Info: Record Store Day was conceived in 2007 at a gathering of independent record store owners and employees as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding nearly 1400 independently owned record stores in the US and thousands of similar stores internationally. The first Record Store Day took place on April 19, 2008. Today there are Record Store Day participating stores on every continent except Antarctica.
This is a day for the people who make up the world of the record store - the staff, the customers, and the artists - to come together and celebrate the unique culture of a record store and the special role these independently owned stores play in their communities. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for the day. For several years, 60% or more of the Record Store Day Official Release List came from independent labels and distributors. The list continues to include a wide range of artists, covering the diverse taste of record stores and their customers.
On the first Record Store Day, Metallica spent hours at Rasputin Music in San Francisco meeting their fans and now each year hundreds of artists, internationally famous and from the block, flock to record stores around the world for performances, signings, meet and greets and to fill their own shopping bags with music
Some of REMY's 2014 Record Store Day scoops
So what's happening in Ireland tomorrow? Well-known vinyl stockists and establishments such as The R.A.G.E. on Fade Street, Tower Records on Dawson Street, Spindizzy Records (George's Arcade), The Sound Cellar and Freebird Records on Wicklow St. will all be participating in Dublin. Tower Records will have DJ sets from The Hot Sprockets, Fontaines DC, David Kitt and Claire Beck between 1pm-5pm. Golden Discs in Dundrum SC will have a live performance from one of our favs Molly Sterling. Elsewhere around the country our old pals Classified Records in Dundalk will be opening at 9am to welcome punters, whilst at their Wexford store Frankenstein Bolts and Rachel Grace will be performing. The chain will also have live music and DJ sets at their Newbridge, Athlone, Patrick St. (Cork), Limerick and Waterford stores. Some shops will also have considerable sales on existing stock so additional bargains are to be had. This is by no means an exhaustive list of participating stores so check with your local store to see what's happening there.
Crate-digging frenzy at the old HMV store on Grafton Street in 2014
To ensure you get as much of what you want, you need to (a) get in early! (Tower Records will be open from 8am) and (b) hit up more than one shop, as not all stores will be stocking every release. So what are the exclusive releases we can expect to see on the shelves tomorrow? The full list is at the below link, but some that I personally will be interested in are as follows;
Air - 'Sexy Boy' 12" picture disc
Arthur Lee & Love - 'Coming Through to You' - The Live Recordings (1970-
2004)Bert Jansch (3 LP's) - 'L.A. Turnaround', 'Santa Barbara Honeymoon', 'A Rare Conundrum'
Bob Dylan - 'Masters of War' 7"
Car Seat Headrest - 'Twin Fantasy' (Mirror to Mirror)
David Bowie (3 LP's & single) - 'David Bowie', 'Now', 'Welcome to the Blackout (Live)', 'Let's Dance' 12"
Jeff Buckley - Live @ Sin-É - 4 x LP set in deluxe packaging for the first time on vinyl
Mac DeMarco - Old Dog Demos
Mansun - 'Wide Open Space' 12"
Marc Bolan & T-Rex - 'The Final Cuts' (limited to 2,000 copies worldwide)
Mogwai - 'Ten Rapid' - collection of singles, B-side and rarities
Prince - '1999' (unavailable on LP since 1983)
Sigrid - 'Don't Kill My Vibe' EP 12" - first time available on vinyl
Sigur Rós - 'Route One' (Limited 500 copy run)
Sufjan Stevens - 'Mystery of Love' EP
Wilco - 'Live at The Troubadour' 11/12/1996
There's also another big release tomorrow that I am particularly interested in but I'm keeping to myself for now...! Happy hunting, digging and spending!
Full list of releases is here https://recordstoreday.ie/the-list
