Miami, FL | Best Record Store: Found Sound Records. As we enter year 17 of the great vinyl comeback, it makes sense that actual brick-and-mortar record stores are seeing a parallel resurgence. If listeners want their music to occupy a physical form, it makes sense they’d also want their shopping experience to be nondigital. North Miami’s Found Sound Records hearkens back to a day when independent record shops were grounds for new discoveries and downloading wasn’t even a word. Every Tuesday through Saturday, from 1 to 7 p.m., owner Ralph Pichardo sits behind the counter spinning vinyl, ready to answer customers’ questions about everything from Father’s Day gifts to why you might want to steer clear of that Legendary Stardust Cowboy album. The inventory of new and used records hovers around 8,000, including original pressings and other rarities but also crates filled with LPs priced as low as two bucks.
Brooklyn, NY | A new record shop is opening in Brooklyn: Stocking both new and used records, alongside movies, books, and more. Brooklyn Record Exchange is opening its second outpost, in NYC’s Greenpoint neighbourhood. Brooklyn Record Exchange, a collaboration between NYC label Mexican Summer, Mike Hunchback, and Ben Steidel, opened its first shop in 2019. The new Greenpoint outpost will feature a dedicated selection of Mexican Summer and Anthology releases, as well as both new and second hand records, movies, and books. The team also plan to host in-store events, with DJs Lauren Murada, Alyssa Stowers and Timo Lee playing the opening party. Brooklyn Record Exchange will open on the 24th June at 87 Guernsey St., Brooklyn, New York.
Bristol, UK | Bristol record store makes debut appearance at Glastonbury Festival: “Lots of people have already come by to say hi.” Bristol record shop Longwell Records has made its debut appearance at Glastonbury Festival, two years after first securing a place. A little slice of Bristol currently sits between West Holts and Left Field with shop owner Iain Aitchison delighting passers-by with his extensive mix of records – there is of course a Glastonbury specials box – merchandise and Bristol-themed artwork. Southmead born Iain hasn’t been to Worthy Farm in 25 years, and this year is slightly different to the 1997 “Year of Mud”, with festival goers enjoying glorious sunshine so far. He was also a punter back then when acts included The Prodigy, Radiohead, Massive Attack, Ray Davies and Sting. It’s safe to say he’ll be a bit busier this year manning his pop-up shop, and despite being almost an hour from Keynsham that hasn’t stopped his regular customers also at the festival from stopping in to say ‘hi’.
Bristol, UK | Bristol’s Idle Hands puts out final release “for time being.” The imprint first began in 2009 with releases from Peverelist, Kahn, and Shanti Celeste. Bristol-beloved imprint and record store Idle Hands has announced its movement on to pastures new over a decade after its launch. Announced alongside the release of the label’s final compilation “for the time being”, Idle Hands told fans: “This is the end of a chapter. The shop continues and new projects beckon.” “The last Idle Hands release for the time being,” they added. The label’s final release pulls in four artists “with close ties” to the imprint – K-LONE, Glances, Bruce, and Rhythmic Theory. “Bruce with a contemplative dancefloor dub in tribute to Alex T. K-LONE delivers a subtle and subby house roller. Rhythmic Theory with a bumpy and bassy techno track. Glances bring a deft funkiness to the broken techno sound…”
Dunedin, FL | New Dunedin record store using music to bring people together: In a time when record sales have dropped dramatically over the past 20 years, record stores are becoming almost as rare as a California condor. But Daniela Smyth and Jody Dale created more than a record store when they opened D&J Records in Dunedin. They’ve created a community gathering spot with a certain 1960s and ’70s flavor that includes artifacts and posters that take visitors right back to Woodstock. Tucked into the Patricia Square strip mall on Patricia Avenue is a place where musicians can jam, where music fans can browse through records that include those from the Rolling Stones to Julie Christie, and where friends can hang out and talk about life, the universe, and the fine points of The Who Live at Leeds. “There are still lots of people who want to buy records,” said Smyth, whose store includes new releases, LPs, CDs and, a blast from the ’70s, cassette tapes. “Even IKEA is selling record players now. But I wanted to open a record store where the community can hang out. I wanted a place where musicians can jam and where young people can learn about Frank Sinatra.”
