A New Tempo #4: The Analog Vault Goes On Record About Surviving So Far

The Analog Vault, are you okay? (Credit: The Analog Vault Facebook page)

Record stores in Singapore aren't out of the woods where the effects of COVID-19 are concerned. Even though the business model of record stores varies from that of events, with digital sales and home deliveries being a viable avenue of survivability for the store, they still face considerable risk. The reduction of overall foot traffic due to social distancing measures continues to be a pressing factor that leaves these institutions vulnerable. For the record, they still need plenty of assistance in this time of need.

(Credit: The Analog Assembly Facebook page)

Sharing their struggles are the knowledgeable vinyl gurus behind The Analog Vault, a go-to record store within The Esplanade for audiophiles and crate diggers in the city. Set up in 2015, the cosy hideout stocks rarities from the realms of jazz, hip-hop, electronic, world music and even our local sphere. It also runs the seasonal vinyl marketplace, The Analog Assembly, and spearheads its own record label, TAV Records, that bolsters local releases with physical vinyl launches.

For this edition of A New Tempo, the team behind The Analog Vault reveals how it’s kept things in motion and how you can help the store.

(Credit: The Analog Vault Facebook page)

“We’ve definitely been focusing on our website, adding more titles on there every day and sorting out some of the boring backend stuff that makes finding records on our website a little easier. We’ve also been stepping up on our blog content, also as a way to reach out to the community.

For our Selects’ series, we’ve been asking people from the music community to pick out titles they like on our online catalogue and write a bit about them, kinda like our Diggin’ episodes but for the blog. So far, we’ve featured people like Daniel Alexander O’Connor and Meltem Acik from Ice Cream Sundays and the crew from See You At One. Hopefully, this inspires some people to shop on our website. There’s a lot to choose from so it can be quite daunting.”

“Our Collector series showcases interesting collectors in Singapore. It was pretty good lockdown content because well, it was a good time to reorganise one’s record shelves. We’ve featured Ichiro’s (ITCH) and CK’s collections on this series, exploring their motivations and how they organise things while talking about their approach to collecting records.

The key thing we’re trying to do with our online content is to connect with our music community at a time when everyone feels pretty disconnected. If you’d like to do something together, hit us up!”

“It’s been a trying time for all, but everyone’s trying to adapt. It’s definitely a time for partners to band together. For us, Singapore Community Radio (SGCR) is helping us with a podcast on their platform, so we’re running with that! It’s called AV Club and you can listen to it on Spotify.

We’re also re-starting our Mix Series on Soundcloud, reaching out to local DJs and maybe producers in the future, showcasing bits of our scene we find inspiring and basically just linking up with people. The main motivation here is that we’d still like to continue showcasing local selectors and musicians despite not being able to hold our in-store event, Outin, where we’d normally do that.”

“As COVID-19 reared its ugly head, we were in the midst of planning for our annual record fair, The Analog Assembly. Record Store Day had to be postponed as well, and we weren’t able to do a launch show for .gif’s Hail Nothing – AV002LP. We’ve had to put all of that on hold, but we still released the record during lockdown; the response has been very encouraging despite the difficulties (thank goodness for having a website).

It’s going to be a while till we can gather safely and responsibly, but we’re really looking forward to the day we can do just that, amidst some sweet music on vinyl, a great sound system, awesome selectors and lots and lots of crates of dusty records to dig through.”

“We’ve got a 10% discount going online and in-store right now; that applies to all records! If you’d like to support us, come visit the store or have a scroll around our website, Soundcloud, Spotify or Instagram to explore the music.

We’re also working on our third release on TAV Records, the sidecar to The Analog Vault with Intriguant, who’s been a real champion of the beats and electronic music scene here, holding down his Uploading nights at The Council and releasing a great compilation under the name. This will be his second full-length album, and we’re pretty excited already. Looking at a November release here, but who knows anything at this point! Hopefully it all goes smoothly.”

The Analog Vault, #02-10 The Esplanade, 8 Raffles Avenue, Singapore 039802, +65 9026 5215. You can also make record purchases from its website and online store.