Dundee, UK | Former Groucho’s staff to keep the music playing with new Dundee record store: Tayside’s music loving public has received a much-needed boost with news a new second-hand record store is to open in the city centre. The new business has been set up by three former staff members at Groucho’s – Frank Mills, Morag “Moog” Rogers and Lee Scott – who have been working for the past few weeks to prepare the Union Street shop for opening. Their former boss and close friend Alastair “Breeks” Brodie passed away just over a year ago and the staff had kept his store running until the lockdown in March.’ After becoming jobless in the summer, Moog, Frank and Lee got together and decided they all wanted to continue in the trade and maintain a second-hand record store presence in the city centre. While their new shop is a completely independent venture, Moog revealed they might have been working in the same shop two years ago. “When the lease for Groucho’s was running out in 2018, this place came up and Breeks looked at it but his illness was such that he just felt he couldn’t do the big move. His lease got extended so we stayed there until lockdown.” When the vacant premises at 13 Union Street became available they seized the opportunity.
Wooster, OH | As one record store spins out, another is poised to fill the void: Just as the city’s only dedicated record store closes its doors in less than two weeks, another is poised to fill the void. Josh Lehman, owner of Operation: Fandom and Blackbird Records, will open a combination of those two Wooster stores next month along East Fourth Street, sandwiched between The Clubhouse and City Grille & Bar. Operation: Fandom, launched in 2018, specializes in toys, collectibles and pop-culture merchandise. Lehman took over Lucky Records earlier this year, changing the name to Blackbird. In addition to toys, sought-after collectibles, movie merchandise and autographs, the newest addition to the historic Carrousel District will have turntables, CDs, cassettes, and both new and used vinyl. “Almost everybody that’s into records has that Beatles or that Pink Floyd because it’s been around for 50 years, but these other newer, trendier things, we try to carry too,” Lehman said. “So, we just try to do it all, really, and make sure somebody that comes in finds something they enjoy.”
Houston, TX | Memo’s Record Shop has collection of Latin music and memorabilia that you can’t find anywhere else: Guillermo “Memo” Villarreal grew up with a love for music and has spent the last more than 50 years sharing his incredible collection with the city of Houston. Memo opened his record shop in 1968, selling music you couldn’t find anywhere else in the city. He’s seen the music industry move from records to 8-tracks to cassette tapes to CDs. The types of music have also grown. You can now find Mariachi, Conjunto, Caribbean, Salsa, Merengue, Tejano, and much more in the aisles of the store. Memo Record Shop #1 also has a vast collection of Latin movies. Memo said, “If we don’t have it, it doesn’t exist anymore.” Memo’s business has grown into a museum of sorts over the years as well, with hundreds of photos, autographs, and guitars hanging on the walls. His most prized possession is a signed guitar from Carlos Santana. “Music for me, it’s my life,” Memo said.
Singapore, SG | The new Singapore restaurant with 3,000 vinyl records and the most dangerous wine in the world: Nestled directly above Michelin-starred restaurant Nouri’s Chinatown shophouse is the inventive multi-concept space called Appetite complete with a kitchen, art gallery and living room where you feel like you’re at home but you’re not. Imagine having a good dinner with friends while chilling out on sofas, drinking some incredible wine, and admiring art on the walls and the crackle of some cool vintage records playing in the background. Then imagine you’re not actually at home but on the second floor of a plush shophouse in Chinatown. That’s the concept behind Appetite, the innovative new offshoot of Michelin-starred restaurant Nouri which is located right above the latter’s premises on Amoy Street. Appetite was first conceived as the restaurant’s research and development arm back in 2018, a mere year after chef-owner Ivan Brehm opened award-winning Nouri’s doors. Now it’s a multi-concept space, Brehm tells CNA Lifestyle, for “people to reconnect with things like knowledge, food, music, art and each other in a more direct, less transactional way.”
York, NE | Student Columnist: Grandpa hobby: The 21st century has given us some wonderful technology. Thanks to the advancements made by tech companies in the last 20 years, we can now stream new blockbuster movies from our homes, track workouts on watches, and have millions of songs sitting nicely in our pockets. Thanks to Spotify and Apple Music, listeners of all genres can access the newest releases from any given artist with a couple taps of a button. This has allowed for musicians to publish music quicker and reach a great audience with their material. And while these apps have made it very easy to find songs, what’s wrong with listening to music the old fashioned way? Before the music mongols of the 2010s found their places on our home screens, fans across the country had to depend on different outlets to get their fix. The 2000s saw the rap crowd jamming to tunes on their iPods, the 90s gang rocked to grunge on CDs, and the Walkman stylized the synth-filled 80s. But how did people listen to music before these wonderful inventions?
IsoAcoustics announces new isolation platforms for turntables and hi-fi: A stable base for your tech. While most audio gear is sensitive to vibrations and resonances, turntables are particulate sensitive because both can interfere with the stylus as it navigates a record’s groove. Following IsoAcoustics’ DELOS platforms, which are designed for larger hi-fi, the company developed its zaZen range with smaller, lighter turntables and gear. By coupling a dense fibre platform construction with IsoAcoustics’ signature isolators on each of the bottom corners, the zaZen aims “to provide a low noise floor.” The zaZen I has been designed for hi-fi components and turntables with a weight capacity of up to 25lbs, measures 17” x 15” x 1.2” and is priced at £199. Built for heavier systems and able to maintain a weight of up to 40lbs, the zaZen II measures 17” x 15” x 1.4” and is priced at £229. Both models will be released on the 30th September.
