New York, NY | In Brooklyn, an Italian Record Store Fades Out After Nearly 60 Years: Silvana Conte kept it open for her mother, and for a neighborhood that had already moved on. There’s no large “Going Out of Business” sign. No big announcement, no last-minute fanfare. The news came in a Facebook post, shared by a family friend. Just a few lines to say that after nearly sixty years, SAS Italian Records will close its doors for good. The store opened in 1967, founded by Ciro and Rita Conte, immigrants from the island of Ponza. It has remained in the same location ever since: 7113 18th Avenue, in the heart of Bensonhurst. The name—SAS—is an acronym of their children’s names: Silvana, Adrianne, and Silverio. More than a brand, the sign was a marker of origin, a statement of belonging. What began as a small record shop with a few household goods gradually evolved into a kind of Italian-American general store: CDs, DVDs, flags, bath products, pasta makers, crossword magazines, and toys. Nothing flashy, but everything with a clear and traceable lineage.
New York, NY | ‘By Appointment Only’ in New York: 6 Hidden Shops Worth Visiting: Hand-forged armor. Prehistoric bones. Music that’s never been digitized. This isn’t retail—it’s an invitation-only obsession. You didn’t come to New York to wander fluorescent aisles hunting for someone to unlock the fitting room. You came for the locked-door city — where nothing’s labeled, the elevator grumbles and whoever buzzes you in has already decided how the afternoon should go. …Archivio Records: Archivio is more vinyl bunker than retail space. It’s a Dumbo concept store: part record shop, D.J. hub, barbershop, tattoo parlor and creative hangout. Co-founded by the D.J. and Queens native Pablo Romero (who asked for a shout out to his Colombian background) and the D.J. Daniel Corral-Webb, this upstairs Dumbo loft draws an international mix: visiting D.J.s, stylists, design-world regulars and the curious who’ve heard whispers.
Hurry! The five-star LP5X from Audio-Technica is back to its lowest price ever. A fine-sounding, fuss-free turntable—yours for only £299. One of the best turntables on the market right now is the Audio-Technica LP5X. It might be a few years old now, but don’t let that hold you back. The LP5X is a five-star turntable that impressed us during testing. Delivering a well-executed design that sounds fantastic, the LP5X is one of the best in the business. And it is now back to its lowest ever price of £299—a generous £80 discount from its usual retail price. Not only is the LP5X a great turntable to replace your existing player, but we also recommend it for first-time buyers thanks to how unbelievably easy it is to set up. There’s no better time to make the jump to vinyl.
SG | Turn your favourite audio clip into a record? This Katong home studio makes customised vinyl: With the lathe-cutting machine they brought in from the US, Art/st’s Charlyn Yap and Lee Sin Yee offer private workshops for custom vinyl making. Music aside, other audio clips they’ve turned into records include wedding vows, a child’s first words and a grandmother’s last voicemail. bout a year ago, Charlyn Yap became obsessed with the idea of made-in-Singapore records. The seed of the idea had actually come to mind when, after her grandfather died, she found a collection of cassette tapes he had made, recording himself singing. “I suppose that was their era’s way of creating ‘covers’,” said the 35-year-old. “As I played whatever was still audible, a surprising moment emerged: My own five-year-old voice, interrupting his recording session in the studio. What followed was about a minute of him good-naturedly scolding me in a mix of Hokkien and Chinese for ‘ruining his take’ and making him start over.”
Clearaudio’s Compass turntable is luxury listening for less than you’d expect: Clearaudio’s best turntables command five-figure sums, but the new Compass is more affordable than others. German Hi-Fi firm Clearaudio is famous for its exquisitely engineered and generally pricey luxury turntables, some of which come with five-figure price tags. However, the Clearaudio Compass is much more affordable than its eye-catching flagships. It effectively makes Clearaudio products available to a wider range of customers, with a price point of €1,290. That’s about £1,087 / $1,473 / AU$2,272. The company’s CEO, Robert Suchy, says that it’s a “ready-to-play turntable” and boasts that it delivers a “vinyl-listening experience that far exceeds expectations in this price range.” It’s just gone into production for a September launch.
Susumu Yokota, Japanese ambient visionary, albums set for extensive vinyl reissue on Lo Recordings: The extensive box set features 84 of Yokota’s tracks, from across seven albums. Seven albums by the visionary Japanese ambient and techno producer Susumu Yokota are to be reissued in a new box set. Set for release via Lo Recordings on 1st August, ‘Skintone Edition Volume 1’ features a selection remastered albums released on his own Skintone label in the late ’90s and early 2000s. Put together with the help of the late Yokota’s family, the collection includes the albums ‘Magic Thread’, ‘Image 1983-1998’, ‘Sakura’, ‘Grinning Cat’, ‘Will’, ‘The Boy And The Tree’ and ‘Laputa’. In addition to digital versions, the collection will be released in a 7xCD box set featuring printed sleeve notes, as well as a 13-disc vinyl box set, which includes a custom limited-edition outer box, coloured vinyl, printed inner sleeves for each record, extensive sleeve notes for each album and a poster.
For These Record Collectors, 78s Aren’t Just Music—They’re a Way of Life: In the summer of 1980, on his first visit to the United States, British-born record collector Bob Bell realized his obsession had taken an unreasonable turn as he loaded his guilty acquisitions onto a bus. Following a tip from a friend, he’d wandered into the back room at Village Music Record Store in Mill Valley, where he was quickly overcome by a feverish mania reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart striking a vein of gold in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. CDs? We don’t need no stinkin’ CDs! Not when there are thousands of vintage 78-rpm records piled to the ceiling. Bell recalls the experience some 45 years later in “The Lust for Shellac: Confessions of an Addict,” an essay in the recently published anthology Treasures Untold: A Modern 78 RPM Reader.
Prairie View, TX | Vinyl’s Resurgence: A Spin Back into African American Music Appreciation Month. This year’s African American Music Appreciation Month highlights the resurgence of vinyl recordings and their renewed, soaring popularity. Once considered a relic of the past, vinyl records are experiencing a cultural revival, embraced by both new generations and long-time enthusiasts. …The journey of vinyl has been filled with highs and lows. In the past, analog formats like vinyl records, cassette tapes, and reel-to-reel tapes were standard. Analog captures sound through electronic waves, whereas digital formats convert audio into numerical data, fueling downloads, MP3s, and streaming services. While digital formats dominate in convenience, many listeners are returning to analog for its warmth and authenticity.
UK | Back to the Groove: How vinyl is making music more accessible for all: (Head)phones off, record players out. The rise in popularity of vinyl is opening up the world of music to those from marginalised backgrounds in surprising but important ways. In a world dominated by algorithm-curated playlists and frictionless streaming, it might seem odd that Gen Z is flocking to vinyl. Yet, beneath the Instagram aesthetics and the crackle of needle-on-wax lies a deeper cultural movement—one that speaks to access, community, and a different kind of ownership over music. Vinyl records, once considered relics of the past, are now a growing cultural force. According to the British Phonographic Industry, vinyl outsold CDs in the UK in 2022 for the first time in 35 years. Over 5.5 million LPs were sold that year alone, marking a 15th consecutive year of growth. This resurgence isn’t just about nostalgia or sound quality; it’s about reclaiming music in a way that feels tangible, intentional, and increasingly, inclusive.
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