For Morgan Labrecque, listening to electronic music on vinyl is comparable to enjoying a slice of chocolate cake.
“It’s rich, delicious, it’s enjoyable – it’s the best,” said Labrecque, whose passion for music extends into a variety of genres, preferably pressed into a platter and placed inside a cardboard jacket.
Located in Salmon Arm’s Westgate Public Market is Labrecque’s newly opened record store, The Vinyl Vault, where people are welcome to stop in and let their fingers flip through the many iconic covers in her album inventory.
“Listening to music on the radio or your phone, it’s OK, but listening to it on vinyl, you get to experience your favourite songs through a whole different realm,” said Labrecque, extolling the virtues of vinyl.
By comparison, MP3 files, she explained, are lossy (compressed), meaning the quality of the music is sacrificed for a smaller file size.
“With vinyl, it’s literally physical grooves that are making the music and there’s nothing more pure than that.”
A graphic designer, DJ and self-proclaimed “car nut,” Labrecque said she sold some of the vehicles in her collection to help get The Vinyl Vault up and running.
In addition to records, she has CDs available as well as stickers (some of her own design). Labrecque also plans to carry record players, and hopes to one day be able to move into a larger commercial space.
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“I’ve always wanted to have a record store, I’ve always really enjoyed being in record stores, they make me feel so happy – whatever is going on in my life at that time, I can go into a record store and all the difficult things going on in my mind just walk away,” said Labrecque.
“Salmon Arm doesn’t really have anywhere to buy records and I wanted to bring that here and create that feeling as well when you walk in. It’s just you and the music.”
The Vinyl Vault’s current premium inventory consists of previously enjoyed records either from Labrecque’s own collection, or that she has sourced, checked and made sure will offer a rewarding listening experience.
There’s also a bargain section for less discerning buyers. Labrecque said she will also be ordering new records for the shop.
For those who want to get into, or back into, listening to records, Labrecque is also ready to help people find the right listening set-up.
“I can get people started really affordably with a good-quality turntable and speakers… You can have a really great vinyl set up that doesn’t take up very much room at all,” said Labrecque.
For more information, visit The Vinyl Vault page on Facebook.
