Hong Kong’s Hidden Vinyl Gems
We recently posted about Seoul's vinyl scene, and in continuation, here is another recent visit to Hong Kong and the music stores we spotted 'along the way'. In reality, we travelled over an hour to visit one of these - and it was worth it.
As Hong Kong is an inevitable destination when flying out of Australia, if you happen to have an overnight layover with space in your suitcase, consider venturing out to Tsim Sha Tsui (TST), Mong Kok or Hong Kong Island for a quick day trip.
Wave Records
Wave Records - Causeway Bay
For the first adventure, we stumbled on this small store in Causeway Bay by accident after seeing a sign in the window from outside. Wave Records shares the space with a film / camera store - an analogue pairing.
Harry spent a bit of time browsing the collection of pre-loved vinyl, with many familiar names and albums. In the picture, the vinyl on the top row, in the middle made it into our suitcase - we have found this to be a staple in many growing vinyl collections.
Wake Listening Room
A Harry solo-trip - unsurprising for Hong Kong, these music stores are located on a second-floor or require a bit of navigation in the highrise buildings.
Analog Dept.
Analog Dept. - Kwun Tong
We travelled over an hour one-way to visit this location.
Analog Dept. is possibly the most aesthetic and modern record store visited to-date. We did get lost and searched a few alleyways to find the entrance... Eventually asking the building's reception to let us through the elevator to reach this true hidden gem (the pictures here don't do it justice - we shared a few more on Instagram).
With a surprisingly large range of secondhand classics, pop and Japanese recordings, we picked up Fujii Kaze - Prema in a limited / first-edition CD and F1 The Album in vinyl - not the cassette version, despite this being at a "20-year high".
Whilst this is accessible via public transport from TST or Hong Kong Island, it is far from the standard tourist spots and I'd suggest travelling by taxi or Uber to halve your transit time.
Places we missed
Shun Cheong Record Co Ltd (Mong Kok) - Google Maps
CD Warehouse (Mong Kok) - Google Maps
Infree Records (Mong Kok) - Google Maps
White Noise Records (Sham Shui Po) - Google Maps
Walls of Sound (Central) - Google Maps
On this occasion, there are quite a few places that we didn't manage to visit and was a spontaneous drop-in to these three music stores.
Do you have any overseas favourites for music? Send me an email!
- Sam