Transcript of doorstop interview- Darlinghurst

Subject: Record Store Day 

ANTHONY ALBANESE: Good morning and welcome to a great celebration that’s taking place in 180 record stores right around Australia – International Record Store Day.

We’re at The Record Store in Darlinghurst, on Crown Street in Sydney and I’m here with Stephan from this joint and with Dale from Elefant Traks which is based in Marrickville and produces records by local artists.

Today’s a celebration of the fact that fifteen years ago people thought that people would consume music just by sitting at home downloading tracks from their computer.

But that isn’t what’s happened. Records have thrived. Today there are special releases in the 30 countries which are participating in Record Store Day. Today bands are producing records once again on vinyl.

Today people are experiencing that in this fantastic store here behind us, the difference that it makes when you go into a record store and pick up an album, touch it, feel it, see the liner notes, see who wrote the songs, play the songs in order, have a chat with each other and other community members.

People like Stephan run these record stores out of love for music and they’re a great source of information. Of course, without record stores we wouldn’t get new music produced by local bands and local artists.

Our culture is really important to us in this country. That’s why Record Store Day is a fantastic day, a great celebration and I’m really proud to have been an ambassador for Record Store Day 2017.

STEPHAN GYROY, THE RECORD STORE: Record Store Day is fantastic. It’s a celebration of culture that surrounds vinyl. It’s not just a corporate marketing exercise, although there’s obviously elements of that sneaking into it.

But really, it’s the people who shop at our shop, it’s every age, it’s every demographic, both genders. It’s dads coming in with their daughters. I’ve got one customer who comes in with his 16-year-old daughter and she wants to go work at a record store and make techno in London.

As a 40-year-old guy who went to dance parties years ago, to see that generation transfer and to understand this music is great, to understand that there are sub-tribes of music that are just global, and that record stores are the touch points around the world for these cultures.

DALE HARRISON, ELEFANT TRAKS RECORD LABEL: Very much what Stephan said. For us as a label, Record Store Day is really important to not only directly connect with fans, and music buyers, but also directly connect with the stores themselves, because the reason we do the releases is for the stores. I mean, we also sell through our own store, but we have an exclusive today just for a select bunch of record stores so that’s really important to us.

REPORTER: Albo, what do you love about vinyl?

ALBANESE: You can touch it, you can feel it. There’s a different sound, I think, that comes out of vinyl compared with downloading music and that’s why vinyl’s making a comeback. New artists are producing new albums on vinyl, and as well we’re seeing re-releases on vinyl.

Today the International Record Store Day ambassador is Elton John. He’s re-releasing his live album from 1970 on vinyl and of course with new technology the quality of the sound is even better.

But there’s something about picking up a piece of vinyl, putting it on a turntable, putting the needle on and hearing that amazing sound that comes from vine.

It’s fantastic that it’s now getting a new audience, and the concept of playing two sides to an album is being taught to young music lovers everywhere. It’s a great thing.