This record store is so #aesthetic, Instagram is shaking.
By Iffah Rostam and Alvira Alayna
CAPTION: Located in the Esplanade Theatres on the Bay, The Analog Vault began its retro journey in 2015 during the height of the vinyl revival. (PHOTO: ALVIRA ALAYNA BINTE MOHAMED SHAHAD)
In the heart of Singapore’s arts scene, nestled within the Esplanade Theatres on the Bay, you’ll find an interesting sight pulled straight out of the 1980s – a record shop, lined with vinyls from old school jazz artists to contemporary hip hop.
Despite appearances, the shop is relatively young. The Analog Vault opened in just 2015, at the height of what its two staff called the vinyl revival.
“It’s kind of a worldwide thing,” Nick Bong, 29, a staff member at The Analog Vault explained.
“People just wanted a physical format. I think that’s what it is,” his co-worker and fellow vinyl collector, Leon Wan, 30, added.
For Mr Bong and Mr Wan, vinyls are somewhat of an antiquity, especially in the digital age of streaming. But vinyl has survived through many different disruptions and has even outlasted some of its competition to make a comeback today. So how is it that vinyls are still rocking since the 1800s?
CAPTION: The Analog Vault is one of a few record shops that have recently popped up into the scene in the mid-2010s. (PHOTO: ALVIRA ALAYNA BINTE MOHAMED SHAHAD)
THE VINYL REVIVAL
With the introduction of CDs in the 80s, vinyls almost vanished all together. But somewhere in 2006, their sales slowly began to pick up, according to American music publication Pitchfork. In the US, less than one million records were sold in 2005. But as the 2010s began, vinyl sales slowly but steadily climbed up to surpass three million records sold in 2011.
And then, suddenly, from 2014 to 2015, vinyl sales in the US skyrocketed from six million copies sold to over nine million.
Around the same time, here in Singapore, the vinyl revival began kicking in too, as more vinyl shops began to pop up, including Hear Records at Burlington Square, which was set up in 2013, and Vinyl Kakis in 2016 at Excelsior Shopping Centre.
CAPTION: Historic review on the rise and fall of vinyl. (INFOGRAPHIC BY ALVIRA ALAYNA BINTE MOHAMED SHAHAD)
According to a report by Forbes in 2017, the demographic responsible for vinyl’s sudden comeback in the 2010s isn’t older generations who are nostalgic to hold a piece of their childhood in their hands, but actually younger people between the ages of 18-24, who grew up when vinyls were practically extinct.
It’s probably no coincidence that the 2010s were also marked by an obsession with aesthetics in social media for younger millennials and Gen Z. You couldn’t log onto Instagram or Tumblr without coming across a heavily filtered moodboard. So it might not come as a surprise that young people might want to have a piece of the ‘retro aesthetic’ they adored so much on social media in their own hands. On TikTok, arguably the most popular social media among young people today, videos under the hashtag #vinylcollection has 10.5 million views in total.
Faliq Yusoff, 22, a young vinyl collector who began his collection just two years ago, said that the idea of owning physical memorabilia from the bands he loves is why he decided to collect them.
He also said that although vinyls are not as convenient as streaming music, the activity of going to the record store and finding vinyls is part of their appeal.
When asked why he would recommend vinyls to other younger people, he said, “It’s an extension of the ever so popular and fun retro trend that we have had for the past few years.”
He explained that much like using film cameras, experiencing the process of using vintage and retro items was part of the appeal. “The nature of listening to vinyl records make a person listen to a record from top to bottom. It’s definitely worth the experience.”
In 2020, vinyl sales in the US outsold CDs for the first time since the 1980s. While more CDs were sold than vinyls in total, vinyls garnered a higher sales figure, because of their higher price. According to the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA), vinyl sales totalled $232.1 million in the first half of 2020, which was already 80 percent more than CD sales, which totalled to just $129.9 million.
“It’s a nice format of music to have,” Mr Wan explained, “There are also a lot of perceptions of vinyl being the ‘best’ format of music to own, like that it sounds superior. It’s like buying a painting. You can buy a vinyl, and it’s a work of art. If you have all your music on your phone, you can’t really look at it. But when you have something physical, it’s there forever.”
