Minneapolis, MN | Lucky Cat Records opens on Lyndale Avenue at old Oar Folkjokeopus spot: A corner of Lyndale Avenue in south Minneapolis made legendary for its roots as an alternative rock and roll gathering space will once again be home to an independent record shop. Lucky Cat Records has officially opened at 2557 Lyndale Ave. S., with an opening weekend planned for July 5-7. Located across the street from the CC Club, the corner was a hot spot in the 1980s for bands such as Loud Fast Rules (later changing their name to Soul Asylum), Husker Du and the Replacements, who would gather to listen to music before and after their own band practices. From 2001 to 2017, the location was home to Treehouse Records, owned by Mark Trehus. In recent years, Trehus said he was looking to sell the location, but still wanted to keep a record store at the spot if possible.
Nottingham, UK | Fopp: Inside the new Nottingham record shop taking music lovers back to the good old days: You could easily spend an hour or two wandering around here! The way we consume music has changed dramatically over the past few decades. First came vinyl, then CDs and now the dominance of online streaming. But for those of a certain age, the only way to listen to your favourite band’s new album is by getting the bus into town, walking into a record shop and getting your hands on the real thing. There are some indications that the golden age of music could be returning, with vinyl sales last year at their highest level this century. That can only be good news for shops like Fopp – Nottingham’s newest music store. Now owned by HMV, Fopp had a shop in Broadmarsh until the shopping centre closed in mid-2020, but last month the much-loved brand made a sensational return to the city.
Edinburgh, UK | Lost Map announce collaboration with Good Vibes record store: The long-running indie label will have a permanent base of operations at the Edinburgh record store and studio. Lost Map, the Isle Of Eigg-based record label owned by musician Johnny Lynch, has announced a permanent base of operations at Edinburgh’s Good Vibes record store and studio. The collaboration marks the first time the label has had its full catalogue on sale in a brick and mortar premises, and promises an evolution of the brand after its tenth anniversary in 2023. Lynch says, ‘This partnership is a truly wonderful opportunity for Lost Map – we’re excited to be bringing our music to one of the most exquisitely curated record shops in the country. Given our unique situation on Eigg and the logistical challenges involved, we’ve always had a mainland base in Edinburgh for our webshop and distribution (run by Kate “Canaveral” Lazda).’
Phoenix, AZ | Meet Kimber Lanning, A Phoenix Community Alliance “City-Shaper.” Downtown Phoenix wouldn’t be the same without Kimber Lanning. As the owner of Stinkweeds Records and Modified Arts, she firmly established herself as a fierce amplifier of all things local. Over time, she transformed from her “record store lady” descriptor into a regionally recognized community development advocate through her nonprofit Local First Arizona, a vital community resource for small businesses and economic development. In her third decade of community leadership, there’s no corner of business where her vigor and determination to create a level playing field has not been evident, whether as a founding member of the Alliance of Independent Media Stores, recommending local vendors to large companies, like SRP, or organizing small businesses and local leaders against harmful legislation (SB 1070). Phoenix Community Alliance and its membership were organized from the foundation of industry professionals who all shared the same goal: to use their expertise to benefit the Greater Downtown Phoenix community.
Seattle, WA | The Vinyl Keeps Spinning: Hip Hop’s Timeless Love Affair: Is it the gritty sound that digital recordings, promising to improve quality and accessibility, can’t quite replicate? Or the allure of holding a rare album in your hands- sliding the record out of the sleeve, holding it by its edges, lowering the needle, and watching the revolutions of the spinning disc? Perhaps it’s the nostalgia of a bygone era or the deeper connection it creates with the artist, where every crackle and pop tells its own story. LA Record Fair: This love for vinyl comes to life on the third Sunday of every month at the LA Record Fair. Here, the air buzzes with jazz, and melónamos (music lovers) have animated conversations amidst the colorful canopy of tents selling food, clothing, music, and other arts and crafts. It all started in 2008 with Beat Swap Meet, a cornerstone of Los Angeles’ vinyl culture, a gathering of the minds, providing a space for music enthusiasts and truth seekers to gather, trade, and celebrate the enduring appeal of vinyl records.
Carl Cox selects defining records from his vinyl collection for new photography project: “… It was very emotional choosing the records that helped shape my journey.” Carl Cox has picked several of his defining records from his vinyl collection for a new photography project. Encompassing funk, soul, disco, rare groove, rave, Detroit techno, hip-hop, electro and ’80s pop, records from Run DMC, Candi Staton, Talking Heads, Carrie Lucas, Fleetwood Mac, Duran Duran, Lil Louis and Doug Lazy are among those chosen the UK’s veteran 150,000-plus vinyl collection. The results have been turned into a limited-edition artwork titled ‘Carl’, made in collaboration with British photographic artist Mark Vessey and set to be launched at Brighton’s Enter Gallery on 20th July. “Each record I choose has a story behind it and it was very emotional choosing the records that helped shape my journey,” he says.
McIntosh Releases Special Vinyl to Celebrate 75th Anniversary: Featuring Original Compositions Recorded Exclusively for McIntosh, the New Jazz Album Marries the Power of McIntosh with the Authenticity of Recording Live to Tape. McIntosh Laboratory announces the release of SESSIONS Volume 1, a jazz album featuring eight original compositions by The Peter Erskine Quartet and produced with iconic mastering from Sterling Sound and pressed on HQ-180 Gram Premium Vinyl by RTI. The goal of the album was to create the best sounding record possible, while retaining the artistry and passion from a live studio session. Recorded live at Studio A at the famous Henson Recording Studio in Los Angeles and mastered at Sterling Sound in Nashville, McIntosh SESSIONS Volume 1 is an album crafted with attention to every detail in pursuit of sonic excellence. Recorded and mastered with utmost precision on analog tape, it promises a high-fidelity vinyl listening experience, transporting audiences into the studio to hear The Peter Erskine Quartet’s captivating performance.
Marty Willson-Piper’s 65,000 Vinyl Treasure Cave Used To Be a Funeral Home: Based in Portugal, the 2,000-square-foot maze-like space has been given new life. We visited the Church guitarist and his wife to see for ourselves. For all intents and purposes, Rua de Coelho Neto is just your typical busy Porto street, populated with snack bars and a steady stream of passersby who jostle for space on the narrow sidewalk. Tucked away next to a Colombian restaurant stands an ordinary-looking building, furnished with tall storefront windows and entrance steps, that you’d quite easily pass by without turning your head. The 2,000-square-foot space was previously a funeral home, according to locals, and in more recent decades had been a clinical laboratory. Inside, the faucets and washbasins that adorn each room still bear witness to its past existence. However, the lab has now been given a new lease of life as a vibrantly hued, maze-like music archive and hub, which will be opened up to creatives visiting or living in the Portuguese city. Created by guitarist Marty Willson-Piper of Australian psych-pop icons the Church, the In Deep Music Archive houses an expansive, painstakingly curated collection of over 65,000 vinyl records.
