The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, David Bowie and Iggy Pop are among the artists set to release limited edition vinyl on Record Store Day, with more shops than ever before lined up to take part.
Record Store Day takes place on April 13, and the full list of releases has now been revealed. Idles, The Flaming Lips and more will release limited records for the celebration.
Iggy Pop said: “In my life, music has been a balm for loneliness. It was in the cheap ass little record store that I found a way to connect with other people. I was 18. It was a theatre, a glimpse at the world of commerce, and a cultural library; and my experiences as a teenage clerk were full of humour, and curiously warm. The modern approach, which is fine, still needs nourishment from this template. Everywhere on earth I go, there are freaks minding a record store. It's a good hang – daylight vs. dimly lit, clear-eyed vs. stoned, and social vs. savage. So that's why I like 'em.”
Idles frontman Joe Talbot said: “Record Store Day is a celebration. A celebration of worth, artistic exploration and conscientious craftsmanship that closes the gap on mindless consumerism and allows artists and labels who care about fans and hold the relationship they have with the artist as paramount. That celebration pushes both sides of the music industry to be more mindful on how and why art and music is consumed and create something more beautiful and something worth more to label, artist and fan.”
Everywhere on earth I go, there are freaks minding a record store
Iggy Pop
The full list of this year’s releases – which also includes Bastille, Prince, Slowthai, The Specials and Weezer – is to be celebrated at a London launch party tonight (February 28), where Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes will play live.
Carter commented: “Independent record stores have always been a safe haven for music freaks, fans and aficionados. In an age where the world is turning digital and the very physical nature of product is disappearing into pixels before our very eyes, it has never been a more important time to get out and support the very place that provides more than just a song. If digital is the future musical religion, then independent record stores will always be the cathedral, and only the purest followers worship at the cathedral.”
Record Store Day is yet to reveal its UK ambassador for 2019, while a record 250 independent stores have signed up, the largest number in the event’s 12-year history.
Ashlie Green, manager of David’s Music in Letchworth said: “It remains such a special day for all of us independent retailers, big and small. It’s not only an opportunity for new music lovers to come through our door but it’s also a great opportunity to celebrate our favourite music with our loyal customers. There may be testing times ahead for independent retailers which is why events like RSD, which champions bricks and mortar shops all over the country, is more important than ever.”
Emerging talent competition Record Store Day Unsigned also returns for 2019, in conjunction with official manufacturing partner, Sound Performance. This year’s winner is Barbudo, who will be awarded a prize of 500 records being pressed and distributed by Proper Music.
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