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Khaleej Times

Dubai is seeing a vinyl revival. Here's where you can get your records

In a world dominated by digital playlists, vinyl records seem like an unlikely comeback story. Yet walk into The Flip Side — a beloved independent record store tucked away in Dubai's art district — and you'll quickly understand why the format endures. The warm crackle, the weight of the disc, the joy of searching through the crates. Vinyl isn't just about music. It's about experience, ownership, and a more human connection to sound. Shadi Megallaa, founder of The Flip Side, says he has seen a steady increase in people buying vinyl. 'What I find tricky is figuring out what's causing this,' he adds. Unlike other global cities, Dubai's constantly shifting population — fuelled by expats, tourists, and transplants — means the store's customer base is as eclectic as its stock. 'We have regulars who've been with us since day one, but also lots of newcomers and tourists.' What unites them? 'They're all music lovers. That's what they have in common,' Megallaa says. 'Personally, I don't see or hear genres. In the end, it's music. You either like it or you don't. I do wish that people would focus less on genres and keep a more open mind when it comes to music.' That fluidity of taste is mirrored in the challenges of stocking the store. 'The toughest thing for us is figuring out which genre section to put certain records in. Over time, artists have taken inspiration from so many genres and created something entirely new.' For Megallaa, vinyl's appeal lies in its physicality and permanence. 'Nothing comes close to the sound quality vinyl provides. Digital music sounds sterile and cold to me — it lacks depth and emotion.' But, perhaps, most importantly, he says: 'It's the act of collecting. It is ownership. You can be subscribed to all the digital outlets today, but you still don't own the music. If the Internet disappeared overnight, I'd still have my records and memories of collecting these records.' The digger's high For 10-year vinyl enthusiast Almohannad Albastaki, who DJs and collects records across genres, vinyl represents something deeply personal. 'It's the act of digging, first and foremost,' he says. 'Going to a physical store, pulling records from crates, listening to them — I find such peace and joy in it. I could do this three hours straight without stopping.' His current collection sits at over 300 records, though that number has likely grown. 'I've been collecting more aggressively ever since I started getting gigs playing vinyl,' he says. Most of Albastaki's collection comes from his travels — what he calls 'vinyl tourism'. On his last trip to London, he came back with 60 records, and has bought from stores in Japan, Australia, the UK, Thailand, and the Netherlands to name a few. 'If I were to point at something, I feel there is an aspect of ownership that comes into play. Music streaming took that away from us. So, to truly own a piece of music (something that someone created) and have it physically present is highly intimate. It's like owning a work of art. One can appreciate its beauty in person rather than through a screen.' Albastaki describes the thrill of discovering music that exists solely on wax. 'Sometimes, I find music that can't be found anywhere else — lost to the music ether, so to speak. It's special. Often, I can't even tell you the artist or song name. It's a white label with no info, and Shazam [app] can't identify it. That exclusivity makes it even more valuable to me.' His advice for the uninitiated? 'Go to a record shop, take out a random record from a genre you've never heard of before. Take out a record from the used section. Take out something that just looks fun and exciting to you. Listen to those records. Don't even think about looking for music you already know. Chat to the dude behind the counter. Listen some more.' A global hunt For brothers and art collectors Kwame and Kobi Mintah, vinyl has long been an extension of their global worldview. As co-founders of Dubai's contemporary Efie Gallery, they began collecting with a 2014 reissue from Ghanaian legend Ebo Taylor. What started as a casual hobby evolved into a mission: to curate a discerning collection of original pressings from around the world. 'An interesting part of vinyl collecting,' Kwame says, 'is that often the record you paid the most for isn't necessarily the most expensive one you own.' He recalls winning a blind auction for a record he believed was designed by artist Antony Gormley. 'It was only after I won I learned that the designer had just taken an image of one of Gormley's works. Ironically, the actual record designed by Antony Gormley sold later in the auction for 1/50th of the price I paid.' An interesting part of vinyl collecting is that often the record you paid the most for isn't necessarily the most expensive one you own" Kwame Mintah The brothers' collection spans over 2,000 vinyl and shellac records, dating from the 1940s to the present day. 'We buy records everywhere we travel,' Kwame says. 'Accra, Riyadh, Sharjah, Venice, London, Basel, Dubai, Hong Kong.' What draws them to the format? 'The tactility of the medium. There's a sense of ownership that comes with collecting records that doesn't translate to digital platforms. The feeling of adding a record to your collection versus adding a song to your playlist is night and day.' He believes this desire for depth and meaning is fuelling the vinyl revival. 'The act of selecting a record, removing it from its sleeve, lowering the stylus — these are gestures of reverence, inviting a slower and more profound form of listening that people seek in today's busy world.' The DJ's domain What Dubai-based DJ eLo values most is the immersive quality of the format. 'The quality of sound, the ability to get physical with music while DJing, the ethereal nature of it and how you can get lost in your own world of exploration,' he says. eLo, whose real name is Adil Elaouad, exclusively shops at The Flip Side and Vinyl Underground in the UK, drawn to curators who take pride in their selections. 'There's an art to curation. Shadi does that brilliantly. Every record in his store feels handpicked with love.' For eLo, who as DJ residencies at HoneyComb HiFi and LuLu & the Beanstalk, vinyl is all about quality over quantity. 'With the rise of audiophile sound systems, what you feed into them matters more than ever. Vinyl gets the best out of your systems and more importantly, the dance.' The future spins on While the numbers tell a compelling story — vinyl sales have outpaced CDs globally in recent years — the heart of the format's revival lies in emotion, memory, and ownership. Each collector, DJ, and enthusiast in Dubai's tight-knit vinyl scene describes a deeply personal connection to their records. Whether it's the thrill of discovering a forgotten gem in a used bin or the comfort of a familiar album, vinyl provides something that Spotify never could: a relationship. So the next time you walk past a dusty-looking record store, step in. Flip through the crates. Pull out something unexpected. Lower the needle. You might just become addicted too.