00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 For the last few months,
00:06 three self-confessed vinyl fiends
00:09 have transformed a former accountancy office
00:12 into Edinburgh's newest record store.
00:14 Set to open this Saturday,
00:16 Umbrella Vinyl and Tallcross has a vast selection of music
00:19 from all around the world,
00:20 from jazz and blues to classical rock and electronic.
00:24 The owners say their mission is to share
00:26 and introduce wonderful and less known music with people.
00:29 And with just one day to go,
00:31 founders Josh, Laura and Nick are looking forward
00:34 to welcoming their first customers.
00:36 We can't wait to get all the people in here
00:38 and to open our doors and show everyone
00:40 what amazing stuff that we have here at Umbrella Vinyl.
00:43 So it's been a few months, a journey of a few months,
00:46 but it feels like it's been an exciting one at that.
00:49 So yeah, pretty excited.
00:50 We have an enormous international selection.
00:53 So we have music from all over the Caribbean.
00:57 We have music from Trinidad and Tobago,
00:59 from Jamaica, from Brazil.
01:02 We've got library music here from all over Europe.
01:05 So we've got music from Italy and France,
01:09 and we've also got all sorts of contemporary classical,
01:13 experimental electronic.
01:14 It's just a very, very broad, eclectic mix of music.
01:18 I think the thing that really sets us apart
01:20 is our selection of African music.
01:23 I think we've most likely got the largest selection
01:26 of secondhand African records in Scotland.
01:29 Ahead of their launch, the team have been busy
01:31 transforming the former office unit into a welcoming space,
01:35 painting the shopfront a colour that coincidentally
01:38 underpins the owner's experience.
01:40 When we discovered the name, it was,
01:43 we had to have it, Epic Adventure.
01:45 So yeah, it kind of ties in very nicely
01:49 with the adventure that we're on here.
01:51 It's an unusual prospect to be opening a new record shop,
01:56 I think, in Edinburgh,
01:57 especially the way we want to do,
01:59 which is a little bit different
02:00 to what's being done elsewhere.
02:02 And it's super exciting, epic.
02:05 Back in 2015, Josh and Laura were living in Hong Kong,
02:10 producing a local radio show, Vinyl Voyages.
02:14 It was there they met Nick, a fellow vinyl lover,
02:16 who also organised a monthly record fair for local traders,
02:20 as well as establishing his own record label,
02:23 showcasing the local music scene.
02:25 But it wouldn't be until five years later,
02:27 when the trio would reunite in Edinburgh,
02:29 that they first considered opening their own record shop.
02:33 And now, after listening to approximately 3,000 records,
02:36 along with grading, pricing, and sorting,
02:39 the team are excited to share their unique collection
02:41 with Edinburgh music lovers.
02:43 We enjoy sharing the wonderful and weird stuff that we find,
02:47 and maybe a little bit of the under-loved stuff,
02:49 under-appreciated, so we're trying to share that
02:51 with everyone, and that's really, I think,
02:53 part of the ethos of this shop,
02:55 is just sharing some wonderful music
02:56 that people might not have heard before,
02:58 'cause we've got some interesting and rare stuff in stock.
03:00 - The umbrella is a symbol of the Hong Kong protest movement
03:05 we all met at a music festival in Hong Kong.
03:09 And it also symbolises our kind of inclusive attitude,
03:14 and our eclectic tastes, so it's a broad umbrella.
03:18 So our tagline is basically,
03:20 global sounds under one umbrella.
03:23 - So we've got some amazing Zambian rock up here,
03:26 it's pretty rare.
03:27 We've got disco, funk, soul, Esther Phillips here,
03:31 one of my favourites, I'd love to sell that to somebody,
03:34 'cause it's so wonderful.
03:35 Moving over to some, we've got some Calypso,
03:39 we've got some Latin, so Brazilian music, library music,
03:43 some wonderful jazz albums, so John Coltrane,
03:46 some Japanese issues here with Obi Strip on,
03:48 some more incredible African music,
03:54 also got some reggae dub, and some more up here,
03:57 so Nigerian highlife, and some great stuff.
04:01 We think it's really important that people can listen
04:03 to the music before they buy it,
04:04 to make sure they're happy with it,
04:06 so we've got two wonderful listening stations here
04:08 for people to use, obviously we've got our own headphones,
04:10 or people can bring their own,
04:12 but I think that's quite important for us.
04:14 I think initially we weren't sure how people would
04:17 receive us in the community,
04:19 but we've had such a wonderful response
04:21 over the last couple of weeks,
04:22 people popping their head in,
04:24 the social media presence,
04:25 and just lots of local businesses
04:27 kind of welcoming us to the community.
04:29 You're never really sure how it's gonna be,
04:31 how you're gonna be taken to the community,
04:33 but that's been really nice to see,
04:34 and been really encouraging, I think, for us, so yeah.
04:37 - Good luck with your tour, mate.
04:41 - Thank you very much. - Thank you, thank you.
04:43 - See you on Saturday, bye.
04:46 - It's really, really extraordinary,
04:47 just the number of new people that are inquisitive,
04:50 and interested, and encouraging,
04:52 The message is profoundly good.
04:55 It's really, really wonderful.
Comments