This weekend is full of exciting events as part of Marlborough’s Record Store Day celebrations – Saturday, April 13.
Independently-owned record stores are dying out across the country, and this annual event, which recognises their unique and irreplaceable culture, has been cited as a catalyst for raising publicity around them and aiding vinyl’s unprecedented revival.
Over 200 independent record stores in the UK, and thousands more around the globe, will mark the day by releasing exclusive rare vinyls – many from notable artists such as David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Iggy Pop and Queen.
Kaiser Chiefs are releasing a 7-inch of their hit single Oh My God for the first time, and a new 7-inch vinyl from Keane will mark the end of their 5-year hiatus.
There are many more on offer, so be sure to dust off your record player, check out the list here for your favourite artists and pop down to Sound Knowledge over the weekend.
Sound Knowledge in Hughenden Yard just off the High Street, will be open from 8am on Saturday, and music fans will have been queuing overnight to get their hands on limited edition vinyl – of which there may only be 250-300 available in the country.
There will also be an in-store performance from Ethan Johns at around 5.30pm – as part of his attempt to perform in more record stores on the day than any other artist.
The celebrations continue on Sunday when there is a bar and BBQ on offer from Café Thirty8 at midday – with free entry for all.
They will have five top bands coming to play as part of the annual RSD Live event, including rock band The Leisure Society, up-and-coming rock singer LION (Beth Lowen), blues band Little Geneva, indie quartet Wilding and folk-pop artist Tom Speight who has garnered over 50 million streams ahead of the release of his debut album Collide.
The owner of Sound Knowledge, Roger Mortimer, has been catering to generations of music fans both new and old for the past twenty-four years.
His experience is especially valuable now that vinyl is having such a huge resurgence: “Almost everything is coming back out on vinyl. If you look upstairs we’ve got about 3,000 albums in stock. If you want Justin Beiber’s Christmas album, you can get it on vinyl.”
Buying directly from a local record store such as Sound Knowledge is a great way to support both the store itself and your favourite artists, who get very poorly paid for each track that is streamed online.
Last year, Spotify paid out $0.0038 per stream, but has now generously given its artists a pay rise of $0.00017. Roger says that this is harmful for business. “[The streaming age] is not great for artists, and certainly not great for us either.”
With so much on offer this weekend, be sure to head down to the High Street and experience Marlborough’s vibrant music scene while supporting its fantastic record store.
There is more information on the Record Store Day (aka RSD) website – including a guide to the stores taking part.
