IT’S ALL ABOUT THE VINYL

Radio Free Alice

Old-school record shops are making a comeback. So those of you who are still dedicated to vinyl and purchasing music from someplace that is not the internet should not despair—this city’s record store scene is still thriving! Especially brand new, old – fashioned record store Radio Free Alice, located in Darlinghurst, Sydney.

“Come in and take a seat, enjoy yourself”, James welcomes me, while handing me a chair with a bright smile on his face. It’s my first time in here and I feel like stepping back into the generation of my parents. I am surrounded by vinyls, hanging on the wall or being decorated on the cupboards. All of them are covered in a beautiful case which immediately lets you know the true promise of vinyls. I am in the Radio Free Alice store, a recently opened record store, located in Darlinghurst. Filled not only with vinyls, but also with classic movies and fancy books, the store basically forces you to look around and to wander through all those valuable goods, simply food for your soul! Keep in mind that you can easily forget the time, while observing everything and giving your fancy full scope. Radio Free Alice has a vast variety of music that could keep you in there for hours. This store literally enriches your soul and mind by giving you as much inspiration as you wish.

After being overwhelmed by many impressions, it’s time to get deeper into the story of this store, the vinyl culture and James, the owner of the store. James enthusiastically tells about his own, new project, Radio Free Alice. The store recently opened, 5 weeks ago and is open seven days a week. I assume that I am not the only one who was wondering why James named the record store “Radio Free Alice”, he explains that this is the name of a radical leftwing radio station in Italy back in the early 70s, and adds that for him the name sounded cool and rebellious. These are also the values what Radio Free Alice stands for. With a glitter in his eyes, James continues to describe the process of getting his own record store: “the idea has been growing for many years, I used to work for another record shop and decided one day to do my thing”.  His passion and love for vinyls, books and films, he sells, means that he puts his heart and soul into everything you can find at Radio Free Alice. That’s the reason why you can only discover his taste in music inside the store, which contains a lot of jazz, blues, soul, rhythm and blues, electronica as well as indie rock. On the contrary to other record shops, he doesn’t carry mainstream and that’s exactly what differs Radio Free Alice from the others.

“Well basically the rule is: everything I sell, I love.”

Nevertheless, my burning question is why James chose to specialise for vinyls in a century of social media, e.g. Youtube, Itunes and mp3 files. He immediately answers quick-witted:

“I’m sure you couldn’t really hang your mp3 files on your wall, it’s a lot sexier then mp3 files”

Interior of Radio Free Alice

But where does he get his inspiration from? James used to be a trainer in cinematography, which shaped his interest and knowledge in music, films and literature. Beside these reasons, the most valuable source through which he gains his inspiration are his customers. Radio Free Alice is sized small and offers chairs that give customers the chance to share and exchange stories or experiences with the record store owner. James is pleased to chat with anyone and loves to enlarge his horizon.

It’s an infinite ocean – you always learn more about it.

So if you search for that rare album or just browse and catch up with fellow music lovers, it’s the place to go. Even if you don’t buy anything, you’ll come away feeling enriched. This is the place if you want music that’s off the beaten track and staff that will help you navigate into the unknown.

So everybody, come down to the store!

What: Radio Free Alice

Where: 134a Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst Sydney

When: 11am to 7pm 7 days

Fore more information, click here