Where shops previously limited themselves to specific genres, manager Simon Rigg encourages a “broad church” approach to dance music, offering everything from rare soul 7″s to library soundtracks to big room house and techno 12″s. How times have changed.Īside from being an independent record shop that counts a who’s who of international DJs as regulars (Four Tet, Floating Points, Caribou, Dixon to name a few), Phonica has been instrumental in bringing a new type of record shop to the fore. Record shops in Soho were closing, vinyl sales were at an all time low and Dido’s Life For Rent was the year’s best selling album.
What’s the story? When Phonica opened in 2003, it entered an environment of decline. Location: 51 Poland St, Soho, London W1F 7LZ The enthusiastic staff will help you pick out a new dub-techno 12″ off the back wall or second-hand deep jazz rarities and music books in the basement.Ī favourite amongst DJs, connoisseurs, dancers and listeners alike, the shop has become an essential stop for touring musicians including Prince, Moodymann, and Questlove, as well as London locals like Gilles Peterson, Kieran Hebden, and Theo Parrish. Meanwhile, the tile-fronted emporium has evolved into an unrivalled treasure-trove for global sounds and beats. He moved to a shop front on Ingestre Place before relocating to Broadwick Street, in the heart of Soho.Īround the same time, in 1992, he established the label Soul Jazz, with the idea to draw “cross cultural connections” between soul, jazz and reggae through compilation albums. Though Camden had its appeal, Baker knew that Soho’s golden mile of record stores was where he wanted to be. What’s the story? Over 25 years ago, Stuart Baker started SOTU, selling records from a humble stall in Camden. Location: 7 Broadwick St, Soho, London W1F 0DA In creative partnership with Notting Hill local Damon Albarn, they also launched the Honest Jon’s label, which has released an incredibly diverse and adventurous range of music over the past fifteen years. In 1992, Clare passed the shop on to employees Mark Ainley and Alan Scholefield, who expanded the selection to encompass music from around the world. As it expanded, it increasingly became an informal university for music lovers the shop counts Roger Beaujolais, Neil Barnes of Leftfield, The Wire founder Anthony Wood, Gilles Peterson and James Lavelle within its alumni. In the ’80s the shop moved to its current Portobello home. “For two years a young customer who drove a meat lorry called in twice a week and paid for his entire record collection with raw meat mainly beef.” Meat hooks adorned the back room, walls were ensanguined and Clare traded records over a giant solid marble slab. “It never completely lost its identity as a butchers shop,” Clare says. Sociology lecturer John Clare was researching gang membership in Paddington at the time, but he leapt at the opportunity to start trading jazz records when an old butcher’s became available on Golbourne Road. What’s the story? Honest Jon’s has been serving west London’s most vibrant community, in more ways than one, since 1974.
Go for: Jazz LPs, reggae 7”s, experimental 12”s, and community vibes
Location: 278 Portobello Rd, London W10 5TE We’re fairly confident we’ve marked the most prominent down but do add your suggestions for any we’ve missed into the comments.
RECORD VINYL STORE FULL
For those visiting… well, there’s no better way to get the sense of a place by taking the full tour.Īs ever, we’ve picked out ten shops to profile and collected the rest in the map below. While these will be familiar to most natives with a nose for vinyl, we hope this guide will still serve as a useful reference point to plan specific trips or take advantage of spontaneous urges. Having profiled eight of the city’s lesser known spots in our secret record shops list, we thought it was high time to address the big hitters. The prices may not be as cheap as they once were, but whether you’re after cutting edge dance music, weirdo soundtracks or just a good rummage, there are more options out there than you might think. Having been further afield to Berlin, Lisbon, Chicago and Melbourne for our recent record shopping city guides, it’s sometimes easy to look beyond the wealth of spots on your own doorstep.įlying in the face of its increasingly hostile reputation for independent business priced out by exorbitant rents, London’s record shop scene is thriving, with close to fifty places dotted around the capital where you can get your hands on nigh on anything you desire.
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