CAPTION: The Analog Vault décor sets the mood for a warm and inviting space. (PHOTO: ALVIRA ALAYNA BINTE MOHAMED SHAHAD)
STILL A NICHE MARKET
Even though vinyl seems to be popular on social media, here in Singapore, it’s still a niche market, and vinyl stores rely on loyal customers to frequent them. For some stores like Choice Cuts Goods + Coffee at Joo Chiat, which combines a record store with a café, the set up exudes a community vibe.
The Analog Vault looks like a space for conversation too, with a small table and seats available at the counter to talk to the staff.
“Being in a niche market means a small slice of the population is interested. Our main customers are the older people,” Mr Bong said.
Mr Bong explained that the new trend of fascination for retro items like vinyls among Gen Z youth hasn’t changed the demographic of people here who buy records.
“Records are more expensive because they’re not really made here. So young people don’t buy as much as older people who have been record shopping this whole time,” he said.
“But I guess it also has to do with our curation, since we’re mostly a jazz shop, with hip hop, soul, and funk, and a little bit of indie, and a lot of Japanese albums, actually.”
A classic, true vintage record can fetch up to hundreds of dollars depending on where you buy it and how old it is, but newer releases are usually priced between $30-$40.
For Remko Glatzhofer, 37, a customer at The Analog Vault and vinyl collector, collecting vinyls is about the activity of finding records. “It’s really cool to just go to record stores and see all the different artwork on vinyls and finding them.”
CAPTION: Remko Glatzhofer, aged 37, is a customer at The Analog Vault that finds the peace in listening distinctive audio from authentic vinyl records and appreciates the artworks that each vinyl has on their covers – allowing him to take a step back to just relax. (PHOTO: ALVIRA ALAYNA BINTE MOHAMED SHAHAD)
Mr Wan said that the shop tries to attract younger people with more contemporary releases, including titles from artists like Tyler The Creator, as well as more modern jazz albums. The revival of vinyl for young people can certainly be credited to more contemporary artists releasing vinyls for their music.
Last year’s top selling vinyls included Billie Eillish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go, Lana Del Rey’s Born To Die, and, strangely enough, the Guardians Of The Galaxy Awesome Mix Volume I.
But even still, for The Analog Vault, loyal customers mostly remain in the age groups of adults in their 30s and 40s.
Mr Wan calls that their biggest challenge as a business – that they have to rely on a small, niche group of customers to sustain themselves.
CAPTION: With a niche market, consisting of mostly older adults, The Analog Vault hopes to ride the wave of the vinyl revival to attract the younger demographic who have been responsible for an increase in record sales overseas. (PHOTO: ALVIRA ALAYNA BINTE MOHAMED SHAHAD)
TIDING THROUGH COVID—19
When asked about how he felt when he heard their store would have to close down during the circuit breaker, Mr Wan said that he felt worried about how their store would survive.
Some of the plans they had for their store – including a new album release with a local artist under their own record label, TAV Records (TAV meaning The Analog Vault) – had to be cancelled entirely.
They released local indie-electronic duo .gif’s second album at the start of lockdown, which Mr Wan says was the wrong time to launch it.
“We couldn’t have a launch, no live performances,” Mr Bong said, “but maybe it was also at the right time. The album is called ‘Hail Nothing’, and there’s a song about nothingness. Very depressing, but very beautiful.”
Mr Wan said that online sales helped them tide through the circuit breaker. Their loyal customers supported their online store enough for their business to survive, and their online sales even helped them attract new customers.
CAPTION: The Analog Vault is a supporter of local music such as ‘For The Time Being’ album by local band Hanging Up The Moon. (PHOTO: ALVIRA ALAYNA BINTE MOHAMED SHAHAD)
THE FUTURE OF VINYL IN SINGAPORE
When asked about how they hoped to grow the business, Mr Bong said that they want to have a meaningful role in Singapore’s music ecosystem. That meaningful role comes in the form of TAV Records, which they started last year, and hope to continue with.
Through the record label, they collaborate with local artists, include experimental hip hop artist Fauxe, to release new music. The album they released with Fauxe was titled ‘Ikhlas’, and according to Mr Wan, the album is now sold out entirely.
Although they admit the market for selling vinyls is still small, Mr Bong and Mr Wan said that the vinyl scene in Singapore is a community.
“The vinyl scene here is good because every shop has its own speciality. We’re not all trying to sell the same stuff,” he explained.
If the continuing climbing sales of vinyls across the world are any indication, the charm of owning vinyls will survive the digital era of streaming, just as it has survived everything from cassette tapes, CDs, iTunes, and MP3 players – and so will vinyl stores, just like The Analog Vault.
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