Sao Paulo, BR | Revival of vinyl records in Brazil spares a 77-year-old singer—and others—from oblivion: It took almost a half century for Brazilian singer Cátia de França to find her audience, but she finally has — with the help of a near-obsolete audio technology. Born in Paraíba, a state in Brazil’s poor northeast region, 77-year-old de França’s blend of psychedelic rock with traditional rhythms and modernist poetry long went overlooked, even as she toured the nation in the 1970s and ‘80s. During the pandemic, she retreated to a conservation area in the mountains above Rio de Janeiro, “where you can’t even imagine an internet signal,” she told The Associated Press. Then one day in 2021 her phone rang. It was the co-founder of an independent label in Sao Paulo who wanted to reissue her 1979 debut album, “20 Palavras ao Redor do Sol” (20 Words Around the Sun), on vinyl. “I thought, ‘This must be a prank,’” de França recalled.
Taipei, TW | Vinyl Record Shopping in Taipei: …Used records in Taipei are generally more expensive than Japan but that was not unexpected. I did not buy any used records but I had a good haul of Hong Kong and Taiwan-pressed Chinese records that are generally harder to get outside these territories and more expensive due to lack of international shipping options. For international records, many of them are even more expensive than from Amazon or closely-priced. I had little incentive to rush into purchase given I have very little cost savings. I did buy a few international records because of their rarity. My most significant haul would have to be the Yiruma: The Rewritten Memories. I had spent over a year searching online and offline for a decent-priced listing (forget eBay). I recalled searching in the Taiwan online record stores like Eslite and Chia Chia but not available. Then when I was at Taipei, I did a search again and found that Chia Chia Record listed as available.
Jeddah, SA | DJ rediscovers Saudi music through vinyl: The timeless ritual of visiting record stores to unearth original Saudi and Arabic vinyl records fuels Yaser Hammad, a Saudi DJ specializing in Arabic musical treasures. “I prefer to label myself as a selector rather than a traditional DJ,” he tells Arab News. “This allows me to introduce the audience to classical songs that may be new to them, setting my offerings apart from other DJs in the region.” DJing with vinyl is an art that can be a bit more complicated: “Being a vinyl DJ involves more than just playing music … it’s about carrying physical songs, which is quite valuable. Unlike digital formats using a USB to carry songs, vinyl DJing requires a hands-on approach and adds a unique quality to my performances, creating a distinct ambiance for the audience.”
Kolkata, IN | Vinyl—another record comeback: A musician by accident and music lover by choice unravels the spools of the ‘vinyls are better’ argument as they make another endless loop comeback. Disclaimer: This is NOT another Audiophile’s Decisive Comparison between vinyl, CD, cassettes and streaming mp3s. But it has been triggered by yet another post about some music icon who still visits music stores to buy vinyls! And of course, the string of comments, on the whole listening experience, both for and against. Vinyl. Pronounced “vie nil”. Yes, I checked it with Google and a few other erudite scholars. The 12-inch polystyrene repository of musical memories, usually black, but other shades these days, are vinyls. The pedestrian buyer in Calcutta called them ‘LPs’ for Long Playing Records. Well, in my day folks around me said “vee nile”. It rhymes with phenyle, but has nothing to do with cleaning or a clean sound. These days, everyone and his uncle is rushing to purchase ‘vinyls’ because they are the best possible listening experience since Edison.
JA | Matthew McCarthy upcycles vinyl, showcasing Jamaican music aesthetic: …“Vinyl is a beautiful artform in of itself. It’s always visually stunning seeing a record being played. Even just having that as a basis, my appreciation for vinyl records grew. I hope people see this as an intention to upcycle something that’s fading away … I wanted to represent Jamaica’s aesthetic when it comes to portraying music [through visual art]. Looking at [renowned dancehall illustrator] Wilfred Limonious and other individuals who portrayed music, the aesthetic is very strong. It was a heavy two-toned ska design aesthetic, and I really want people to know that those individuals are the ones whose shoulders I’m standing on top of. I thought of the vinyl itself as a window like someone’s going to be able to jump through. I thought I would force perspective to allow you to enter [the world of the song]. If you notice what I did with the middle of the vinyl, I tried to be very clever with them so that it could vanish from people’s minds that this is just a record.”
Chinatown, SN | Tang Nan Ah Company, music shop with over 70 years of history, closing on May 11: Fans of dialect operas will have one less avenue to buy such CDs soon. Tang Nan Ah Company, a music store with more than 70 years of history located at People’s Park Centre in Chinatown, is calling it a day on May 11. This was disclosed to Shin Min Daily News by the shop’s second-generation owner, identified only as Mr Guo, 72. “People listen to music on their mobile phones nowadays and the youngsters rarely visit record stores,” he told the Chinese-language evening daily. “There are also very few CD players being sold and they are no longer installed in cars.” Tang Nan Ah Company began operating in 1954 at a shophouse. This was in the vicinity used to be known in dialect as “Chui Sien Mng”, which translates to “Water Fairy Gate”, and refers to the area roughly bounded by High Street, Hill Street, North Bridge Road, Hock Lam Street and Chin Nam Street.
Christchurch, NZ | Flying Nun comes home: Flying Nun Records is coming home, sort of. Roger Shepherd founded the legendary Christchurch independent music label with $250 in 1981 while working behind the counter at the Record Factory on Colombo St, roughly where the EntX complex sits now. Go north a couple of blocks and you have the site of the new Flying Nun record store in Terrace Arcade near Scorpio Books. When the store opens on May 31, it will be the third in a chain. Auckland was first, and then Wellington. But the opening of a Christchurch branch brings the story of the South Island label full circle. It warrants a look at the top 10 moments in the label’s history, and they aren’t all nostalgic.
Tokyo, JP | Vinyl records hitting the right note with young music fans: Vinyl is making a comeback in Japan. Tower Records Japan Inc.’s renovated flagship store in Tokyo’s Shibuya district was reopened in late February. Its analog record floor has nearly doubled in size. Music fans in their 50s and 60s, who grew up listening to music on vinyl, and foreign tourists are usually seen on the floor. But the number of younger customers is sharply increasing, according to the company. Vinyl records were forced out of the mainstream after the 1980s, and for young music listeners, analog records had already been reduced to a minor presence when they were born. But the unfamiliarity with the medium is one reason why the vinyl is appealing to young people, a representative said. Before the renovation, the analog record floor had about 70,000 records in its inventory. It now boasts more than 100,000 items in stock, and sales have increased by about 25 times from 10 years earlier.
York, UK | Vinyl record manufacturing company takes on city premises: Start-up business, Vinyl Press UK Ltd, will lease a 2,500 sq ft premises at Monks Cross—the first pressing plant of its kind in the city of York. Vinyl Press was established by musical entrepreneurs Lucy Johnson (managing director), Neville Proctor (financial director), and Susie Proctor (director), who saw an opportunity to offer smaller to mid-sized labels with much needed vinyl record manufacturing facilities in the north of England. The opening of the facility coincides with demand for vinyl records having increased for the 16th year in a row last year, with 6.5 million sold, taking overall sales above £170m. Vinyl Press has launched with a small team but expects to recruit several more members of staff within the next 12 months as the company’s order book and client roster grows.
