Record Store Day 2017 is around the corner, arriving on Saturday April 22. To celebrate, we’ve profiled some of our favourite Sydney record stores where you can dig through crates to your heart’s content. Happy hunting!
1. Beatdisc
11/181 Church St, Parramatta
The team:
Myself, Peter Curnovic (owner), Tom Houlahan (drums in Burlap/Ted Danson With Wolves) and Mark, our prog rock specialist.
The history:
Beatdisc opened in August 1995. Last year we celebrated 21 years of business from the same location in the Queensland Arcade, Church Street, Parramatta. We’ve seen many record shops close over the years but we’ve stood the test of time so far. A friend of ours made a short film for our 20-year anniversary and it’s available to watch online.
What’s playing in store right now?
X-Ray Spex – Germfree Adolescents (1978).
How are you celebrating Record Store Day on April 22?
With an incredible amount of vinyl and a sweet party with all our friends! We’ll have an excellent range of RSD exclusive releases, thousands of pre-owned 45s and LP albums hitting the racks deep from the Beatdisc archive, giveaways and our first limited edition Beatdisc coffee mug!
What’s the best discovery you’ve ever made while digging through record crates?
Almost every day we make the best discovery; if it’s not a rare Aussie prog record from the ’70s, it’s on a new release sheet and we’re always super excited to get it out in the racks for sale.
What is it you dig about the Sydney music scene?
At Beatdisc we’re seeing more and more people reconnecting to music with physical media – especially vinyl records. Also, we often host all ages in-store shows and have built a great community of good humans who support independent, local and touring bands. In our community there is huge support for smaller independent artists and there are a lot of passionate and dedicated musicians, promoters, indie label owners, record stores, venue owners and fans out there. It’s something we’re very proud to be a part of.
What’s selling like hotcakes at the moment?
Beatdisc tote bags; Oslow – Oslow; King Gizzard – Flying Microtonal Banana; The xx – I See You; Run The Jewels 3; Camp Cope; The Stooges.
2. Egg Records
3 Wilson St, Newtown
The team:
Baz, the head egg; Stephen, our fountain of knowledge; Nic, the all-round legend; and Conrad, the new kid on the block.
The history:
My brother-in-law Ric and I started Egg back in 2000. We have gone through many changes but we’re still here after 17 years. I can’t remember the first record we sold but we still have the first dollar we took.
What’s playing in store right now?
Egoism – It’s Wearing Off.
How are you celebrating Record Store Day on April 22?
We will have lots of goodies for sale but not all official RSD stuff, and we will have lots of great stock at great prices.
What’s the best discovery you’ve ever made while digging through record crates?
Finding a copy of Extradition, which is a rare Australian folk psych LP.
What’s the one record you argue over most?
The Velvet Underground & Nico.
What is it you dig about the Sydney music scene?
There are lots of great bands around, but we need more venues.
What’s selling like hotcakes at the moment?
John Farnham’s Whispering Jack LP… only joking.
3. RPM – Records Posters Memorabilia
113 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville
The team:
Lizzie French is a relative newcomer to record store ownership but says it was likely inevitable, being as she spent most of her high school years in Canada, skipping school to hang out at the Bancroft Record and Game in the ’80s. Her partner Steve is in charge of the inventory and has excellent taste and musical knowledge from many years as a musician and band manager, as well as just his sheer love of music. He regularly amazes customers with his in-depth knowledge and ability to know exactly where to find everything in the shop. RPM sources new stock constantly from far and wide and Steve has just returned from the UK with a huge stack of records, making sure regular customers have rare new finds each visit. We pride ourselves in having great quality vinyl in a variety of classic artists in many genres.
The history:
RPM Records started from a dream of one day opening a record shop to having an awesome opportunity presented to us in June 2015, to partner with a former major music promoter to represent his collection, made up of items as far back as the 1980s, many rare one-offs and signed collectables. We are the ultimate destination for music lovers. We have a large amount of vinyl, CDs, cassettes and DVDs, plus music posters, books, magazines, T-shirts, and an impressive collection of framed vintage music and sports memorabilia for sale. Something for every taste and budget.
What was the first record you sold?
Bob Dylan, and he continues to be one of our biggest sellers.
What’s playing in store right now?
David Bowie has been ever-present in the shop since last year and continues to be a big seller, and is often on the turntable.
How are you celebrating Record Store Day on Saturday April 22?
We are offering a ten per cent discount store-wide, and when you spend more than $100 we are giving you a free drink next door at The Gasoline Pony! We have tonnes of fresh stock just in from the UK and we will have a DJ in store as well as special celebrity guest visitors TBA. We would love to show you our shop.
What’s the best discovery you’ve ever made while digging through record crates?
Last week I found a classic compilation called The Best Of The Inner West from 1982. It’s rockabilly, featuring The Bopcats, The Layabouts and Ratbags Of Rhythm. Every day you can discover some new music, which is the best part of this business.
What is it you dig about the Sydney music scene?
The scene where we are is really happening, right next door to a fantastic bar that has live music six nights. We stay open later than our normal 11am-7pm until 10pm on the weekends. We are five minutes’ walking distance from seven live music venues and musicians are often in the shop, and there’s such an explosion of new vinyl buyers due to the popularity over the last few years. The biggest surprise to me is how young 14-to-18s are buying the old classics like Zeppelin and Floyd.
