Record Store Day returns for another spin
Vinyl shops throughout Belgium are joining in on the international event that celebrates the humble neighbourhood record shop with special releases and concerts
A vinyl revolution
Shops participating with special vinyl releases, concerts or other treats include Vynilla and Wool-E-Shop in Ghent, The Vinyl Touch in Mechelen and Coffee & Vinyl in Antwerp. Cultural centre Vooruit in Ghent devotes an entire day of concerts to the cause, and many of Flanders’ fave bands can be found there and elsewhere, including Mauro Pawlowski, Admiral Freebee, Kiss The Anus Of a Black Cat and Amatorski.
The frontmen for RSD in Belgium are Thomas Coucke and Diederik Decroix. The latter doesn’t work for a record store, but spends a lot of time in them. “I am a collector,” explains Decroix, “and I love finding out about new, unknown stuff. The passion of independent record store staff should be central on Record Store Day. Collectors want this knowledge and enthusiasm.”
Close support comes from Karel Van Audenaerde, who launched RSD in Belgium in 2009 and is co-owner of Music Mania in Ghent.
Another traditional element are RSD-only vinyl releases featuring local artists. This year finds releases from K’s Choice, Brzzvl, 30,000 Monkies, Kaptain Korsakov and The Spectors, among others.
RSD also has to accommodate global major labels that have seized on it and the vinyl boom as a way of increasing profits from their back catalogues. But these are dismissed by most fans. “A lot of big labels are just releasing stuff that doesn’t have any value for the real collector,” says Decroix.
Record Store Day still remains the high point of the year for Decroix and lovers of vinyl and independent shops everywhere. Although, for him, he admits: “Every day is record store day!”
On 16 April across Belgium
