From Queen to Eraserheads: Rare finds sold at One Stop Record Fair

MANILA, Philippines — The recent “One Stop Record Fair 2023” held at Estancia Mall in Pasig City saw music and art coming together in one event.

More than 30 merchants turned out at the vinyl, audio equipment and artworks fair, as they gathered together a treasure trove of vinyl items for audiophiles and art lovers.

Audiophiles found joy digging through crates and piles of vinyl, compact discs (CDs) and cassette tapes to find rare items they have been wanting to have for years — and at discounted prices, too. From classic rock to pop, music from the 1960s to 2020s, collectors’ items kept popping up from stall to stall, thus keeping audiophiles happy while busily acquiring more "treasures" at the fair.

They 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."

Also up for sale at a much lower cost were turntables, speakers and other audio gear, thus 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, organizer of the fair.

Actress Yayo Aguila with "One Stop Record Fair" head Sari Osorio

Among the record sellers were Sounds Inc., Lennox Records, Vinylhead Records, Manila Vinyl, New Vintage Culture, Mamsy Records and Kapitan Plaka. Event sponsors Audio Technica, Intune Pro Music Center, Skull Records and Gadhouse also had booths selling audio gear.

Seasoned actress Yayo Aguila was one of the merchants in the event. She represented Tambai Records, where she is a business partner. The company sold vinyl and audio equipment.

Being in the music business, Yayo expressed how thankful she is for events like “One Stop Record Fair” for giving exposure and bringing together records and audio gear sellers with music lovers everywhere. With their physical store located in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, Tambai Records gets to expand its reach to customers only during such events.

“Sana, sa susunod, every weekend, Saturday and Sunday, na ang event na ‘to,” the actress said.

Join the Club band performing before a crowd

Since “One Stop Record Fair” cleverly combines vinyl and art, local artists also got to showcase and sell 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 until night, there was no dead air as the crowd rocked along to music performances from bands, including Fugu Musk, a punk rock band; ‘90s rock band Thy Holy Water and Join the Club, who performed their greatest hits, "Lunes" and "Nobela."

The band members of Join the Club, for one, admitted that they grew up in the era of analog, collecting physical copies of the records of their favorite singers and bands like The Beatles and Eraserheads.

“'Yung sense of possession, gusto ko talaga,” 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, and I will continue to do so," Osorio said.

The next leg of “One Stop Record Fair” will be held in December.

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