canceled the show after one season. Kravitz starred as Rob, a pop culture-obsessed record store owner in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, who allows personal baggage over several relationships, to disintegrate her for one year.
Vinyl Soundtrack And More ‘Star Trek: Picard’ Tie-Ins Coming This Summer And Fall: The second season of Star Trek: Picard arrives in 2021, but there are a few new and upcoming things to keep you in touch with Jean-Luc while you wait, starting with the just-revealed vinyl release of the season one soundtrack. In April, Lakeshore released Jeff Russo’s Star Trek: Picard Original Series Soundtrack Season 1, and now there is a vinyl version available. The limited-edition release is pressed on two 140 gram ‘Transparent Green W/ Splatter’ vinyl platters, and features printed inner sleeves and a gatefold jacket. The vinyl release comes out October 9th and can be pre-ordered at Lakeshore Record Shop for $32.98.
Cool Stuff: Mondo Is Giving ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Video Game Score a Vinyl Soundtrack: Marvel’s Avengers won’t be hitting video game consoles until September 4, but the beta gameplay is underway right now. That means players have already heard the game’s score composed by Bobby Tahouri, and soon it will be available as a vinyl soundtrack release by Mondo, including artwork by Phantom City Creative. Marvel’s Avengers score comes on 180-gram Tri-Colored Vinyl in yellow red and blue, which is representative of the colors of many of the Avengers, but especially Ms. Marvel. Mondo will have it up for pre-order on Wednesday, August 12 at 1:00 P.M. EST for $25 in their online shop, but it won’t ship until sometime in September, probably after the game is released. It will go very well with one of the many Marvel Comics inspired record slipmats also available at the Mondo store.
