June Newsletter
Hi folks
After a three-and-a-half month Coronavirus-induced hiatus, Vinyl Vanguard will reopen on July 2. But as the deadly and debilitating virus remains very much a threat, we have introduced measures to protect customers and ourselves.
Okay, the first point is, DO NOT COME, PLEASE, IF YOU HAVE SYMPTOMS OR SHARE A HOUSE WITH SOMEONE THAT DOES.
That understood then, from July 2, the shop will be open Thursday to Sunday 10.30 to 6.30pm, when we will be trialling a table-top service that will operate by the door so records can be looked at in the open air. Tell us what you’d like to look at and we’ll bring them to the front of the shop. Please use the hand sanitiser provided before you touch the records.
On Tuesdays and Wednesdays however, there will be opportunities to come inside and have a dig … but by appointment only. Ring Mike on 07495030018 or Simon on 07766502263 or email vinylvanguardrecords@gmail.com to book a slot, use hand sanitiser on entering and leaving the shop, and please wear a mask. Only one person in the shop at a time (or two from the same household).
LOVE VINYL, AND STAY SAFE
DAN PRAISES OUR DELIVERY SERVICE
And we’re happy to continue with local deliveries, by bicycle or on foot -- a service we began because of the lockdown. One of the customers we delivered to during the lockdown was Dan, who told us: “The records are absolutely brilliant thanks. Weird and wonderful avant-guard stuff that vinyl vanguard has the best stock of! Thanks for dropping them round -- what an amazing service." Dan's purchases included the records he's holding: Morton Subotnick's Touch, and George Crumb's Lux Aeterna / Dream Sequence / Four Nocturnes.
OLI TOO
The Eagles, Blondie, Bolan, Ian Durie -- Oli chose records by these artists as a present for his wife Sarah. Other customers too received disc-to-door records from us via our delivery service during the lockdown. A big hug -- well, socially distanced greeting -- to them all.
POLISH DUB
Local label Byrd Out has issued a new LP that it describes as "Acid-tinged electronic dub by Polish band Sarmacja, which includes a remix by The Orb no less". Vinyl Vanguard has bought in several copies of the album, titled Jazda Polska, released as a limited edition of 500. Sarmacja is Paweł Bartnik, Michał Kołowacik and (now also) Aleksandra Szalińska aka FLicker Fox, musicians operating at the forefront of the Polish experimental scene. Byrd Out tells us: “Above all there is dub on it -- however unorthodox -- originally captured. Mystical flow, reckless charges and joyful songs -- all without restraint and with uhlan fantasy. The spirit of a holy madman in the sarmatian version hovers over the record - the one who after a few glasses of vodka, covered with gasoline fragrance from the barbecue – once being moved, telling about the misery of the nation, and a moment after falling into ecstasy of stories about bravery in battles. Then in anger -- when reminding himself how much the neighbour's diesel burns. Bottom line is simple -- having fun, especially until dawn. And even if the stories of the holy madman are slightly slacked, even if at times the vibe gets gloomy, and the story isn’t fully true -- who cares?”
MINGUS MESSAGE
Recently acquired by Vinyl Vanguard, a small but lovely collection of Charles Mingus classic jazz albums, some Miles too, all year-of-release originals. Mingus Ah Um, a 1959 release, is already gone, we’re afraid, but check out these lyrics from the track ‘Fables of Faubus’:
Oh Lord, don’t let ‘em shoot us
Oh Lord, don’t let ‘em stab us
Oh Lord, no more swastikas,
Oh Lord, no more Klu Klux Klan
Charles Mingus’ composition was written during the civil rights struggle for justice and equality for African Americans that took place mainly in the 1950s and 1960s. Mingus named it after Orval E. Faubus, the Governor of Arkansas infamous for his 1957 stand against racial integration of Little Rock, Arkansas schools in defiance of U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
