An introduction of Vinyl Pasar before I share my pictures and write-up of their Jul 16 curated pop-up event. Titled From Studio to Turntable: Unraveling the Mysteries of Vinyl Sound.
First held on Apr 16 this year and organised by DJ Jean Reiki, Vinyl Pasar is a series of pre-loved vinyl marketplace events for music lovers in Singapore. During the April event, which was held at Crane @ Arab Street, Jean assembled not just pre-loved vinyl traders but also artists and music professionals from different walks of life. Outside of the marketplace, there was also a music-sharing session titled Vinyl-Holicks Anonymous, held at the comfy loft of Crane.
I visited this marketplace out of curiosity and guess what? The lively event ignited my interest in vinyl collecting. At the moment, I’ve dug out all of my parents’ old Cantonese and Chinese vinyl, and am in the process of getting them cleaned up. (Getting a proper turntable is next!)
Since the April event, Vinyl Pasar has curated other events, all of which with a big nod towards sustainability. For example, they hosted an Art on Vinyl Jam booth at Old School Market that was part of the Singapore Heritage Festival. The booth encourages upcycling of worn vinyl records by repurposing them into meaningful art pieces. Before this, the team also hosted a communal wall painting project.
Coming back to From Studio to Turntable: Unraveling the Mysteries of Vinyl Sound, this “very special” Jul 16 pop-up event was both a vinyl exploration and a music appreciation session. Anchored by “Gear Whisperer,” veteran musician, and live looping extraordinaire Randolf Arriola, the KNOW segment of the session was an engaging discourse on the history and technology of vinyl recording, one that started with a demonstration of what the legendary Linn Sondek LP12 is capable of.
After a brief break, the APPRECIATE segment saw participants who brought along their prized vinyl sharing their favourite music with the group, while further exploring the intricacies of pressings and turntable technologies.
For those new to vinyl collecting, like me, From Studio to Turntable provided much useful insight and knowledge without getting excessively technical or exclusive. Knowledge that would be a great guiding light down the road.
Naturally, the lively vibes made two hours go by like a breeze.
A Gathering of Singaporean Vinyl Experts and Enthusiasts
Upcycle Your Worn Vinyl Records
Just a note about vinyl upcycling before I end this post.
As highlighted earlier, Vinyl Pasar is fully committed to sustainability. While encouraging the love of vinyl, analog music, they are quite aware of the “un-recyclable” nature of PVC, the predominant material of vinyl records.
A significant chunk of their events thus involves repurposing worn records. They have also prepared this really useful preloved vinyl record grading reference for you to decide what to do with your collection.
Do keep a lookout for their future events to know more.
