A new record store will open its doors in Dundalk this Friday.
Located in the Demesne Shopping Centre, Classified Records is an independent store aimed at selling vinyl records.
It will stock both vintage classic and up-to-date modern releases, as well as second hand CDs, DVDs and accessories.
The attitude of Classified Records is that the local record store is not dead, it is just reformed for a niche audience in the digital era.
Proprietor, Neil Waters, is undaunted by the digital competition and senses a renewed enthusiasm for collecting vinyl music.
“With the internet, streaming and downloads there is so much music freely available, but the novelty of abundance has worn off a lot of music lovers. People who really love to collect music make it a special part of their lives, they invest in their collections because they matter to them. We are aiming to cater for that growing number of enthusiasts. I want the shop to look good. I need I need to impress people when they walk in, not disappoint them.” he said.
In an era when there is a digital music store in every pocket, a previously written-off technology is back and is ready to open new ears.
”Vinyl has always been special to me, I’ve always compulsively collected it. After years of gigging, it just seems like a natural progression for me to move into the area of retailing records. I can't sing,I can't even play air guitar but I've been buying records since I was twelve and remembering getting the bus to Dublin on Friday nights to go around all the shops"
“There is a vibrant music/arts community here in the area so we have a ready-made customer base who strongly shares our love of records. There is a vibe you feel in a record shop and there's something about opening up a nicely packaged album. I see vinyl like that” Neil said.
The store has made Dundalk town centre its home and aims to be a hub to the music community as well as a retail outlet, a destination shop for local music lovers.
Despite it being more than 15 years since vinyl was sold in Dundalk, there remains a strong commitment to LPs & 12”s with collectors and DJ’s still spinning them at local gigs.
Independent record stores are the last bastion for music lovers who are not digitally immersed and offer a personal service for sourcing music that can never be replicated online; they form part of a community and culture. With genres from rock n’roll to reggae and thrash metal to hip hop, as well as a myriad of music and DJing accessories, Classified Records has the needs of local music lovers at heart.
“We are a specialist record shop, but not elitist. People will feel welcome when they come into the store and can feel free to ask for whatever records they want, no matter how weird or abstract. We carry a huge back-catalogue, impossible to stock, but easy to order in upon request, we encourage it.”
Classified Records is opening on Friday August 14th.
