Record Room in Bengaluru Gives Vinyl Culture a New Home

Self-styled as a craft beer and vinyl bar, partner Karthik Chandrasekaran talks about plans with the space

- ANGIE MARTOCCIO

LOCATED ON MAGRATH Road close to Bengaluru's central haunt, M.G. Road - Record Room is designed like many other modern pubs, with one big difference; past the island bar and a few tables is a DJ station and two other turntables with headphones and amplifiers around them. On both floors of the space, vinyl records - at least 200 LPs are the mainstay in almost every direction you look.

Record Room which opened earlier this year doesn't lean on usual music cliches in terms of design, because it perhaps knows just how serious the regular vinyl collector is. Whether inducted into the LP collection craze recently or in the game for decades, the unhurried yet excited look on collectors' face is reflected in the comfy ambience of Record Room.

Then again, it can easily become a party hub, given that they've begun hosting events such as Friday Night Flips, Vinyl Jukebox and My Handpicked Mix to get people to go beyond crate-digging and celebrate their favorite music. It's a welcome distinction that Record Room can claim, at a time when most pubs and bars will stick in a resident DJ without much thought going into curating music that will create a persona for the space.