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Red Point Record Warehouse

If you're stopping over in Singapore and only have time to visit one record shop, your time will be well spent here. But make sure you leave plenty of time to catch your flight because you may have trouble dragging yourself away.


The Red Point Record Warehouse factory unit stuffed with records
The Red Point factory unit stuffed with records

Location

It seems a strange name for a retail shop - Record Warehouse - but, when you walk up to the old factory building which is home to Red Point Record Warehouse, it will seem somewhat appropriate. On entering the building, you will have the feeling you could open a door and find a mass of industrial equipment which has laid unused for 30 years. Instead of opening a door, take the passenger lift or service lift to the 6th floor, turn right down the corridor and look for the unit with an old red sliding door adorned with records. Leave your shoes at the door and go in.


You will probably be greeted by Mr Ong. He is the proprietor and, being a family affair, his wife or son may be accompanying him behind the counter.


What's In Stock

The stock is well segmented but the categories may not always be obvious so, if there is anything in particular you are looking for, just ask Mr Ong. Oh, and don't forget that artists are filed under their first name in Singapore so, if you're looking for Richard Clayderman, you need to look under 'R'. As you can see from the statistics, a large proportion of the stock is from Asia and the three native Singaporean ethnicities - Chinese, Indian and Malay - are well represented. Japan is also there and, although I haven't delved deeply into this area yet myself, I imagine you will also find items from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia.


As well as these ethnic groupings, you have the likes of jazz, rock, pop, classical and soundtracks. There are also several shelves of stuff that doesn't fit any of the usual categories - an instructional record for a Singapore typing school, field recordings from Tahiti, you know the kind of thing. For me, these are the most interesting corners of any record shop and I have been through it painstakingly, and will probably go through it again in case there is anything I've missed. As you will notice from the pictures, a lot of the stock is stored spine out which somehow adds to the feeling that you never know what you're going to find.


Also Of Interest

  • A particularly useful feature of the shop is the help-yourself listening post with dual turntables so you can check just how interesting those typewriters sound before committing to a purchase.

  • All stock is washed and most are clothed in a new outer sleeve and sometimes inner too.

  • If you are in for a long stay, you will be grateful for the bottled water in the fridge.

  • There is a large selection of audio equipment available which is displayed alongside some museum pieces like a pair of old cheque cancelling machines.

  • Mr Ong will be pleased to help you find whatever you are looking for but his specialism is old Chinese music and he will be particularly happy to help you in that area. He has had the shop for 18 years but clearly has been a music lover since his youth and he talked about the nostalgia of old records and the memories they bring back.

Summary

Whether you're in Singapore for a short time and want to take some local records back home, looking for something unusual or just want to escape the real world for a few hours, Red Point Record Warehouse is the place to come.










Blue dot shows actual location



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