Glasgow, UK | Assai Records announces plan for Glasgow shop to open in March: A music store has announced plans to open a shop in Glasgow. Assai, which has record stores in Edinburgh and Dundee already, has confirmed that their new venue will be coming soon. They revealed that the plans are three years in the making and the opening will bring job opportunities. Anyone interested in applying is encouraged to visit their website. According to their website, Assai will open its Glasgow store in March 2023.
Austin, TX | Customers cherish Astro Record Store in Bastrop, and chatting with owner: On a recent weekend, there’s a satisfied hush among customers as they browse the collection of vintage vinyl records at Astro Record Store at 910 Main Street in Bastrop. Owner and London native Kevin Mawby — better known as “Lippy” to friends and customers alike — is busy on his laptop scouting industry deals. Mawby has just put on the Youngbloods’ 1967 studio album “Earth Music” on a turntable. …What many shoppers say they savor about Astro Record Store are the verbal exchanges with Mawby on music history and trivia, plus the anticipation of great finds among his collection of nearly 10,000 records. Ken Zarifis, visiting from Austin, said he walked across Main Street for his first of many visits to Astro Record after grabbing a bite to eat at Maxine’s last year.
Hartford, CT | The vinyl record has spun back into hearts of CT music lovers. Teenagers to 70-year-olds have made it ‘a part of pop culture again.’ Turn on the turntable, lower the arm, flip the record over to side 2. It’s a tradition that has returned to the music scene in force, driven by record buffs who weren’t born when the CD took over the stereo 40 years ago. What the older generation called albums or LPs is now known as vinyl, and it’s the best-selling format out there, having outsold CDs since 2021 . Michael Papa, owner of Merle’s Record Rack in Orange, which turned 60 last year, said records, and music in general, are a unifying force. “There’s no politics involved and it crosses all barriers,” he said. “You feel 18 again when you pick up the Guns N’ Roses album and you’re 50 years old.” The younger crowd is buying records to replace streaming music on their smartphones, Papa said, while their parents, when they aren’t filling out their CD collection, are buying LPs they once owned and gave away or were tossed out by their mothers.
South Bend, IN | South Bend Record Show headed to the Gillespie Conference Center in February: You don’t have to wait until Record Store Day to get your hands on some new vinyl! The South Bend Record Show will take place on Sunday, Feb. 12, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Gillespie Conference Center. Admission is $2, or $7 for early admission, which begins at 9 a.m. The show is the largest one-day sale of recorded music in Michiana, and will fill 88 tables with vendors from across the Great Lakes with thousands of music items. Vendors will have LPs, new vinyl releases, 45s, CDs, cassettes, posters, memorabilia, vintage stereo gear, record supplies and so much more! The event will also feature door prize drawings including shopping certificates and record products from the show’s sponser. “Whether you are new to vinyl or have been collecting for decades, you will feel right at home here,” said Jeremy D. Bonfiglio, the event organizer. “We are all music fans and share the excitement when customers find a record they’ve been searching for.”
Burlington, VT | Burlington’s Paradiso Hi-Fi Spins Tunes and Plates: Back before Wi-Fi, there was hi-fi — shorthand for sound systems that play music with high fidelity to the original recording. Fidelity also means devotion, an apt descriptor for what drove the creation of Paradiso Hi-Fi, the Burlington listening lounge and restaurant that opened in late November tucked inconspicuously behind its sister business, Dedalus Wine Shop, Market & Wine Bar. Dedalus owner and Paradiso founder/co-owner Jason Zuliani is an avid record collector and audiophile. He dreamed of opening a vinyl bar for a decade, he said, during which time he was also busy launching outposts of Dedalus in Middlebury, Stowe and Boulder, Colo. When Zuliani, 48, shared plans for his latest venture with Seven Days in fall 2021, he explained, “We’re taking inspiration from what is sort of a tradition in Japan of small listening rooms with neat cocktail lists.” He promised “a beautiful, modern environment with an extraordinary listening system” to showcase a record collection of music all mastered from its original analog source.
For The Love Of Black Music: Rare $2M Vinyl Collection Donated To Stanford University: An irreplaceable vinyl collection of Black music valued at over $2.3 million has been donated to Stanford University in California. Made up of over 8,000 jazz, blues, gospel, soul and reggae records that span almost a century, The Dijkstra Black Music Collection includes original and early pressings of John Coltrane’s recordings, Bob Marley’s original 12-inch 45rpm single of “Buffalo Soldiers” and some early Hip Hop LPs. Nearly 65 years in the making, the collection was donated by Bram Dijkstra, professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego, and renowned literary agent Sandra Dijkstra. Documenting the history of genres like jazz and Jamaican popular music has been one of Bram Dijkstra’s lifelong passions. The retired professor, who was born on a small Indonesian island and raised in Holland, credits the beginning of his collection to a life-changing experience in 1955 while listening to a record by the New Miles Davis Quintet.
Kankakee, IL | Local vinyl night sheds light on resurgence of music medium: Last week at Knack Brewing & Fermentations in Kankakee, the distinct sound of a needle dropping on vinyl was heard throughout the brewery. This sound was followed by the spin of the LP before it broke into song. On Jan. 26, Knack was holding its first vinyl night, hosted by Joe Hernandez, of Kankakee, who has been collecting vinyl since his teen years. “It’s gonna be fun, I think — I’m really excited about it,” Hernandez said minutes before dropping the needle on “Persuasion System” by Com Truise. Hernandez, who owns JPS Exterminating, also known as Joe’s Pest Solutions, made it clear this will be a recurring event as he has the blessing of Knack owners Matt and Emily Strysik to disc jockey on occasion. “Bring what you want to bring in; don’t be afraid,” he said on a microphone as he welcomed the crowd. Hernandez brought about 10 albums from his own collection to allow people to have
Warner Music Group Shifting Away From 180G Vinyl – Shifting More Production to the US: Warner Music Group has released its second annual Environmental Social Governance (ESG) report. It reveals the music company is continuing its shift away from 180g vinyl to reduce environmental impact during production. WMG says it has invested significantly over the years to reduce the environmental impact of record manufacturing. The company is investing in ways to produce records without using PVC, in addition to adopting vinyl recycling from production offcuts that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Avoiding the use of virgin materials helps lower carbon emissions, reduces plastic waste, and increases transport efficiency. …WMG also ran a workshop series on WMG’s Global Green Product and Packaging Design Guidelines to help teams learn how to design better packaging for vinyl, cassettes, and C.D.s to reduce their environmental impact. A top recommendation during that workshop was to press new album releases on 140g vinyl instead of 180g vinyl.
