Sound factory

Amid rubble, sawdust and the promise of a David Adjaye-designed interior, Stephen Godfroy is adamant that Rough Trade East is the space to snare the “dormant music shopper”. Compared to its thriving, if ramshackle forebear in Notting Hill, the newly opened space off Brick Lane’s curry paradise-cum-piss-artist enclave is, despite the last-minute carpentry, already a sleek showroom, where “girlfriends won’t want to wait outside.”

The site used to brew London’s Stella Artois franchise. So, short of being a Jack Daniel’s distillery, the space is as rock’n’roll as a spanking new record shop can be. Where mighty lager vats once stood now sits an impressively lofty mezzanine office, halfway between the stage and acoustic baffle boards on the stripped-out ceiling. When shop becomes venue, the record racks are wheeled away to allow up to 200 fans to go wild. With Rough Trade’s impeccable indie pedigree it’s no surprise that Godfroy is bashful as he admits, “Well, there’s no shortage of A-list bands who want to play.”

The heart of the enterprise is the racks of CDs and vinyl, edited selections of the hottest releases with handwritten descriptions of records that read like wine-tasters’ eulogies to fine vintages. It’s little wonder the original small shop opened by Geoff Travis in 1976, and which became the label that signed the Smiths, is often a career rather than a summer job for its “till jockeys”.
Truman Brewery, Dray Walk, London E1
+ 44 20 7392 7788
roughtrade.com

Rough Trade’s top 10 bestsellers

1.
Eugene McGuinness
The Early Learnings of Eugene McGuinness

2.
Mia
Kala

3.
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend

4.
Richard Hawley
Lady’s Bridge

5.
Various
Eccentric Soul: The Prix Label

6.
Tunng
Good Arrows

7.
Arthur & Yu
In Camera

8.
Kate Nash
Kate Nash

9.
King Creosote
Bombshell

10.
Various
Kompakt 8