Introducing the cornerstones of our culture; the record shops. In this series we will be hearing tales direct from the shop floor.

Sound Records @soundrecordsstroud opened in 2018  The shop stocks classic rock, punk and indie but it is in the more esoteric areas that create its uniqueness with extensive selections of African, Latin and experimental records nestled amongst the jazz, reggae and soul. The shop also has a wide range of house, hip hop, drum n bass and techno.

The shop pulls in a wide range of people across the local community but increasingly drags people in from further afield. Visitors from Bristol, Reading and London regularly make the trip to get their vinyl fix. The likes of Gilles Peterson, Mr Thing, Tom Ravenscroft and Richard Ayoade have been seen scouring the crates…

2022 saw Sound Records move to its third location having already outgrown two previous premises. 2023 sees Sound Records stepping up releases on its own in-house label. Having already released a compilation of local pastoral electronica, their second release sees them putting out an ep from acclaimed Sheffield producer Yarni. The Albers EP comes out in early September. 

Tom Monobrow @monobrow73 who runs the shop is also an acclaimed DJ. His mixes can be found on Mixcloud as Monobrow73

🤔 Who should be on the next CC feature?

Who are your favourite kind of customers?

“Our favourite customers are those who don’t know what they want before they enter – those who have open ears and listen to stuff we have that they don’t know!”

Are there any local, independent artists whose records you always keep in stock?

“We have a whole dedicated section of local artists – some of those that really float our boat are Orbury Common, Voka Gentle, Mara Simpson, Mermaid Chunky and Spindle Ensemble – not forgetting Blancmange of course!”

Are there any records that have gained a cult following among your customers, despite being relatively unknown outside your store?

“We were huge champions of an electronic producer in Sheffield called Yarni. After really enjoying his album Boro we met up with him and now we’re releasing his next record on our instore label.”

How do you stay connected with the local music community and support emerging artists?

“It’s really important to us to be at the heart of our local community. We host numerous instore gigs of all genres as well as exclusive DJ sessions and one-off events to support local festivals.”

What is it about your store that makes it special?

“We love to sell the records that other shops don’t have – we have people in Rio, Cairo and other major cities scouring flea markets to bring us the goods!”