The record shop has received plenty of bad press of late. You know the routine: there’s a recession on, no one buys the physical product any more… that kind of thing.
But in Dalston, Kristina Records are busy proving that no matter the conditions, no matter the hurdles it’s still possible to run an influential, energetic record shop. Situated on Stoke Newington Road, the shop has become a focal point for the area’s music scene through its carefully cultivated stock, discerning clientèle and frequent in-store appearances. Chatting with co-owner Jack Rollo, you get the impression of a shop staffed by people whose job simply makes them happy.
Asked when Kristina Records opened, Rollo instantly snaps back with the date. “1st of July last year. When you do something like open a business it becomes engrained in you.” Continuing, he explains a little about the decision to open the shop: “Well it seemed like a lot of people who liked music were living in the area, and if you like music then you tend to buy records. So it just made sense for there to be a shop like ours here. There are a few record shops dotted around but no one who is doing anything like us.”
“Also, it’s affordable. It’s do-able” he insists. “In terms of the balance of rent and custom. I used to work at a shop in Camden years ago, and back then that was where the record labels and bands hung out. But that’s gone. It was nice to be part of a scene which was going on. I think it’s really important for a shop to be like that. Otherwise you’ll just be like an online shop.”
Kristina certainly has a palpable vibe. Visiting on a Sunday afternoon, the shop is busy without being uncomfortable. The music – flirting with indie pop and a sprinkling of techno – sits neatly behind the gentle chatter of music fans swapping obscure trivia and fighting over a Wire seven inch. The shop fosters a friendly, easy-going attitude which arises – in part – from those frequent live events. “Definitely live events is a thing. Also, people like to come into a record shop, hang about and talk about records. Or not. Whatever. It starts with your friends and spans out from there” he explains. “I’ve met loads of people from doing it – they come into the shop, start a conversation and it goes from there. They can suggest things, tell you things you didn’t know about. I didn’t want to work in an office, I wanted to work in a shop. It’s different – I like retail. So it’s not like we’ve set out to create a fun times youth club vibe, but it’s nice to have that. The gigs are really fun for that. A band plays, you cram in 25 people so it feels really busy and that’s really nice. That kind of stuff marks us out from other ways of being records.”
Not that Kristina has been an easy journey for the three founders. A year in the planning, the shop made use of advice from similar Glaswegian ventures Monorail and Volcanic Tongue. “I was a regular customer in both those shops and would have regular conversations, speaking to them. They found out that I wanted to do this – because it’s been in my head for a while – and they offered a lot of encouragement. They said it was something I could do and that London maybe needs another shop.”
“I don’t think they’re unique – I think most people are very encouraging” Rollo insists. “Sean and Michael at Rough Trade both were really helpful in sorting us out with stuff. So that’s something we were glad to have. We had experience but the new shop is very different as I’ve never worked in a shop that sells new record before this one. Although to be fair almost no one has been negative about us, most people have said: ‘brilliant, another record shop’. It’s at that stage where we are creating a market rather than taking custom away from other people.”
Finding its own niche in a very short space of time, Kristina appears to be a lot better established than its 12 month journey would suggest – for the staff, though, it still feels incredibly fresh. “All the stuff that I hated having to deal with in other shops no one particularly seems to want to buy in this one” Rollo laughs. “I don’t like Beatles records, I don’t like Led Zeppelin records. It’s not that I don’t particularly like the music – it’s not that – it’s just that I don’t particularly like the heritage aspect. The tourist aspect: here’s a really expensive Beatles or Led Zeppelin record. Almost like stamp collecting. I only like the weird stuff and the weird stuff is what we’ve been selling. I think people are a lot more knowledgeable than they used to be, due to the internet. They definitely know a lot more weird bands than producers than they used to. The main pioneer behind the shop is that we wanted it to be a shop where we would like all the records in it. It has been our tastes. I’m sure there are records in there that people think are crap, but there’s nothing we couldn’t justify on some level.”
Drinking his coffee, Jack Rollo seems relieved at only having to deal with things he loves. “Why a record shop? Well there are a lot of record shops which are just shelves filled with records” he says. “You look through them and it’s like: Paul Young, Paul Young, Paul Young.. Phil Collins! Then you’d be like oh, there’s a Tangerine Dream record or a Pastels record. But that wouldn’t happen very often. Whereas I’d like to have a shop where you nearly always have some Pastels records, and I think it’s do-able. We’re certainly doing it at the moment.”
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