Los Angeles, CA | New record shop, Agora, opens in downtown Los Angeles: Now open to the public Tuesdays through Fridays, Agora is led by members of local MELT collective. Downtown Los Angeles has a new record shop: Agora. The store, which opened on August 23rd, is led by a group of artists and DJs also involved with the local MELT collective, including Eduardo Joo, Trey Braheem and Jared Friedrich. Next year, Agora’s owners intend to turn it into a more multi-purpose space serving LA’s artist community, although further details haven’t yet been revealed. Agora’s offerings include house, minimal, downtempo, breaks and electro records from distributors worldwide, a mix of new releases and used vinyl. Paul Nicholson, who also developed the logo for Aphex Twin, designed Agora’s branding; Dutch company Arda Audio built the sound system. The shop is open to the public Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 AM to 5 PM. Saturdays and Sundays are reserved for private appointments.
Orange, CA | Beats and brew: Indie record store finds a new home inside Orange coffee shop: There was a time when alternative music and coffee shops very much went together. “I guess it comes from the Seattle grunge days,” said Owen Ela, owner of independent record store Resident Vinyl. That relationship has returned, at least in the city of Orange, since Resident Vinyl opened its new location inside Contra Coffee and Tea. Located at 115 N. Orange St., the coffee house has long been a popular place for students of nearby Chapman University to study and hang out. …Resident Vinyl first opened in 2023 in Santa Ana, its name a cheeky reference to the fact that Ela’s store was on the first floor of his loft. Opening a record store seemed natural for Ela, who has a deep background in the music industry. “In high school, I was managing my friend’s band, it all kind of started there,” he said. “I was the guy who was never good enough to play in a band, but I really wanted to be part of it so I ended up managing my friend’s punk band in the late ’90s.”
Erie, PA | Coffee and vinyl in one store: Why Legenderie’s owners want to build a ‘niche’ spot. Like your tunes fresh and your coffee fresher? It’s just about time to make your way to 5761 Peach St. to visit the brand-new just-out-of-the-cellophane Legenderie Records & Coffee House, which opens Friday at 7 a.m. If you like your music spinning at 33 revolutions a minute with a hint of scratch, and your dark, magic elixir locally roasted, you’ll love the new version of the old location of Coffee Culture, where Allana and Ishmael Trainor have combined their passion for vinyl and java. “Music and coffee make a good marriage,” said Ishmael Trainor, 43, an Erie native. “Records are my passion. When Coffee Culture closed, it created a gap in Erie, and we wanted to create a space for coffee and music.” The former Coffee Culture was run by LECOM, catering to its students with a study area and discounted beverages. The public was welcome. It opened in 2011, but the medical school closed it shortly after the pandemic. The Trainors are leasing the space from LECOM.
Pomona, CA | The Glass House Record Store to close after nearly 20 years in business: The record store will close at the end of September while the Glass House concert venue next door remains open. After nearly two decades of business, the Glass House Record Store in Pomona, adjacent to the Glass House concert venue, will close on Monday, Sept. 30. “We have decided to close after being open for almost 20 years,” said a post on the record store’s Instagram page on Tuesday, Sept. 10. “We want to thank all of you for supporting the store, and we hope you found some really amazing music here!” The Glass House Record Store opened in 2006, just 30 miles east of Los Angeles and was known for specializing in rare and used vinyl records in downtown Pomona. It carried thousands of LPs spanning genres, including punk, classic rock, indie, jazz, country and hip-hop, with new arrivals that would be added weekly. The space also held meet-and-greets with artists and sold tickets to Glass House events and other Southern California festivals.
UK | National Album Day 2024: Vinyl releases for October 19 celebration of Great British Groups: See the full list of releases for this year’s National Album Day. The full list of National Album Day 2024 releases has landed, with this year’s event celebrating Great British Groups. Returning on Saturday October 19 with a host of exclusive vinyl releases, National Album Day will shine a spotlight on some iconic LPs from British bands, including Spice Girls (Spice), The Rolling Stones (Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!), Take That (Everything Changes), Sugababes (Angels With Dirty Faces) and UB40 (Labour of Love). …Select releases will be available to pre-order online from September 12, with all releases available in select UK record shops from October 19 2024 until stocks last. National Album Day is organised jointly by the BPI – the UK association of record companies and independent labels (BRIT Awards and Mercury Prize) – and ERA, the digital entertainment and retail association (Record Store Day).
Los Angeles, CA | This free ‘Outlaw’ book and vinyl festival aims to celebrate the underground: The Analog Outlaw Book and Record Fair, coming to L.A. nightclub Zebulon on Sept. 22, will include local vendors, publishers, shops and specialists in counterculture media. In 2023, James Weigel organized a pop-up book event in Little Tokyo that coincided with the Printed Matter Art Book Fair that was going on simultaneously at Museum of Contemporary Art’s neighboring Geffen Contemporary. The event was a success, particularly for vendor Crystal Claire, who operates under the name Nooners Books. “We had these huge vendors from Printed Matter running to the ATM to take out more cash to buy more books from Crystal,” Weigel, who is known to many by the moniker Astraleyes, recalls on a recent video call. Now, a year later, the Silver Lake-based Weigel and Vernon-based Claire are parlaying that buzz into the first-ever Analog Outlaw Book and Record Fair, a free daytime event set to take place on Sunday, Sept. 22, at Elysian Valley nightclub Zebulon (which also hosted last year’s LitLit festival).
Amsterdam, NL | RA to host pop-up charity record shop, Dig Deep, at ADE: All proceeds from the October 18th event will go to War Child. Resident Advisor is hosting a pop-up charity record shop at Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) next month. Taking place at Tilla Tec on October 18th, Dig Deep has been made possible through donations from DJs and record labels, including Nick Höppner, CCL, Hessle Audio, Rush Hour Music, Peach and Call Super. fabric has also donated one of only five test pressings of Kode9 and Burial’s recent 12-inch. The full list of DJs, collectors, labels and distributors will be announced next month. The ADE edition of Dig Deep follows the debut edition, which took place at East London venue All My Friends last November, raising £13,000 for War Child. War Child aims to ensure a safe future for every child affected by war. The charity works in some of the hardest-to-reach places, supporting those who are hardest hit.
The Rolling Stones Stabilizer on a record player.
Adelaide, AU | Library launches vinyl collection with huge range of genres to borrow: Ready to experience music the way it was meant to be heard? The City of Charles Sturt is rolling out a brand-new vinyl collection for visitors to borrow – like a book – at the Ngutungka Library in West Lakes. The nostalgic addition makes Charles Sturt the one of the only public libraries in South Australia with a vinyl record collection! In a world where CDs are becoming scarce and streaming reigns supreme, vinyl records are making a spectacular comeback. Inspired by patrons’ growing interest in the authentic analog sound of vinyl, Charles Sturt Libraries have embraced this trend with open arms. Manager of Community Connections at the City of Charles Sturt, Bec Lyons, notes that the shift from CDs to vinyl was driven by customer demand for a richer, more tangible music experience. “Our creative collections team discovered a resurgence in people wanting the ‘analog’ experience that vinyl records offer.” Bec says they can’t keep them on the shelves!
