After several years of trials and hardships record enthusiasts are getting more and more shops to visit. The reason? People – mostly younger ones – are buying record players and records, especially LPs, again. One who has now decided to try his hands at managing a record shop is Matt Downs from LionVibes, a label as well as an online record shop that has now expanded its operations to a physical store.

Matt Downs has previously put out several scorchers on his label, including Fantan Mojah's monumental Rastafari is the Ruler, and his newly opened record shop in Brixton, London, UK, will focus on "the world of reggae" and stocking strictly vinyl.

"I decided to open a record shop because more and more people are buying record players. And last year people bought more record players than any years since the 80s. Moreover, we had the opportunity to locate out business in Alton Ellis old shop in Brixton. How could we not take it," laughs Matt Downs.

According to Matt Downs a shop is the ideal way to bring a new, young audience to reggae, while the website is more focused on collectors of 60s and 70s reggae.

"We were packed over the first weekend. Teenagers buying, old people buying. We had all ages and demographics. It was a lot of fun," concludes Matt Downs.