Around the world in 40 record stores

Worldwide FM asked me to present a special show in tribute to Record Store Day, which would have been this Saturday April 18th. I know there are some that argue that every day should be ‘record store day’ but ultimately, I think it has been a positive thing for music, helping get a more mainstream audience into record stores and buying vinyl (even if they are yet to buy a a record player).

My record shopping usually takes place when I’m travelling for gigs. The first place my hosts take me to will be the local record store, so often the beat heart of the music scene in any city. My first question is always, ‘where is the local section?’. I find this section to be the most interesting, where I discover music that is often not established enough to have a wider distribution than the city or country it was made in. It helps give me an insight into the sound of the place and often, the personality of the people there.

Over the course of last year, I paid tribute to the local music I had purchased, been gifted or made in collaboration with local musicians in a series called ‘Radio Highlife Mixtapes’. Each focussed on a place, and only played local music. There ended up being ten mixes and this week I’ve released them on 5 cassette tapes with some amazing artwork and liner notes on each. You can check them on my Bandcamp — https://auntieflo.bandcamp.com/

For my show this Saturday, I’ll be playing 4 hours plus of music bought in record stores that I’ve visited around the world. This is a tribute to them, for keeping the vinyl fire burning, for supporting the local scenes of each place! To listen — tune in to https://worldwidefm.net/

Here is a list of some of the stores I’d recommend and have visited over the years:

1. Athens — Rhythm Records

2. Amsterdam — Red Light

3. Barcelona- Discos Paradisos

4. Beirut — Chico

5. Berlin — Oye

6. Bombay — Haji Ebrahim

7. Brighton — Mr Bongo

8. Bristol — Idle Hands

9. Cape Town — Mabu Vinyl

10. Dubai — The Flip Side

11. Edinburgh-Underground Solush’un

12. Glasgow — Rubadub

13. Istanbul — Deform

14. London — Phonica

15. London- Honest Jon’s

16. London-Soul Jazz

17. Madrid — Rotor Discos

18. Melbourne -Alley Tunes

19. Melbourne -North Side

20. Melbourne — Licorice Pie

21. Miami — Sweat Records

22. Milan — Radio Raheem

23. Montreal — La Rama

24. Montreal — Phonopolis

25. Nairobi — Jimmy’s

26. New York — A1 Records

27. New York — African Record Exchange

28. New York — Superior Elevation

29. Osaka — Manga Souko

30. Osaka — Maru Ka Batsu

31. Osaka — Newtone

32. Paris — Syncrophone

33. Perugia — Musica Musica

34. Perugia — T-Trane

35. Rio De Janeiro — Baratos da Ribeiro

36. Rotterdam — Demonfuzz

37. Sao Paulo — Cel-Som Discos

38. Seoul — Clique Records

39. St Petersburg -Kultura

40. St Petersburg — Vinyl Box

41. Tel Aviv — Nuweiva Records

42. Thessaloniki — Vinyl Salvation

43. Washington DC — Bump N Grind