CRACKLE, POPS & VINYL DROPS
VINYL IS MAGIC. You pick up an artwork. You pull pressed wax from a sleeve. You gently lower the arm of the record player. You wait for the crackle and pop as the needle meets the music. Friday Vinyl Knockoffs and a monthly Pop-Up Shop at Epilogue Lounge in Mparntwe/Alice Springs summon this magic.
WORDS ROSIE WILD
Friday Vinyl Knockoffs are held downstairs at Epi – from the first thrum of the needle in the five o’clock sun, through dinnertime and into the rhythms of the night, grab a drink, unwind with friends and let your worries drop, like a needle in the groove.
On the last Sunday of the month, the same spot hosts a Pop-Up Record Shop, where you can sift through nearly 1,000 records to procure your own wonderful wax-pressed finds. These events are curated by DJ Brother Moonbug, aka Ollie, with guest spots by Jacksen. Ollie has a decades-long obsession with record-collecting.
“I just love records. I’m addicted to records. I dream of records. I wake up thinking about them,” he says.
This love-affair with vinyl gives Ollie commitment. He’s spent years hauling crates of crowd-pleasers and rare finds to events he creates for the community. From stalls with Grim Tilla, countless wax-spinning sessions, and the iconic Wide Open Space Festival Pool Party – with Kyran as Cutlery DJs – Ollie brings a big history and deep catalogue to this world of wax.
In the monthly Pop-Up Shop, you can explore this catalogue’s breadth. Psych-rock, jazz, blues, disco, house, techno, soundtracks, compilations, hip-hop, country, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s – this shop’s got the lot. As for Vinyl Fridays, Ollie uses his decades of experience to carry a chatting crowd on an auditory adventure into the night. It kicks off with reggae.
“Because it makes people happy,” he says.
He moves into the fat horn sections and smooth harmonies of funk and soul, then brings in the starlight with the beats of house. The collection pulses with percussion and polyrhythms. The sounds spill from well-known classics and long-awaited re-presses. The whole thing’s a vibe.
“Deejaying records requires a whole other level of listening. It’s adjusting the EQ for the room on the fly. It’s intricate timing to sync tracks. You have to be really present to the music and to the people in the room. And the sound … It’s a sensation,” says Ollie.
There truly is nothing like it. When it’s time for the week to melt away, why not head to Vinyl Fridays where the magic of music, the warmth of vinyl, and the cheer of a cheeky cocktail combine? Or turn up on a last Sunday, and maybe you’ll take home your very own wax-pressed magic.
Friday Vinyl Knockoffs
WHEN EVERY FRI | 5PM
Pop-Up Shop
WHEN SUN 31 AUG | 8AM-1PM
AT EPILOGUE LOUNGE
INFO instagram.com/ brothermoonbug
instagram.com/ cutlery_djs
epiloguelounge.com.au
Image: Rosie Wild
