Indianapolis, IN | Record Store to Join Bottleworks Plans: Indianapolis-based Hendricks Commercial Properties has announced the record store Square Cat Vinyl is set to open in 2020 as part of phase one of the Bottleworks District. The new shop, which will be in The Garage at Bottleworks, is the latest addition to the project that aims to revamp the Coca-Cola building on Massachusetts Avenue. Square Cat Vinyl established its first location in Fountain Square in 2016 as a record store venue with a bar, stage and vinyls for sale. The shop’s bar services won’t be available at the new Bottleworks location but one of its main goals will be helping to curate live music at The Garage. The company has also hired local craftsman Loran Bohall to build all the shop’s shelving and will have a local music section.
Singapore | The 9 best vinyl record stores in Singapore: Analog music may be a dying industry, but we’ll be damned if we don’t admit that the flicking of fingertips through crates of alphabetically-arranged LPs isn’t an irreplaceable experience. It’s like browsing a jukebox, but the preview echoes in your head in hummed memory, instead of as static blarings through a stereo. The album art too, is a lost artform best appreciated in its full glory on thick paper sleeves. If you’re a vinyl romantic like us, check out these record stores that have managed to withstand the test of time.
Isle of Thanet, UK | New Broadstairs record shop hits the right note: Second-hand records, CDs, musical instruments and even a bit of art are all on offer at the newest shop to open in Broadstairs. Starfish Records in Albion Street has just completed its first week of trading and bosses John Rowden and wife ‘Ferret’ say business has been booming. The pair, from Faversham, found themselves in the vinyl trade seven years ago after taking 2,000 records off a friend’s hands. John said: “We started doing boot fairs and then record fairs but they were only once a month so we decided to do Faversham market every Saturday. “The shop is really a natural progression of that and we hope it is going to evolve as we have new stock coming in all the time. “We wanted to come to Broadstairs as there isn’t another shop like us here so we thought we could add something.”
Houston, TX | Connected record store, coffee shop to open on 19th: Black Dog Records and Maggie May’s Coffee is preparing to open in early March at 726 W. 19th St., across from Tarka Indian Kitchen. And although the coffee element is new, Black Dog already has a following. Owner James Sherwood had Black Dog on Bissonnet for seven years. “We closed the location as the unit size of 1,200 square feet was not adequate enough to support the addition of a coffee shop,” Sherwood said…In addition to selling quality, near-mint-condition first and early pressings of vintage vinyl records including classic rock, 1980s pop, heavy metal, alternative, punk, R&B, soul, jazz, blues, folk and country as well as select remastered albums, the new location also will host weekend entertainment such as live, in-store performances by local Houston artists. It also will be home to karaoke nights, afternoon poetry readings, trivia game nights and amateur stand-up comedy.
Cumbria, UK | It’s a vinyl revival as buyers snap-up LPs: Lovers of music took a step back in time at a vinyl revival auction with many items being sold all over the world. Gramophones and record players were all part of the lots alongside 230 vintage vinyl and collectible records. The sale took place yesterday (2/13) at Thomson Roddick in Carlisle. Musical instruments, music boxes, music and film memorabilia, autographs and other paraphernalia were all part of the popular sale. Highlights included LPs of Northern Soul and an early sample from the famous Manchester label Factory Records. Steven Parkinson, auction manager, said: “As with any auction some things disappoint and some things amaze. “It was a good turn out…”
David Byrne’s Grown Backwards to receive first-ever vinyl pressing for 15th anniversary. Featuring six additional tracks, including a collaboration with Caetano Veloso. In celebration of its 15th anniversary, David Byrne’s Grown Backwards will be released on vinyl for the first-time ever. Due out on March 15th through Nonesuch, the album’s reissue tacks on six additional songs, including a duet with Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso. As Byrne noted in a statement, “Some of these bonus tracks were deemed not right for this record as they didn’t fit in with the flow and feel of the original album. Now I’m not so sure record sequence matters so much and some hold up OK, so here they are.”
Record Radar uses your Spotify playlists to find vinyl in local shops and online: Based in Berlin, Record Radar takes its data from your Spotify account, utilising your choices on playlists to pinpoint records being sold in local shops and through online stores, without the hassle of registration. The software requires you to log in to your Spotify account, and allows you to filter the vinyl choices based on the country/city of where you want to purchase, and which playlist from your Spotify account you want to find the physical vinyl. Record Radar doesn’t utilise any subscribed or editorial playlists, only the ones made on your own account. The software also declares the state of the vinyl listed, whether it’s new or second hand. Record stores and sellers can also get involved to help expand the chances of locating vinyl for customers using the software.
