The downtown shop you didn’t know you needed, Mantiques has a little bit of everything: There really is something for everyone as toys for kids line the shelves and opposite them are the vinyl records for those who miss the sound of record playing. A mixture of older furniture and new DVD’s are also within the store and there are two levels to shop from as Trimble assures that both are popular as far as the response from the community tells him. “People have been telling us they love it,” said Trimble. “So far we’ve had folks really grabbing up the vinyl records as well as men’s and women’s jewellery. We also have popular Coca-Cola items which are sought after by collectors and military stuff that is hard to keep in stock. There is even a rare item in here of poison bottles that has a Barrie drugstore name on the label and are half full. You never know what you’re going to see.”
South London’s YAM Records Is Moving House: Peckham’s YAM Records is on the move – but they’re staying south of the river. The record shop is a vital hub for music fans in South East London, with the attendant record label releasing some superb music in 2017. Named as one of our favourite off-the-beaten-track record shops in the capital, YAM Records is now set to move to another location. In a statement the owners said: “Going into next year we will be joining some of our favourite South London music heads in Bermondsey.” Closing the shutters on Holdrons Arcade on December 23rd, YAM Records will re-open in their new South London home in 2018. The new shop will be bigger, holding more stock and affording the team the chance to expand their involvement with YAM Recordings.
Vinyl sales “highest since the 1980s” in Ireland according to Golden Discs: Golden Discs has been at the heart of Irish music for 55 years and continues to thrive despite the dominance of streaming platforms and digital downloads. And so it’s fitting that the long-running retail chain – who house a dedicated vinyl lounge in Cork – bring the news that vinyl has enjoyed a serious surge in sales this year, posting up numbers not seen in decades. “We haven’t seen this volume of sales since the ’80s,” says Golden Discs CEO Stephen Fitzgerald, noting that it’s not just new releases but back catalogue, reissues, limited editions and box sets that are catching the attention of music lovers across the country. As for the year’s biggest movers; Ed Sheeran’s Divide, Pink Floyd’s iconic Dark Side of the Moon and George Michael’s back cataogue lead the way, while Liam and Noel Gallagher are duking it out for the title of December’s best seller.
Vinyl Records Add to the Cool Vibe at Two California Hotels: Can vinyl record players in hotel lobbies—and even in guest rooms—enhance the visitor experience? Absolutely, according to a recent New York Times article that explored this nascent trend. In fact, two Kimpton hotels in California, the Goodland in Goleta and the Shorebreak in Huntington Beach, have tapped into the low-tech, retro music movement. The Shorebreak has a custom-built player in its library as well as a 50-album collection of music for guests to peruse and play. At the Goodland, every room is equipped with a record player and there is a vinyl record shop in the lobby. “Almost everyone who stays here comments on how much they love the players,” according to Drew Parker, director of sales and marketing at the Goodland. “For our younger clients, they’re a new discovery and for our older ones, they’re a throwback to the past.”
Rue the day you gave away that boombox — the cassette revival is here to stay: When Disney released its Guardians Of The Galaxy soundtracks on tape in 2014 — making a real-life feature of the film’s cassette-based plot point — the format was given a huge boost. Latest statistics suggest this was more than just a flash in the pan: according to the Official Charts Company, cassette sales have more than doubled in 2017. Artists such as Kasabian, Arcade Fire, Jay-Z and Lana Del Rey have released Walkman-ready records in recent times. Nevertheless, their retro appeal is still a factor in 2017. ‘I remember sneaking my Walkman under my pillow so I could listen to The Beatles,’ says Rou Reynolds of Enter Shikari, whose album The Spark is so far the third-highest selling cassette of this year. ‘There’s a lot of nostalgia there for me.’