Newport, OR | Staying in the groove with vinyl: New store carries new and used records and more. A passion for music and a love of the Oregon coast led a couple to relocate to Newport and open a new record store. Northwest Grooves, owned by Brandon Rorye and his wife, Diane, is located at 414 SW Highway 101, in Newport’s Deco District. The store carries new and used vinyl records, some CDs and DVDs, a few collectible comic books, a selection of turntables and speakers and store branded merchandise. Rorye will buy or trade records as well and can help seek out special requests. The Roryes have lived in several places in the country, including Connecticut, Illinois and the Portland area while he worked for IKEA for 30 years. Though the couple loved the Chicago area, ultimately the Oregon coast won out when he retired last year. “We love it here. We just took the risk.” Rorye has been a record collector since the early ’80s and only slowed down collecting for a short time when CDs arrived on the music scene. “My love has always been vinyl. When I get up in the morning, I play a record.”
AZ | Alice Cooper group’s record-store reunion movie is coming out. Here’s how to get it: It’s been three years since a documentary capturing a record-store reunion by the four surviving members of the Alice Cooper group made its world premiere at the Phoenix Film Festival, winning Best Documentary Short in the process. The soundtrack to that documentary, “Live From the Astroturf, Alice Cooper,” will be released on Friday, Sept. 30, as a CD and Blu-ray Digipak and four varieties of colored vinyl with accompanying DVD. It should be available at record stores and online retail outlets where music and movies are sold. The concert was originally set up as a book signing for bassist Dennis Dunaway’s memoir, “Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs! My Adventures in the Alice Cooper Group.” But Dallas record store owner Chris Penn of Good Records, where Dunaway’s signing was scheduled to happen, had chosen that date in October 2015 because he knew the singer had the day off from touring in Texas. That’s how he was able to orchestrate a rare reunion concert by the group whose 1973 U.S. tour in support of the chart-topping “Billion Dollar Babies” album broke box-office records the held by the Rolling Stones.
Osseo, MN | Vinyl comes around for record company, presses headed to Osseo plant: What goes around comes around, literally for Copycats Media. The Plymouth-based company is importing vinyl pressing machines to a 65,000-square-foot complex in Osseo in response to demand from musicians and other clients. The parent company of Copycats, The ADS Group, has more than 30 years of experience manufacturing CDs and DVDs. The business works with major labels like Sony and has provided CDs for Harry Styles, Prince and many other major musicians. When it comes to plans to add vinyl, “It was our customers that actually has pushed us in this direction,” said Chief Operating Officer Connie Comeau. “They said, ‘You guys do a fantastic job in optical media. We want you to do vinyl.’” Copycats Media, which The ADS Group purchased about 15 years ago, has attracted independent musicians like hip-hop artist Macklemore. Although, it has been outsourcing the pressing, Copycats Media has already been in the vinyl business for about seven years.
UK | Record players and not-so-smart phones: What the rise of retro tech says about us: Recently, when my partner and I were shopping around for bookshelves, it was hard not to notice that every hip furniture store filled their shelves in the same way: with cute little succulents, art books and architecture magazines – and, unfailingly, a record player. …But now as we move into the 2020s, it isn’t so much that people are rejecting technology altogether as turning to older forms of it. From the return of flip phones and cassette tapes to a renewed appreciation for books and records, there is an increasing shift toward the tech of yesteryear. There were, for example, 1.1 million sales of vinyl records in Canada last year, an increase of over 21 per cent versus 2020, according to sales tracker MRC Data. Cassette sales globally increased exponentially during the pandemic. Typewriters are having a moment, showing up on Instagram as part of an emerging old-school aesthetic.
