RECORD STORE DAY CELEBRATES 10 YEARS ON Saturday, 22 April 2017

RECORD STORE DAY CELEBRATES 10 YEARS ON Saturday, 22 April 2017

Record number of participating stores: 160+
Official turntable partner: Pro-Ject Audio Systems

For an incredible 10th time, Record Store Day is almost here and will be celebrated on the same date around the world. Set for Saturday 22 April more than 160 indie music stores around Australia will throw open their doors to live music, DJs spinning the vinyl, treasure hunts, parties, barbecues, coffee carts, face painting and, of course, the legendary vinyl crate digging.

Once again the record companies are planning a series of limited edition vinyl releases for the collectors. Many stores are importing pre-loved vinyl specially for the day, as well as raiding their vaults for vinyl, CD and memorabilia treasures. Even the odd cassette or two will appear.

The vinyl resurgence continues alongside resilient sales for CDs, and the indie record store is a community hub for music lovers: a place to find new music, reconnect with old and new music from old friends, get great advice and recommendations, hear musicians live, find out what’s happening in the local music scene, and generally hang out with people who love music as much as you do.

Record Store Day is a once-a-year unmissable day for all music lovers with information about what is happening in which store is regularly added to the Australian website and social media.

Website: www.recordstoreday.com.au

Record Store Day is an international event held in over 30 nations around the world, celebrating indie record stores and their place in their local music community. Stores showcase live performances from local and international musicians, throw parties, host DJ sets, throw snags on the barbie, run competitions and draws, raid their vaults for vinyl, CD and memorabilia treasures, open the bar, offer discounts across the store, source special purchase buys often from overseas, and supply the legendary limited edition vinyl which is pressed specially for the day.

In Australia, Record Store Day is organised by AMRA (the Australian Music Retailers Association) with additional funding from the major record companies and like-minded sponsors such as Pro-Ject, which is the official turntable partner.
Record Store Day in Australia 2017 Ambassadors:

ROBERT FORSTER

Robert Forster was a founding member of The Go-Betweens and co-writer of Cattle and Cane which was listed at Number 20 on APRAs Top Australian Songs List. He is currently a writer, solo artist and performer with an ardent following in Australia, Germany, the UK and the US. He has released nine albums with The Go-Betweens and five solo albums. His latest, Songs To Play, made UK’s Uncut and German Rolling Stones Top Twenty Albums of 2015.

In 2006 his music writing won the Pascall Prize for Critical Writing. One of his pieces appeared in The Best American Music Writing 2007.
MARK GABLE

Singer, songwriter, presenter and host, Mark Gable has been part of the Australian entertainment industry for more than 30 years and is widely known as the frontman and songwriter for iconic Aussie pub rockers, The Choirboys. Run to Paradise and Boys Will Be Boys are the anthems that helped define not just a genre, but an era and Run to Paradise continues to dominate radio playlists. He tours constantly with The Choirboys, as well as hosts corporate events, is a popular after-dinner and keynote speaker, and radio presenter. He is a patron of the Golden Stave Foundation and an ambassador for beyondblue.
STEVE KOUTA

Steve Kouta’s love of music is genetic, inherited from a father who loved obscure British blues bands from the Sixties. Steve now has more than 4,000 records in his collection, spanning a wide spectrum of styles though he admits to an especial love of Seventies funk (George Clinton, Sly Stone) and Nineties hip hop (A Tribe called Quest, Digable Planets, Outkast). Having said this his favourite artist of all time is Prince. His Instagram account began in January 2015 when Steve was working in sales with Universal Music Australia. He posted one pic of a record sleeve along with some comments and he describes it as ‘well received’ so he began to post more. Two years later he has more than 50,000 followers and has been featured in media around the world. Steve is based in Sydney. His Instagram page can be found at https://www.instagram.com/stevekouta
A.B. ORIGINAL

A.B. Original is the collaboration between Briggs (Album of the Year recipient at the National Indigenous Music Awards 2015) and Trials, ARIA Award winning producer for Drapht, Illy, Hilltop Hoods, Seth Sentry and The Funkoars among others. They write songs in the spirit of N.W.A and West Side Connection, while lyrically bringing attention to issues closer to home. Respectively coming from the Yorta Yorta and Ngarrindjeri tribes, Briggs and Trials are socially conscious outspoken Indigenous artists. They bring a new voice to Australian hip hop as A.B. Original.

Their debut album ‘Reclaim Australia’ recently won the 2017 Australian Music Prize and is available for Record Store Day on red, black and yellow vinyl, representing the colours of the indigenous flag.
CATHERINE BRITT

Catherine Britt’s career to date is nothing short of extraordinary. She released her first recording at 14, took herself to Nashville at 17, is the youngest Australian to perform at the Grand Old Opry (still just 17 years old), has released six albums all of which garnered ARIA Awards nominations for Best Country Album (which is a first for any Australian country artist), has had three singles in the US Billboard Hot Country Song chart, has won three CMAA Awards, been nominated for APRA and CMC awards, and in 2010 was presented with the CMA Global Artist of the Year Award.

Catherine has toured, performed and recorded with artist as diverse as Kasey Chambers and Elton John, Keith Urban and Paul Kelly. She is a singer, songwriter, television and radio host, magazine owner and editor, and now an ambassador for Record Store Day 2017.
TIM DALTON

Tim has been in the music industry for almost forty years, having skived off school to lug road cases for some mates he went on to audio engineer, tour manager, produce, manage and work in record companies including A&R for Sony in the US. He’s worked with Faith No More, Beastie Boys, Primus, Run DMC, Public Enemy, Transvision Vamp, Simple Minds, Elvis Costello, Kirsty McColl and Atomic Kitten, amongst others. He lives in Melbourne but has recently been appointed a European cultural ambassador to his home town of Hull, in the north of England.
ANTHONY ALBANESE MP

Perhaps better known as the Federal member for Grayndler, former Deputy Prime Minister and member of the Shadow Cabinet, the magnificent seventh ambassador for Record Store Day in Australia is a passionate music lover and DJ. ‘Albo’ is a familiar face in the many record stores in his electorate as well as at live gigs, most recently Adele, The Pixies, Spiderbait and Nick Cave. He owns an extensive record collection which includes his first record ever which was Elton John’s Honky Chateau and the record he is most proud of owning is Midnight Oil’s Bird Noises. He strongly believes in live music as a force for enriching communities and as an industry providing jobs.

He also performs as DJ Albo, spinning records from the ’80s and ’90s, as well as the current day. His set list includes titles as diverse as Florence and the Machine, Kirsty McColl, The Go-Betweens, Kate Miller-Heidke, The Clash and Courtney Barnett. Gigs have included Newtown Social Club (Sydney) and Melbourne’s iconic Corner Hotel. His gigs are largely fundraisers for his work with Reclink, the music-industry based charity that seeks to engage disadvantaged youth through sport and the arts. He has hosted Rage and likes to quote rock lyrics in his speeches to Parliament.

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