Picture courtesy of Barry Walsh
By Niamh Gunning
Back in December 2009, it was announced that Cork’s much-loved Plugd Records would be closing before the end of that year. The news was met with varying degrees of anger and sadness, as Corkonians wondered where they would now go for their dose of vinyl, CDs and music-related chat. For eight years, Plugd had been the epicentre of the Cork music scene, and seeing its doors on Washington Street close for the last time was both heart-breaking and worrying for artists, promoters and music fans alike.
Since then, Plugd has sold gig tickets from their old office, taken up residence alongside the Triskel Arts Centre in the ESB substation, and sold records while enjoying pints in the Réalt Dearg pub, before opening on Saturday in their new permanent premises on Tobin Street. Fittingly, Saturday was also Record Store Day, an annual celebration of independent record stores worldwide.
Saturday was launch day for the new Triskel cultural hub, which now includes an art gallery, theatre production company, Plugd and Gulpd, a café run by Plugd. The premises on Tobin Street which houses Plugd and Gulpd is now, after a period of renovation, connected to the 18th century Christchurch building behind it. I have no other word to describe the whole place apart from beautiful. On Saturday, sunlight streamed in through the large glass windows as people milled around sipping on glasses of wine. I’m no expert on architecture, but the old and new have been seamlessly joined together creating a space that fulfils the cultural needs of the city.
The focal point of the day for me was Plugd. It was fantastic to be able to walk into the record store once again, see so many familiar faces and enjoy that unique Plugd atmosphere. There were plenty of customers hanging around, leaning against the CD racks having a chat. Records were played from behind the counter until local electronic producer Toby Kaar came along in the afternoon and started his live set. Armed with his laptop, midi interface, monome and keytar, he entertained everyone in the room, who ranged in age from four to eighty and everywhere in between. So far, Toby has drawn comparisons to Four Tet, Mount Kimbie and Caribou among others, but it’s difficult to categorise his innovative and varied style of music. Between his own original tracks which showcase his immense musical talent, and superb remixes of Sacred Animals, Nouveaunoise and Ten Past Seven, Toby is a force to be reckoned with on the Cork music scene. Listening to tracks on his Soundcloud is always enjoyable, but nothing compares to the energy and excitement of his live sets. Check him out..
Away from the excitement upstairs in the shop, Gulpd too was busy all day long, serving coffees, vegan cakes, soup and sandwiches, and I think I spotted a few bottles of wine behind the counter too. Plugd was always fantastic, but having a cafe adds an extra dimension to the sense of community that I’ve always associated with the place. We can’t avoid the fact that record stores are struggling to survive, but it’s heartening to see that here in Cork, Jim and Albert, the duo behind Plugd Records, are coming up with ways of adapting in this digital age. Record stores like Plugd make music real. While many people today are happy with a file on their hard drive, there are others who revel in browsing through records for an hour or two, discovering new artists and chatting with fellow customers about their latest purchases and the gigs that are on around town. It’s easy to be pessimistic, but this weekend Plugd looked fantastic, the vibes were nice, the choons good and the people fabulous. To me, the future looks bright.
