In the sides streets of the Ferry is this wee hidden gem of a record shop, Assai Records. The shops offers all time classic albums alongside new and up and coming music sourced by our favourite local artists and bands. They work closely with the local music scene, hosting in store acoustic gigs and signings from the likes of Kyle Falconer. I went in for a chat with shop manager Matthew about everything from first records to the challenges of running an independent record shop.
Tell us a wee bit about the shop, when did it open?
'So we opened in August 2015 so we've just passed our 3rd birthday! The business started online and had been going for a few years so we thought it was about time to open a shop. It's a better way of engaging with people and it gives the company a face. The business is always evolving so Edinburgh seemed the next logical step so our shop opened there just before Record Store Day last year.'
What's the inspiration/drive behind running a record shop? Is there still a need for it?
'Yeah absolutely! I don't think we'd be here if there wasn't. The company's run by people who just love records and there's obviously been a surge in the interest in vinyl it's gone back into the mainstream after a while.'
What would you say caused the revival in physical copy and in particular vinyl?
'It's exactly that it's having the physical thing. I think streaming and downloads were convenient but then people started to miss owning something. Because download doesn't exist in physical format there's no memories attached to it whereas a record you can hold it, you remember where you bought it, it's a really personal thing.'
Well that leads on nicely to my next question, what was the first record that you ever bought?
'First single I bought was Erasure 'A Little Respect' in 1988 I would of been 7.'
[ A M A Z I N G, best song to sing smashed.]
What are 3 a 'must have' albums that everyone should have in their record collection?
[ After a frantic search round the shop the list is final..]
1. 'The Stone Roses'
2. 'Revolver' - The Beatles
3. 'Graceland' - Paul Simon
Do you see much vary in age range coming into the shop?
'We get everyone, you get people who were maybe buying records in the 70s/80s who have got back into it they maybe gave their records away or sold them so are rebuilding a collection or reliving their youth. But then young people as well who are just finding out about records or found out from their parents.'
What's your opinion on the local music scene in Dundee?
'We support a lot of local music, we're always looking out for new artists coming out the Dundee scene. We've put a few records out ourselves, our first was 'Carousel' a young Dundee band then Brownbear a band from the west coast and recently Kyle Falconer's 'No Thankyou.' That's something we want to continue with, giving local artists a hand to get their music out there. We put on a lot of acoustic instores too, we want to try make the shop a hub for the local music scene.'
What do you find are the challenges of running an independent record shop?
'I'd say more in the beginning was just trying to get the name out there. We're tucked away in Broughtyferry but I think that's where the best record shops are they're always hidden away down side streets rather than a big high street chain.'
So what live events do you have coming up both in and out of the shop?
'Sometimes we play in the shop or we do a deal with the venue and artist like selling a ticket along with the album which we are dong with Fatherson for their gig on the 17th at Clarks. The next instore in a band called 'Lspace' on the 29th of September.'
THANKYOU! to Matthew from Assai Dundee for the interview, in return we left a wee gift of one of our fab wee Discovery Music badges.
It's great to see places like this popping up on our doorstep and Assai is definitely one worth a visit.
LINKS N STUFF:
Assai Records Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/p/BCi7kutO59L/
Assai Records Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/assaiuk