Specialties:
Second-hand vinyl, in good condition from all corners of the globe.
What are the defining features of your store?
15,000 records, which are categorised and much of them alphabetised in racks. Two listening decks, and a counter manned by a friendly record clerk.
If your store could be personified as one musical identity, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Marcel Duchamp (yes, he was also a composer and musician) whose compositions were based on ‘chance operations’; kind of how our shop works.
What makes records so special?
As a physical format, they are great means to represent and reproduce a musician’s work on a human scale. They give a greater sense of value to an artists work than some random sound file added to your hard drive.
Why do you think records have continued to endure?
Records represent a minute fraction of music sales/shares/downloads etc. In reality, they have become a niche product, but to those that appreciate vinyl for whatever reason, whether they be audiophiles, collectors or fans, it’s the physicality of the medium that appeals.
Is there are particular record you’re dying to get your hands on? What is it?
I’d like a nice copy of East Bionic Symphonia, call me if you have a copy you’d be happy to part with.
What’s the most obscure record you’ve ever sold and why?
A vanity record by Malinda Jackson Parker, a Liberian politician, released in 1971. Surprisingly it’s on all the digital media services if you feel the need to listen to it.
What’s your fondest memory involving a record?
Going record shopping with my dad when I was a kid down Acland Street on a Sunday at The Record Specialist.
Vinyl sleeves are a great for album art, do you have a favourite album cover and why is it your favourite?
Too many, but I’ve always loved Roberts Crumb’s work for Yazoo Records.
Have you had any good conversations with famous people who’ve been in your store? Who was it with and can you remember what they bought?
Afrika Bambaataa (Sue Barker: Self-Titled), Henry Rollins (Kluster: Zwei-Osterei), Billy Corgan (Heath Brothers: Marching On), Madlib (Sun Ra: Dreams Come True), Thurston Moore (Cathie O’Sullivan: High Places), Cut Chemist (The Twilights: Once Upon a Twilight) among others.
