Mumbai, IN | Record stores, DJs & venue owners say new generation is embracing vinyl: Not out of nostalgia, but for a different relationship with music. When Abdul Razzak opened Royal Music Collection in Mumbai’s Fort area in 1979, vinyl records were the dominant way Indians listened to music. Then came cassettes, CDs and streaming, pushing records to the margins. Nearly five decades later, many of the customers walking into his shop belong to a generation that never grew up with vinyl at all. “I’ve been running this store since 1979, and I’ve seen the entire journey of vinyl in India,” says Razzak. “Vinyl records were popular for decades, but around 1990, production largely stopped. Then, around 2010, we started seeing a revival.”
Tacoma, WA | Tacoma Country Musician Opens Antique Row Record Store: Visitors of Tacoma’s Antique Row now have a new store to peruse: Armchair Boogie Record Shop, a preowned vinyl business offering something for everyone. The shop’s owner, Matt Kimball, is a longtime Tacoman and musician who moonlights as the frontman of the self-titled four-piece country band The Kimball Superstars. As someone already entwined with the local music scene—and having worked at another area record store for more than a decade—Kimball noticed the downtown area was lacking a space dedicated to vinyl and vinyl collecting. “Downtown Tacoma has not had a record store for some time,” Kimball said over email. “I spend a lot of time down here (in downtown Tacoma) already at the vintage and antique stores. There’s a lot of foot traffic, and the architecture is beautiful.”
St. Paul, MN | How Urban Lights, one of the country’s last Black-owned record stores, changed with the times: Tucked away in the Midway neighborhood in St. Paul is a community treasure many have come to love and respect. Urban Lights is one of 35 Black-owned record stores in the country and one of the only ones left in the Twin Cities. The cultural institution has survived when other independent stores were forced to close their doors. Owner Timothy Wilson has seen some of the industry’s giants visit the St. Paul record store in its 32 years. “We’ve had everyone from Beyoncé walk through the door when she was with the original Destiny’s Child,” said Wilson. “The Fugees, Wyclef, Naughty by Nature, Run-DMC. The list goes on and on.”
Phoenix, AZ | This new Phoenix record store is more than just a place to buy vinyl: The Record Gallery is the latest addition to the Valley vinyl scene. When Damian Amoros opened The Record Gallery in April, he wasn’t just launching a place to score used vinyl. He was reinventing his life. After quitting a desk job at Banner Health he’d worked for decades, the 49-year-old artist threw himself into opening a place to sell records, highlight local artists and give Arizona DJs and musicians a place to perform. “This is definitely more than just a record store,” Amoros says. “It’s a place to showcase all these artists in Arizona, show some community love and bring people together.” The Record Gallery does all of those things. The 1,200-square-foot shop on the first floor of The Artery building near Indian School Road and Seventh Street boasts local art on the walls, a dozen bins packed with LPs and gigs every weekend.
Gone to the cottage: Heated Rivalry indie record store vinyl release parties: Will you… come to my Heated Rivalry vinyl release party this summer? This July, we’re going back to the cottage to celebrate the release of the Heated Rivalry soundtrack on vinyl! On July 10, 11 and 12th, over 200 indie record stores across the US and Canada will be hosting fan listening parties featuring freebie items, activities, exclusive merch, signed prizes, and the chance for fans to celebrate with each other. See the full list of participating stores below, and check individual participating stores for further details including dates and times (and RSVP links, if stores require them). Available to pre-order now on vinyl & CD, the soundtrack includes songs & score from the series, collectible insert items, and a new bonus track, “One Soul (Cottage Mix)”—dropping in stores July 10.
San Antonio, TX | San Antonio’s ¡Viaje! vinyl nights find a home at Pearl cocktail spot Jue Let: The Pearl bar will host the global music-focused DJ series for the remainder of the summer. ¡Viaje!’s Summer Vinyl Series has settled into its groove at Jue Let, the innovative Pearl cocktail bar opened by Best Quality Daughter’s Jennifer Hwa Dobbertin. On Sunday, June 14, DJ Rambo Salinas and DJ Nandez took over the decks. The second night of the series brought a global sweep of sound, from cumbia to banda, reggae and Latin pop, all spun live by San Antonio’s finest. Salinas, who operates world-music DJ night ¡Viaje! with DJ Sue Problema, said the pair plans to bring in new artists throughout the vinyl series. Each guest DJ arrives with a different crate and a new sonic experience. And diversity is part of the draw, he added.
Chris Cornell’s second solo album gets vinyl release: The album features a bluesy cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” Universal has released Chris Cornell’s second solo studio album on vinyl for the first time. Carry On has been newly remastered by Levi Seitz at Blackbelt Mastering and reissued across digital, 180-gram black vinyl, and 2 LP picture disc vinyl formats. A digital version is also available. The set includes two bonus tracks, “Today” and “Roads We Choose,” plus an unreleased extended intro for “Billie Jean,” the cover of the iconic Michael Jackson song. The album also features the theme song “You Know My Name” from the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale. Released in June 2007, the album marked a major transitional period in his career, serving as his first solo release after departing from Audioslave and his first solo project since 1999’s Euphoria Mourning.
Salem, OR | Oregon’s only vinyl record pressing plant takes root in Salem: The factory at Oregon’s newest—and only—vinyl record-pressing plant began humming just three weeks ago. Walking into the small, low-lit warehouse at Object Permanence Records, there is a low rumble of the record press and a gust of hot air. The machine is helping the company create its first 500 records, split roughly evenly among five Oregon bands. Although the plant sits just north of downtown Salem, the idea for it began in Brooklyn, New York, where three neighbors, each disenchanted with their jobs, sat together discussing potential business ventures. “We were always just bouncing off different ideas and figuring out, there’s something we got to do,” Carrie Morrissey said. …During one brainstorming session, Wojciechowski, originally from Salem, floated the idea of a record-pressing plant.
One of our favourite premium phono stages has been updated to deliver “razor-sharp” spatial imaging and “lifelike” voices: Vertere’s Phono-1LX has been refined to sound “better than ever.” Vertere has upgraded its Award-winning phono stage once more. The Vertere Phono-1LX is the new and refined version of the excellent Phono-1 MkII L, and features improvements both within and cosmetically, promising to be the product’s “most significant evolution yet.” The latest generation of the Phono-1 handles both moving coil and moving magnet cartridges, and features a wide range of adjustments so that it can be used with just about any price-compatible cartridge fitted to your turntable. The Phono-1LX’s engineering upgrades include a new, higher-quality PCB board that’s built for long-term reliability, while retaining the same internal circuit.
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