World Record Store Day is a global celebration of independent record shops and vinyl. All around the world, local shops host special events featuring live music, DJ sets and more across the day. Record labels release hundreds of exclusive, limited-edition releases on the day, often unearthing highly sought-after or previously unheard material.
This year, we celebrated World Record Store Day with our own 24-hour broadcast across our social channels, highlighting rare shows that spotlight record shops around the world, lending an ear to the the people and communities that keep them thriving. From São Paulo to Ohio to Tokyo, hit play to traverse the world in the name of vinyl.
Mr Bongo – Liverpool, UK
Graham Luckhurst and Gareth Stephens were joined by Mr Bongo UK HQ family member, Heather Sheret, plus Giovanna & Sofie K out of Liverpool (UK) who recorded a 1-hour guest mix.
Counter Intelligence with Hanson Records – Oberlin, Ohio, USA
Aaron Dilloway is a luminary in avant-garde music circles, famous (if that’s the right word) for his time spent in the revered noise group Wolf Eyes. But in Oberlin, Ohio, he’s probably best known as the proprietor of a small but beloved brick-and-mortar called Hanson Records. In a certain light, Hanson is a community concern, catering to the wide-ranging tastes of a college town with a highly regarded, experimentally inclined conservatory. But the store, which started in 1994 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as a label and mail-order distributor dedicated to Dilloway’s own releases and those by fellow travellers, is known around the world as a source for awesomely obscure and utterly subversive music.
Container Records at Reprezent Radio – South London, UK
On 26.12.16 Container Records took over Reprezent Radio. Shop assistants and DJs Waterworks and Altar hosted a two-hour show of their favourite records on sale in the shop, and were joined in the studio by South London based rapper Mnsr Frites for a close-up look at his solo album ‘The River Wandle’.
Ciel for The Vinyl Factory – London, UK
The Vinyl Factory is a well respected independent British cultural enterprise that encompasses a music magazine, a record label, a vinyl pressing plant, gallery spaces, a gallery space– and a regular uploads a show to Mixcloud. In this mix, Canadian DJ and producer Ciel takes us on a wiggly journey through mid-to-late ’90s by way of west coast trance. Read more about her research into the here.
Wax Museum Records – Melbourne, Australia
Wax Museum Records unveiled this supremely classy mixtape from Aux won that serves as the perfect retrospective. Plutonic Lab’s record, Deep Above The Noise, is due on Friday 17 June, and Wax Museum head honcho Aux One has put together a fantastic mixtape which delves into Plutonic Lab’s rich history, along with teasing a few cuts from the forthcoming album, plus some Aussie hip hop classics from the likes of Dialectrix and Muph & Plutonic.
Second Hand Records on The Lot Radio – Brooklyn, New York, USA
The Lot Radio is exactly what it sounds like: an online radio broadcasting from a reclaimed shipping container on an empty lot in New York City. Listen in on this show hosted by Second Hand Records shop isco, soul and much more from one of New York’s finest stations.
Patuá Discos – São Paulo, Brazil
The Portuguese word patuá translates rough to “lucky charm,” and it’s a wonderful metaphor for DJ Paulão’s approach to selling records out of the shop of the same name he’s co-owned in São Paulo’s groovy Vila Madalena neighborhood since opening in 2015. The place exudes good vibes – Paulão wants the shop to feel like home, and he sees the act of selling records as a kind of ongoing conversation with his customers – and as you’d imagine his wares are infused with them. The shop has a reputation for stocking new records from the current generation of Brazilian artists, which Paulão describes as an especially rich one, even in a country known for producing incredibly creative music through the years. But inside Patuá Discos, you’ll find everything from rap to rock to soul, along with myriad Afro-Brazilian titles.
Cosmos Records – Toronto, Canada
Toronto-based record store Cosmos Records, which has grown to three store locations in Canada and London, serves up a multitude of Brazilian beats from across the decades.
Counter Intelligence with Doctor Vinyl – Brussels, Belgium
Located right next to the Place Saint-Géry, near the tourist-filled but labyrinthine area south of La Bourse, you’ll find Doctor Vinyl, the self-proclaimed dinosaur of Brussels record shops. The Doctor himself, DJ/producer and music journalist Geert Sermon, opened his doors to give Red Bull Radio a guided tour through 20-plus years of _The Sound of Brussels_. This vaguely defined amalgamation of EBM, new beat, industrial, house and techno has found a home at his shop since the very beginning. Combining an eye-catching storefront with a welcoming atmosphere and a very Belgian sense of surreal humor, the store continues to attract diggers looking for peak-time dance records, moody wave and disco obscurities alike. Come for the anthems, stay for the Jeff Mills, DJ Sneak and David Guetta (!) stories.
Needle Vinilos on Red Light Radio – Santiago, Chile
Red Light Radio is an online radio station broadcasting from a former prostitution window in the red light district of Amsterdam. But for this show, Matias Rivera (Diamante Label/Moloko Dream) broadcasts live from Needle Vinilos, a record shop in Santiago, Chile.
