Monday 20 April 2015

Happy (belated) Record Store Day!

"Who needs a boyfriend when you have a record collection"

First of all, wishing you a belated Happy Record Store Day! So on the third Saturday in the month of April, the whole world celebrates Record Store Day (RSD) which is a day in which different artists release special releases in a physical format. Be it in the form of vinyl, CD and even cassette. And also to me, it is a day of celebration for people who believe that music still needs a physical manifestation!

Although RSD happened on Saturday, I'm so sorry but I just have the chance to blog about it now!

This is my first time participating in an RSD. Last year I wanted to to but I was having something on that day so I couldn't go for it. This year I am determined to go for it because I've been wanting to experience it! Although I myself don't have a vinyl player, and all I'm looking for in RSD is CDs, which I think is fine too. It is still a physical format for music. Besides there are many booths participating and majority of them are selling CDs too.

So I left my hometown in the morning for RSD Indonesia which takes place at Bara Futsal Building in Kemang, Southern Jakarta. I was feeling really excited as I came with a list of CDs I am looking for. And I was also trying my luck in finding great albums that I chanced upon.

Happy digging!

There were lots of booths from various record stores and music stores and they were selling a lot of albums, mostly in the form of vinyls (duh!). But they also sell CDs and cassette tapes, and some booths specialise in only CDs. I love the feel and the vibe of the whole event. I find it very intimate, raw and communal. The camaraderie of the whole place is beautiful, it is indeed a place where people who share the same passion mix and mingle together, you can feel the love everywhere.

I was just digging through the piles of CDs from the different booths. The first one I went to was the booth from Kedai Musik - which is a shop I've been following on Instagram haha. It feels kinda awesome to meet the man behind that shop (although we don't know each other heh). In his booth I discovered Deep Forest's Boheme album!!! I have been looking for this album for years, back when I first discovered them. HMV doesn't have them, the different CD shops I went to don't have them either. Contemplated to get it through Amazon but they no longer ship to Indonesia. So when I discovered the album I just took it and keep it safe hah. I mean... I'm preventing other buyers from taking it hahaha.

My haul

Anyway here are the CD haul I got from yesterday's RSD:
- Bjork's Vulnicura
- Lightcraft's Colours of Joy
- Payung Teduh's Dunia Batas
- Deep Forest's Boheme

Bjork released her new album this year and I've been looking to get a physical copy of it! So much raw and beautiful emotions in this album. Such a heart-raising album, I wanna see her live one day.

Lightcraft is an Indonesian Indie band and I actually discovered them yesterday while they were performing live. I was about to leave the event when they started playing. Their opening song totally caught my ears and I went back all the way to the other end of the building to catch their performance. I asked one of their personnel who was standing near the stage if I can get their album and she kindly brought me to a booth that sells their album. Thank you for your help! You have a new fan :)

I discovered Payung Teduh back in 2012 I think... I know I was definitely still back in Singapore when I saw one of their videos on Youtube. I thought hey, I will find their album when I'm back in Indonesia but boy I was wrong, their album is nowhere to be found hah. Everyone was looking for their album as it was made a limited number of copies I think. So I was determined to look for it in RSD and I'm so glad I did! They are an awesome band, and I love how chill and "cooling" their music is. Definitely the kind of song you wanna play on a rainy day, or late nights. Definitely a great Indonesian band!

Isn't this too pretty

I also bought this notebook with a Sigur Ros Takk cover printed on wood covers! It is such an exquisite notebook and my notebook fetish just boils strongly inside and I was like... I have to buy this. So I burned a hole in my wallet and got it. But it's cool, cause well the lady said they only made this specially for RSD so I'll take it as a memoir keepsake too. I'm still drooling over it now.

Anyway all in all, I truly love my first Record Store Day experience. It is a day where we take our pride in owning physical forms of music - physical manifestations of music. During my experience in RSD Indonesia, I chatted with a few different people. Some of them asked me what CDs I was looking for, what genres I like and stuff. I realised that we all share one love - of owning physical forms of music. For example I met this guy who has been looking for Payung Teduh's album but had no luck (oops I bought it already haha). And then there was also the owner of Kedai Musik who was offering me some CDs who will definitely become a rarity in the future.

So I realised one thing - even know deeply I know that the CD industry is dying slowly, it is still something that people are looking for. And knowing that I owned quite a number of CDs made me feel "special", knowing that in the future, other people might be looking for what I have been owning for years. And this is what makes owning physical forms of music so unique and so awesome. As the year goes by, the value of your albums will increase. Well maybe it's not that much for CDs but definitely for vinyls. Although I know in the future, the number of people who are actually still looking for physical forms of music is going to decrease. Or well, I hope it is going to increase!

I have been collecting CDs and albums for as long as I can remember. I can still remember back in primary school, I would spend my hard-saved cash on two things - Lego and CDs. I remember back in P6, I went to HMV with my sister and they were having a sale promotion. Like buying three CDs (of this special rack) for the price of 21 bucks. One of the albums I got was this compilation of different instrumental music, mostly by Japanese arists. Believe it or not, some of the music that I bought back then is still inside my iPod now. And of course, I still have the CD with me.

Record Store Day is a pretty special day for me. To be surrounded by people who share the same passion as you, to meet like-minded people in terms of owning physical forms of music, and to be hopeful for the future of this industry. I am definitely coming back next year, and if you are interested, you can start collecting the CDs of your favourite musicians as well :)

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