Vinylicious is a special store hidden away in Peninsula Shopping Centre that sells — as the store name suggests — vinyl records.
Well-stocked in many genres such as Pop, Rock, Heavy Metal, Punk, 80s Retro and even soundtracks from movies and TV shows, Vinylicious sees a range of customers from youths and older generations, both seeking nostalgia from a time long past.
In this digital age, it’s refreshing to find that some people seem to prefer listening to music from these large discs, also known as LP (long play) records, which precede CDs and MP3 files.
We visited the store to find out more about these vintage records and check out the sort of appeal stores like Vinylicious have for people today.
When we think of vinyls, music of the early to late 20th century comes to mind, but today they are gaining popularity amongst modern celebrities who’re choosing to release their songs on a limited number of vinyl records as well as Online platforms such as iTunes too.
That’s right, you can get new songs from popular artistes on vinyls today, not just older classics. It’s an additional bonus when your favourite modern tunes also give you hipster vibes as you listen to them.
Aside from being coveted collectors’ items, LPs generally produce better sound quality than MP3 files, even when the same speakers are used, as we found to our surprise at Vinylicious.
Sounds from records have more “depth” and that’s hard to imagine until you hear it for yourself, which is another reason to personally visit Vinylicious and hear a record being played before deciding to invest in getting one for yourself. Pay attention to the little details and you’ll see what the hype’s all about.
The quality difference is due to MP3s being highly-compressed files that don’t store as much details as vinyls. Whereas vinyls have the music stored physically via bumps in its grooves, causing vibrations to be transmitted directly from the disc to the player.
Aside from quality, there’s an arresting visual aspect of records that can’t be found in digital files, not to mention the very human appeal that comes with owning something tangible in contrast to virtual products.
The most affordable and easily-found records are usually modern productions and the starting prices range between S$30 to S$40, even if they’re featuring tunes from the past. Genuinely old preserved LPs are usually valuable and, therefore, pricier today.
If you really want something that was produced during its prime, you can keep an eye out in Vinylicious’s selection of used records or, better yet, ask for Test Presses which are the very first few records of a particular series to be made.
Test Presses are of even better quality than other similar vinyls produced during the same batch and time period, so you can expect that they don’t come cheap; prices can easily fall into the hundreds, and sometimes even the thousands.
Another very special feature about Vinylicious is that it’s one of the few stores in Singapore that celebrates Record Store Day. During which, vinyl records released only for this event will be sold by participating record stores.
Exclusive releases throughout the years include works by Metallica, Iggy Pop, Pink Floyd, Alice In Chains and many more.
Vinylicious has another outlet at the Esplanade called The Analog Vault (#02-13, Esplanade Mall) which focuses on different genres such as Blues, Electronica, Soul and Hip Hop.
Similar to its sister store, The Analog Vault has countless LPs covering the walls and shelves, giving the same excitement of possibly finding something new to its customers. Even if you’re not really into vinyls, the hipster vibes will tempt you to take a detour for a quick browse.
After taking a journey back and forth between eras with Vinylicious and The Analog Vault, we can say that the future of this revived art form in music looks (and sounds) pretty good.
Prices: S$30++ onwards per vinyl
Vinylicious: 3 Coleman Street, #03-01, Peninsula Shopping Centre, Singapore 179804 | Opening Hours: 12pm – 8pm (Weekdays), 1pm – 7pm (Weekends & PHs) | Tel: +65 6336 0039 | Website | Facebook
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