Love Vinyl London – London, UK
All manner of dusty old grooves from one of the men behind Hoxton’s acclaimed Love Vinyl store.
Counter Intelligence with Demonfuzz Records – Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Like most labors of love, it started out decidedly DIY. Inspired by the golden age of sample-based hip-hop, Rotterdam record fiends Erwin Zimmerman and Michael Engelaan became friends while fervently scouring flea markets in their relentless quest for the vintage soul, funk, jazz and drum breaks employed by their favorite rap artists and producers. Reselling their wares as private dealers, the amateur business went full-on professional in 1998 with the launch of a proper shop, Demonfuzz Records. Demonfuzz may reside on the strip of Rotterdam’s De Nieuwe Binnenweg, affectionately known as “Record Street,” but it quickly separated itself from its peers with the breadth and depth of its ever-expanding stock. Shop regulars include not only celebrated record heads like Madlib, Kenny Dope, DJ Spinna and the Alchemist, but its customer base is really anyone in search of quality soul, funk, jazz, disco, library, Dutch breaks, Italo, techno, reggae and electro.
Warp Records and Bleep.com on NTS – London, UK
NTS hosts a monthly showcase of music from Bleep.com, the online music store founded by Warp Records. Hosted by Bleep staff, expect selections from the stockroom and digital archives, as well as occasional guest mixes. In this episode, Raj Chaudhuri sifts through Aphex Twin’s back catalogue.
Jazzanova at OYE Records – Berlin, Germany
You’ll find OYE Records at the heart and soul of Berlin’s thriving, music community. Named after Tito Puente’s ‘Oye Como Va’, OYE is an institution that has been serving up a platter of house, soul, jazz, hip-hop and techno to the local residents since 2002.To celebrate their compilation ‘Paz E Futebol Vol. 2’, Jazzanova’s Juergen von Knoblauch & Alex Barck played some originals from their collection live from the shop.
Counter Intelligence with Groove Merchant Records – San Francisco, USA
When Chris Veltri first walked into the Groove Merchant in San Francisco in the early ’90s, he couldn’t believe his eyes. There on the walls staring back at him were funk and soul records by the Meters, Nathan Davis, William DeVaughn and others that he’d only heard about but had never actually seen. Right away Chris understood that this unique storefront in SF’s gritty Lower Haight was the first of its kind in the states, an outpost possessed with a clear musical focus (modeled after shops on the UK’s “rare groove” scene) that dovetailed with his own burgeoning tastes. Fast forward a few years and “Cool Chris,” as he’d become known in DJ and music journalist circles, began working at the store, eventually graduating to manager and by 1997 taking over as owner.
Phonica Records – London, UK
Come World Record Store Day, Phonica Records is the top of list destination for every audiophile in London. In this show, enjoy some weird and wonderful sounds from the Dutch hotshot, from slo-mo acid licks to Coil.
Red Light Radio – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Not a record shop per definition, but an online radio station broadcasting from a former prostitution window in the red light district of Amsterdam, selling some records. In this show, we hear from The Red Light Records staff playing their store stock.
A1 Record Shop – New York, USA
Join NYC and London based creative collective KNOW WAVE as they dig through the racks at one of New York’s most beloved record stores.
Big Love Records – Tokyo, Japan
This weekly show features pop, rock and electronica selected by Masashi Naka, the guy who’s behind from Tokyo’s finest Big Love Records.
Counter Intelligence with ZudRangMa Records – Bangkok, Thailand
ZudRangMa Records has become synonymous with vintage records in the country’s undeniably funky, homegrown musical style. But in the context of Thailand itself, the Bangkok record store holds deeper meaning – its founder, Maft Sai, has made it his mission to elevate music that hasn’t always gotten the respect it deserves in its home country, and which in some cases has been lost to history (quite literally — many records became elusive when the pressings were physically destroyed en masse). A visit to ZudRangMa, even for Thai listeners, is likely to yield a bounty of fresh discoveries. Today Sai delves into some of the eye-poppingly incredible records that have graced ZudRangMa’s shelves through the years: Thai delicacies primarily, along with some other rare records from other underrepresented musical communities around the world.
Public Possession via Stamp the Wax – Munich, Germany
Records store and label, Public Possession is a pivotal music community in Munich. Marvin & Valentino are the devastating double team behind them (also producing together as Tambien, alongside Bartellow).
Almacén de Discos via Dublab Spain – Madrid, Spain
Ambient, drone and experimental flavours from one of Madrid’s treasure troves, via international community radio station dublab.
Rough Trade – London, UK
A special show comprised of 70+ Hip Hop tracks, old & new, mixed live, to tie in with London institution Rough Trade Shop’s new compilation CD/MP3 ‘HIP HOP 15’.
Worldwide FM – London, UK
This monthly show on Worldwide FM is hosted by London jazz virtuoso Shabaka Hutchings. The Sons of Kemet saxophonist presents two hours of music from his record bag, ranging from his trusted favourites to new and rare finds.
Where in the world is your favorite record store?