The Vinyl Hunt: Plaka Express

The Vinyl Hunt: Plaka Express

by rick olivares

Going to Plaka Express in the Project 6 area of Quezon City reminds me of my younger days. Back to “the Hunt.” You know it’s off the usual commercial areas, but you know you have to definitely go.

If you were a music fan back in the 1970s and 1980s, then you know all about the thrill of “the Hunt” for good music. The hunt was part of the thrill as sometimes, there was a scarcity to certain releases. The hunt also took one to far places. Unlikely places such as Raon (especially for bootlegs), Kamuning (for vintage releases at that old Phoenix shop), and Odyssey Greenhills (for records that you can only dream about having but were too pricey). There were unlikely shops that also sold vinyl such as Christhareth, that comic book store at the old Manila Bank Arcade in Greenhills. The proprietor, Jun Miguel, was the first to sell imports from U2 (he was the first to carry the War album), Metallica, Stiff Little Fingers, the Jam, and other really hard to find records. 

Of course, with independent stores having access to new records as well as second-hand ones, it’s a highly competitive market. Price, is a concern too. As are perks.

Why do I love going to Plaka Express?

Other shops carry the more popular releases with a few indie ones. Here you’ll find a lot of metal titles that outside the underground distros, you will not find. They have the best selection of Record Store Day releases. They sell band merch from shirts to back-packs. And there are a lot of compact discs! 

They also offer discounts on certain releases such as when Fra Lippo Lippi’s Golden Slumbers came out. They offered the record at a door busting deal of P1,500 discount (with the record using fetching a price of P2,200! 

Said the Plaka Express owner, Eduardo Cabral who is based in New York, “Man, I think I must have sold about a hundred copies of Fra Lippo Lippi (including the popular old albums) since we opened shop. The same for Mike Francis. Mga popular artists back in the 1980s.”

Another popular artist and release that was very popular, however, in the mid-1990s, is Claire Marlo in the shop was the trove of Claire Marlo Let It Go compact discs that they sold to fans. 

If there are titles that aren’t readily available, Plaka Express, the first to locally operate an active online retail store, also offers exclusive orders with parcels arriving within 7-10 days upon purchase.

Added Cabral, “2018 was our biggest year. There were a lot of new faces and younger customers in 2018. The most in demand records are classic rock albums from Queen, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and others from that era. For pop acts, the best sellers remain the Carpenters, the Bee Gees, and Abba. Most of our buyers are millennials who also buy the old stuff.”

With Record Store Day coming up, you can bet fans will be hunting down those precious few releases of their favorite recording artists. And in Manila, this is the best place to get them.

CHECK OUT PLAKA EXPRESS ON FACEBOOK FOR NEW DETAILS AND DIRECTIONS.