4. The Record Store
255B Crown St, Darlinghurst
The team:
Our crew is too large to list. At last count there were 15 sets of keys. But the usual in-store suspects are pH, Ben Fester, Kato, Adi Toohey and Setwun.
The history:
The Record Store grew from the foundations of BPM Records. pH managed that in its final years, and so this place is really the last vestige of the 14 DJ shops that peppered Darlo. While we still focus on dance 12-inches and hip hop, we have a very nicely curated range of indie, rock, pop, reggae, jazz, blues and all the good things. We do a heap of second hand, with a rarities section and loads of bargain crates.
What’s playing in store right now?
Harvey Sutherland. We have a huge range of Aussie electronica on vinyl – it feels like a bit of a golden era at the moment.
How are you celebrating Record Store Day on Saturday April 22?
Wax-wise, obviously we have a tonne of vinyl coming. Literally: we think we have ordered about 1,000kg of the bloody stuff. About 30 per cent will be RSD exclusives (we have filtered out the inane crap) and the other 70 per cent will just be amazing bloody records from all around the world.
Fun-wise, we’ve teamed up with our neighbours, Cafe Lounge, and Young Henrys to put on some great local talent. We open at 9am that day for three hours of disturbance-free digging, then from midday in store we’ll have DJs spinning wax, and from midday at the Lounge we have bands and DJs – some crazy good local talent.
At the time of printing this we cannot reveal our lineup, but check the FB page for details: facebook.com/recordstoresydney.
What’s the best discovery you’ve ever made while digging through record crates?
We could tell you, but we would have to kill you.
What’s the one record you argue over most?
Barney and pH argue over any Star Wars record that rears its head. As in, who is going to get it!
What is it you dig about the Sydney music scene?
That it still exists in spite of the giant ‘fuck you’ this wack job banker political class have perpetrated on the city with their holier-than-thou prohibition and curfews.
What’s selling like hotcakes at the moment?
Aussie 12-inches – it’s stoooopid how many great new releases there are.
5. Sounds Espresso
268 Victoria Rd, Marrickville
The team:
The owner of Sounds Espresso is Anthony Skapetis.
The history:
In 2014 I opened up a combined cafe/record store for the love of both music and coffee. I wanted music that was different from the normal CDs and iTunes, so I got into vinyl. The official opening of Sounds Espresso was Record Store Day 2014. The way music sounds on record is so much smoother. I also became a DJ who plays with records too, at functions. There is nothing better then actually seeing the records play.
Sounds Espresso is a record store that offers you a place to go and hang out, and play some music on records while enjoying a cup of coffee. Anyone who feels game enough is welcome to step up to the turntables in the cafe and have a go at mixing something themselves. We have a lot of old and new records for sale, plus records and CDs.
What was the first record you sold?
My first record sold was a Demis Roussos greatest hits album, to a man who was looking for his collection.
What’s playing in store right now?
If I am not playing records by Cold Chisel or AC/DC, we have a range of music that gets played in the shop depending who is in store playing the records, ranging from R&B to rock, soul, jazz et cetera.
How are you celebrating Record Store Day on Saturday April 22?
We’re keeping it a surprise but it involves records and DJs and coffee.
What’s the best discovery you’ve ever made while digging through record crates?
AC/DC – Dirty Deeds on vinyl, the original pressing.
What’s the one record you argue over most?
In between Public Enemy and Run-D.M.C. because they’re both classic hip hop.
What is it you dig about the Sydney music scene?
We have to Keep Sydney Open and alive and bring back good times with live DJ music where people can hang out and have a good time. Sydney has been a little restricted lately and some classic old-school music can chill that out.
6. Revolve Records
3/65 Erskineville Rd, Erskineville
The team:
Revolve Records is run by Jon Ordon and you’ll find Pete and Gonz in store.
The history:
Revolve has been in Erskineville for over 12 years. Prior to that, Jon had a store in Hornsby called Discovery Records for many, many years. The first record he sold there was The Allman Brothers to a guy called Horse!
How are you celebrating Record Store Day on Saturday April 22?
We’ll be celebrating RSD with a heap of fresh stock to keep everyone digging happily.
What’s the best discovery you’ve ever made while digging through record crates?
Crate digging discoveries are always happening – we’re constantly looking through diverse records from many cultures, which keeps us interested.
What’s selling like hotcakes at the moment?
Sadly the records that are selling well at the moment are by dead people: Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen, et cetera. Also reggae, ska, garage, psych and experimental ’80s. The list could go on!
7. Resist Records
294 King St, Newtown
The team:
It consists of Graham Nixon, Courtney Rumble and Marcus Tamp.
The history:
Resist is a punk and hardcore specialist store and has been operating since 1996, and in that time has been in three different locations in Newtown. Unfortunately I can’t remember back to what would have been the first record sold.
What’s playing in store right now?
Mindsnare – Unholy Rush.
How are you celebrating Record Store Day on Saturday April 22?
We will have many of the RSD exclusive titles relevant to our store; other than that it’s business as usual.
What’s the best discovery you’ve ever made while digging through record crates?
Face To Face – Face To Face on Dr Strange (later reissued on Fat).
What’s the one record you argue over most?
Music buyers have eclectic tastes, so no need to argue over what opinion I have of a record.
What is it you dig about the Sydney music scene?
The unfortunate side of the Sydney music scene over the past 12 months is the closure of some great venues. Here’s hoping new ones open up from those that have closed, as there’s many great Sydney bands needing places to play.
