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Brothers Jens and Mats Örnbrand have been running West Stockholm Record Store @brommarecords for 10 years supplying both locals and International customers with a well curated selection of records and other music related stuff.
If you happen to be in Stockholm, do not miss taking the tube to Abrahamsberg and give them a visit!
You guys just celebrated the 10 year anniversary of the store, could you tell us how it all started?
It started with us being emotionally broken and all worked out. So we had to make a life changing move. We already had a large collection of vinyl and a vision of how to build our own little shop. We'd been selling records on eBay, tradera & records fairs since the 1999/2000, so we knew what albums and titles people across the world were looking for.
We found the perfect spot in Abrahamsberg and didn't hesitate a bit when we signed the contract, and we have never, not even once regretted that.
In the beginning it was just me and Mr Swejazz (https://www.instagram.com/swejazzmarket_/) sitting inside the shop listening to music and drinking coffee. We bought and sold records and gradually the shop became more known to the collectors and so our stock grew. The rest is history.
You grew up in the first Swedish hip-hop wave in the eighties, could you tell us a bit of how the hip-hop scene was back then?
We grew up in Rinkeby which had quite a few early hip hop heads. Mark Splash, Brother Memo (a funk radio host pioneer), James Leman, Kenneth (Kenny Black), Jamal, Mano, The Magic Art Crew and a few more.
Between the years 84-86 we had these guys as role models and with time we became a bigger part of the movement ourselves.
As kids we jumped on the break dance & electric boogie craze for a good two or three years and later on we even took part in the graffiti game. We failed miserably though, as we couldn't dance well enough and we were absolutely terrible painters. But no matter our failure, there were a few jams organized with foreign acts that made a deep impression on all of us, especially the music and the rappers. Those experiences influenced us to start producing rap music.
Jens (Dj Needle J), my older brother and the owner of Bromma Records began scratching and producing rap music. Me (Mats), wrote rhymes for a good 10 years and loved to rap whenever I got the chance to.
We performed as youngsters at different spots in Stockholm and were definitely a part of the rap community, especially in the west side of Stockholm. But with time our musical influences grew and so did our record collection.
The Interest in especially vinyl but also other physical formats have boomed in recent years. Why do you think vinyl has made such a comeback?
Music on vinyl gives you comfort and helps you to relax, meditate and feel good. The modern way of life is fast and full of many choices we make in a blink of an eye without taking the time that's needed to make up our minds of what we really think/like/want.
To take your time going to a record shop choosing a record you like and to bring it home feels rewarding. Maybe you'll sit down later the same day and enjoy a glass of wine listening to the album to the fullest. No skipping through the play time, just listening from the beginning to the end.
We also believe that people always want to own what they like/love the most, and what could be more enjoyable than music?
In your opinion, What makes a great record store?
A wide range of different styles of music is the most important for us as diggers. We want to dig into the unknown to find something amazing. A turntable for the customers is preferable, so you're able to listen to the records.
The light in the shop should also be good enough for you to be able to check the visual condition.
If the staff is friendly and welcoming it's great of course, and if they can offer you a quantity discount it's even better.
You are opening a second location in the area dedicated to classical music (@https://www.instagram.com/brommasklassiska/), is that something you always been interested in and timing was right or was this something that came with age?
We've actually been selling classical albums for 20 years, even if black music is mainly our bag.
When we rented a second warehouse and got a small space that was perfect for a shop, we both wanted to do this before we even spoke about it. So in a sense it's a natural step for us to take. Maybe we could add the time perspective too, as we nowadays listen a lot more to music that helps us to relax our old bodies & minds.
Owning a record business means you see A LOT of records passing through the doors, could you give us a few tips of records that you love that might not be common to everyone?
Yes. Maybe around 10000 records are looked through every month. We keep about 1500 for our business, the rest of the records are not worth keeping in storage as the storage rent eats up the potential profit.
But when it comes to a few more unknown records we love to buy, we have The Young Disciples - Road to freedom, Fertile Ground - Seasons Change, Lars Lystedt Sextet - Jazz under the midnight sun, Christine Perfect - Self Titled, Thirld World (live) - Prisoner in the street, Santana - Borboletta, Salena Jones, Rhetta Hughes, Jb's, Fuzzy Haskins, Al Johnson...we could be mentioning hundreds more.
www.brommarecords.com
