Bigger, better One Stop Record Fair features vinyl and art

One Stop Record Fair headed by Sari Osorio and booth merchants recently at Estancia Mall, Pasig City.

The One Stop Record Fair 2023 brought together music and art in one event for audiophiles and art lovers. The country’s best and biggest vinyl, audio equipment, and artworks were curated by more than 30 merchants gathered at the fair held at Estancia Mall in Pasig City last recenty.

From classic rock to pop, music from the ’60s to 2020s, audiophiles dug through crates and piles of vinyl, CDs, and cassette tapes, scoring their “treasures” at a discounted price. Audiophiles were able to purchase interesting titles such as New Order Substance, Sybil Greatest Hits, Eraserheads Circus, Voltes V, Workshy, Queen The Platinum Collection, Julia Fordham, RSD Folklore Taylor Swift, 2Pac, Cocteau Twins Treasure (Japan pressing with OBI), Tatsuro Yamashita Spacy, Taylor Swift Speak Now, UDD Capacities, The Smiths 12″ Single That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore, and The Wild Swan.

Turntables, speakers, and other audio gear were also at a much lower cost, allowing first-timers and collectors to take their vinyl for a spin. “We strive to bring in more merchants to provide more options for our visitors,” said Sari Osorio, the organizer of the fair. Among the record sellers are Sounds Inc. ,Lennox Records, Vinylhead Records, Manila Vinyl, New Vintage Culture, Mamsy Records Kapitan Plaka, and more. The event was sponsored by Audio Technica, Intune Pro Music Center, Skull Records and Gadhouse, who also had booths selling audio gear.

Seasoned actress Yayo Aguila is one of the merchants in the event from Tambai Records, where she is currently a business partner selling vinyl and audio equipment. Getting into the world of the music business, Yayo said she’s thankful for events like One Stop Record Fair for giving exposure and bringing together records and audio gear sellers to music lovers since their physical store is located in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. “Sana sa susunod, every weekend, Saturday and Sunday, na yung event na ‘to,” Yayo said.

Cleverly combining vinyl and art, local artists also showcased and sold their own prints, stickers, zines, and other original artworks at the event, such as Artcee x Fravald, Introvert Films x 35mmbyEL, DibuhoLabs x Datu Designs and Manila Ukiyo-E among others. From morning till night, there was no dead air as the crowd rocked along to music performances from the bands Fugu Musk, a punk rock band; 90s rock band Thy Holy Water; and Join the Club, who performed their greatest hits, “Lunes” and “Nobela.”

Stopping for a quick interview, the band members of Join the Club admitted they grew up in the era of analog collecting physical copies of their favorite singers and bands like The Beatles and Eraserheads. “Yung sense of possession, gusto ko talaga eh,” said lead vocalist Biboy Renia. DJ sets of Carlo Tayag, DJ Wilson, DJ Omeng, and DJ Cris Merto also set the mood at the event, mixing music from various decades and bringing much nostalgia to the crowd.

“The recent One Stop Record Fair featured rare finds and more vinyl titles that really piqued the interest of the crowd. It is my advocacy to bring all the record enthusiasts and art collectors together in one fair,” Osorio mused. The next leg of the One Stop Record Fair will be in December 2023.