Viva the Daylesford vinyl retro revolution

THERE'S a moment of aural frisson, the needle dropping, the prelude crackle just before the soundwaves hit and transport you to...

When the romance with retro vinyl began to bloom, Luke Cameron had something special to offer those smitten. A massive collection of vinyl records he’d been lovingly assembling over a quarter of a century, many of them coveted original pressings.

Last September this local music lover and former DJ turned his vinyl record collecting bug - that had begun at the tender age of 14 - into a flourishing business, opening Daylesford Records in Howe Street. He has not looked back.

“I love vinyl and have for many years,” says Luke, who lives just out of Daylesford. “I’ve been collecting vinyl for about 25 years and my personal collection is about 15,000 records.

“The reason I started collecting was my mum gave me a crate of records when I was 14. I just started from there.”

Offering between 1500 to 2000 highly collectible vinyl records in store at any one time, Daylesford Records has taken off and is now inviting music lovers to help it celebrate its first birthday with a special event on Saturday, September 23.

“We’re having a really special day with DJs all day, and some other special things happening that we’ll be announcing closer to the day,” says Luke.

“It’s been amazing. We’re so busy and on weekends in particular we’re packed. We specialise in vintage vinyl. We’ve got new records as well.”

Much of the vinyl on offer in store is sourced from Luke’s own back-catalogue of collecting including many “holy grail of record collecting” first pressings, made in the first year the record came out.

“We’ve got amazing records in stock and we can also source records for people,” Luke says. “That’s been really popular with locals who are hunting for specific records. We can pretty much get any record in.”

Luke, who heads to Shibuya in Tokyo every three months for shopping trips that result in 50 kilos of rare and exclusive vinyl, also buys records from people who "might have a crate at home and sitting on a heap of money”.

“We’re basically cleaning and pricing records all day long. We grade the condition and we include the pressing year and the pressing location. We put a lot of detail into our pricing so you can browse through and know what you’re getting.

“We also sell turntables and amps, vintage turntables and new turntables and we can set people up with packs. I also sell retro stand-up arcade games."

Luke said he always thought vinyl was fantastic and was now enjoying seeing younger people picking up vinyl again.

"They have Spotify in their pockets but they’re loving the tangibility of vinyl. The sound of vinyl is so rich and deep, and full spectrum. People put on an album and listen to it from front to back the way the artist intended, and they discover tracks that they love but may otherwise not have heard. I love seeing it.”

Since the shop opened last September it’s been drawing music lovers and collectors from far and wide - Melbourne, as well as from close to home.

The act of physically browsing through all those collectible recording moments captured in time and in vinyl is a big part of what collectors love.

The shop is open Wednesday to Sunday from 10am to 4pm - and keep an eye out for NBA Jam arcade game round robins happening soon on Friday nights.

Vinyl facts

Manufacture of disc records began in the late 19th century. Price, ease of use and storage made the disc record dominant by the 1910s. The standard format of disc records became known to later generations as 78s after their playback speed in revolutions per minute. In the late 1940s new formats pressed in vinyl, the 45 rpm single and 33 rpm long playing LP, were introduced,

A new report published by the Recording Industry Association of America revealed that US music lovers snapped up 41 million vinyl records in 2022, compared to 33 million CDs.

In Australia, vinyl is the fastest growing category in music sales, increasing by nearly 23 per cent in 2022, according to the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).

Words: Eve Lamb | Images: Louise Gay English