VINYL COUNTDOWN
On Record Store Day, we go vinyl hunting in the city to find places that still thrive on the good-old black disc
They may have been on the verge of extinction for years now, but vinyl records have not completely disappeared. Changing times have certainly put their survival at risk by replacing them with compact discs and portable players. But the grandfather of CDs is yet to become a thing of the past. Old-school listeners and collectors have kept the vintage format alive and how. As the world celebrates Record Store Day today (April 18), we traverse the many lanes of Mumbai in search of the oldest and rarest record stores in the city. To our surprise, we also met some vinyl enthusiasts with a fascinating collection.
Music Circle
Music enthusiast Pilak Bhatt’s brainchild boasts of vinyls in genres such as Bollywood, Indian classical, ghazals, qawallis, devotional, regional, folk, jazz, rock and pop music. The most expensive record on the shelf is The Beatles 78 RPM, priced at ` 40,000. International turntables starting ` 12,750 onward are also available.
WHERE: V Mall, Thakur Complex, Kandivali (E), prices start from ` 200.
Abdul Razzak Records
In the business for the past three decades, most people in the Fort area will be able to direct you to Abdul Razzak’s shop. Here, you can get your hands on records dating back to the ’50s. The costliest record in his collection is Pink Floyd’s The Wall, which has a price tag of ` 5,000. Also available at the store is a range of new as well as vintage turntables starting from ` 5,000.
WHERE: Near Suvidha Restaurant, Fort.
PRICE RANGE: ` 250 onward.
The Revolver Club
If you’re a stickler for quality vinyl records and western music, this shop near Mahim junction is the place to be. Making use of technology to clean old records to preserve their original quality, this shop by music lover Sushil Anand, stocks mainly classic rock, blues and jazz music. Branded European turntables starting from ` 20,000 are also in store.
WHERE: 314, Fairlands Building, LJ Road, Mahim.
PRICE RANGE: ` 300 onward for old vinyls and ` 1,000 oward for new vinyls.
Haji Ebrahim Records
Tucked away in the bylanes of Kamathipura, this is one of the city’s oldest records shops. The store houses an exhaustive collection of over ` 5,000 gramophone records. The collection is pocket-friendly and includes music in languages such as English, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati. You can also buy newly assembled Indian-origin turntables, starting from ` 2,000. WHERE: Shop no 7, Saifee Jubilee street, Null Bazaar.