Chicago, IL | Rogers Park gets a new record store: You could be forgiven for mistaking Electric Jungle for a gardening shop at first glance. Potted plants fill the windows of the new Rogers Park record store at 1768 W. Greenleaf, which opened without fanfare during the last weekend of July. The storefront is largely unadorned, though there’s a small green sign on the front door with the shop’s name and business hours. It’s open just a fraction of the week: 2-7 PM on Tuesday and Thursday, and noon-7 PM on Friday and Saturday. Owner John Ciba, who ran Logan Square record store Logan Hardware till it closed in May, says he started working toward opening Electric Jungle this past winter. He stayed mum about the shop’s existence till this summer, when he changed the handle on Logan Hardware’s Instagram account to “electricjunglechicago.”
Louisville, KY | Louisville’s Funhouse Records might be the biggest little record store in America: Five years ago, Bill Barriger had little interest in used vinyl records and couldn’t tell the difference between an LP worth $1 and one worth $100. Now he owns one of the most well-stocked record stores in the United States. Barriger, who opened Funhouse Records & Audio in the Highlands earlier this year, traveled to Texas two weeks ago to buy a collection of approximately 280,000 LPs and 45s. That’s a lot of records. Check that: It’s a crazy amount and the final count may be higher. Even more remarkable, a number of them are new old stock dating back to the 1980s, including unopened shipping boxes from distributors. In the world of record collectors — and retailers — this is the stuff of dreams, the kind of grail-rich score that could make Barriger’s reputation soar among collectors internationally.
SugarCube SC-1 vinyl noise remover hits the UK: For some vinyl enthusiasts, the surface noise of vinyl records is as endearing as the actions of pulling a disc from its sleeve or lowering a turntable’s tonearm lever. But of course one can have too much of a good thing, and the sound of a worn record can fall into that category. And if a good ol’ clean can’t help, maybe the SugarCube SC-1 can. Designed for people with older or second-hand record collections, the all-in-one noise removal device uses proprietary ‘click & pop’ removal technology by Silicon Valley-based start-up SweetVinyl to eliminate vinyl noise in real-time. The technology supposedly uses an algorithm to detect, isolate and remove unwanted noise while keeping the music signal unharmed. All owners have to do is hook the SC-1 up to a phono stage, press a button to initiate the clean-up process, and turn a dial to adjust the strength of the process.
UAE | Vinyl memories: Of cricket, mutton curry and a gruffy Dylan: …Growing up in Dum Dum, in the northern fringes of the eastern Indian metropolis of Kolkata, in the early 1970s, the sheer proximity to the His Master’s Voice (HMV) factory was something to brag about. HMV, then the largest music company in India, was quite a household name and very much a brand to reckon with in an age and time when brand-loyalties were more esoteric in terms of their association with life as it was and not quite dictated by a gadget freak’s now-or-never push for a ‘been-there-done-that’ proclamation. The day father brought home the HMV radiogram, it marked my initiation into the world of music — the sheer joy of being able to be in command of what one loved to listen to and not necessarily dependent on what the All India Radio programme presenter thought music ought to be.
Hall and Oates, El-P, Soccer Mommy to Reissue LPs on Pink Vinyl for Charity: Fifth annual Ten Bands One Cause initiative benefits Gilda’s Club. Daryl Hall and John Oates, El-P and Soccer Mommy are among the artists set to reissue their albums on pink vinyl as part of the fifth annual charity initiative, Ten Bands One Cause, which benefits Gilda’s Club NYC. The limited edition records will be released between September 25th and October 26th via the Orchard. They’ll be available at vinyl-selling retailers across the United States. Hall and Oates will reissue their classic 1975 self-titled record, while rapper El-P will re-release his third studio album, Cancer 4 Cure (El-P’s duo with Killer Mike, Run the Jewels, partook in Ten Bands One Cause in 2015). Meanwhile, Nashville alt-rock newcomers Soccer Mommy will re-release their acclaimed 2018 debut Clean.
Luno Collaborates With Frank Zappa Estate On New Limited-Edition Record Console: Luxury design brand Luno has teamed up with the Frank Zappa estate on the creation of the SSKL Soundwave, FZ Limited Edition. This uniquely designed record console — only 10 of which will be available for purchase — is highlighted by a solid brass soundwave from Frank Zappa’s “Sofa No. 1” musical composition that is meticulously inlaid by hand and made flush with the walnut door.The SSKL Soundwave, FZ Limited Edition also features a selection of vinyl recordings from Frank Zappa’s extensive recorded catalog, a minibar with Zappa whiskey glasses and space for four liquor bottles, storage for 150 records, a Groovewasher Kit, and a certificate of authenticity (signed, numbered, and dated). The console also comes fully equipped with a Pro-Ject Esprit SB turntable, 2.1 speaker system, 100w subwoofer, 2 aux inputs and AirPlay so you can stream from any Apple device. The console design is the newest addition to Luno’s luxury hifi console range. Featuring top of the line craftsmanship, the unit is truly a work of art.
