Slow Boat Records (store)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Slow Boat Records by night. Photo by Cameron Burnell

Slow Boat Records is Wellington, New Zealand’s longest running independent new and second-hand record store. Situated at 183 Cuba Street in the vibrant and eclectic Te Aro area of the capitol’s downtown CBD, it has long been a favourite of the discerning music fan, as well as the odd celeb — The Beastie Boys, Radiohead, Oasis, Derrick Carter, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Foo Fighters and Chris Isaak have all shopped there, and Evan Dando seems to make it his first port of call on his frequent trips to NZ.

Slow Boat buys, sells and trades a wide array of CDs, vinyl LPs, 78s and 45s, tapes, videos, posters, and DVDs, and is owned by Dennis O’Brien, a New Zealand singer-songwriter/ musician. It has also hosted some memorable instore performances from some of New Zealand’s finest upcoming acts, including The Phoenix Foundation, The Brunettes, Connan & The Mockasins, Ghost Plane, Lawrence Arabia and South Park-featured singer Wing.

The store also sells online through Netsounds, GEMM, and MusicStack. This gives overseas collectors the opportunity to peruse their online stocks, and to trawl through the many rare and unique items gathered during the store’s 22-year plus history, including many signed and promo items. The website features the Slow Boat Essential 50 albums, O’Brien’s ‘Platter Chatter’ 45s rundown, the Slow Boat Inquisition (which asks celebrity customers an array of probing questions), and, curiously, a rugby blog.