![]() ![]() Just beyond where Milan’s navigli meet (and round the corner from sophisticated stay, The Yard Milano) is a narrow shopfront, home to one of Europe’s most vibrant record shops. Expect some curios, too: after a recent trip there, a Mr & Mrs Smith colleague told me how she impulsively ‘bought a record with three Japanese men in a bathtub on the cover’ only to return to a broken record player and, thus, an audio mystery. This artfully arranged shop has been run by Yasuhara Morihiro since 2008 and specialises in DJ-friendly house, techno, disco, funk and more, mostly on vinyl. With more than a dash of design-store decor and some clever use of space, Lighthouse Records is something of a Shibuya sanctuary – depending on what’s blasting out of the soundsystem, of course. Staff are friendly, there are listening posts aplenty, and it’s all but impossible to leave empty handed. Over two tightly packed floors, Soho’s Sounds of the Universe gives a pretty comprehensive musical world tour: new releases, hot-property 12-inches, captivating compilations and choice cuts from the Caribbean and across Africa upstairs old rock, psychedelia, Brazilian and Nigerian rarities in the vinyl-packed basement. ![]() And wherever you may be, go shopping this weekend and you might come home with something extra special as Record Store Day celebrates its 10th anniversary with a host of special events and one-off releases. I’ve sought country music in California and afrobeat in Australia disco in Devon and ragas in Rajasthan – you can learn a lot about a place from its music. Don’t get me wrong, I like beaches, I love museums, I adore local restaurants and I’ll frequent many a bar, but for me a holiday isn’t a holiday without a visit to a record store. ![]()
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