Love Music Vinyl Cafe, Melaka: where book one found a home
I wasn’t exactly looking for a place to leave behind my book in Malaysia in all honesty. We were wandering round Melaka in the afternoon heat, and I heard music coming out of a doorway and it didn’t sound like the usual cafe Spotify playlist. We looked in the door and saw decks set up, a bar and a band set up. Then a “hello” and a “welcome” came our way… that’s how I found Love Music Vinyl Cafe.
Inside it was exactly what you’d hope. Crates of vinyl behind the decks, a turntable going, coffee, and the kind of quiet thoughtfulness you only get in places run by people who care more about the music than the footfall.
The owners
I got chatting to the owners pretty much straight away. That’s the thing about record shops/listening bars anywhere in the world. You don’t need an introduction, you just need to look at the stack of music for a bit too long. Before I knew it we were talking about music and life, and it felt a lot like a Saturday in an old school London record shop, although it certainly had better drinks on offer.
The DJ
One of the regulars came in too. A DJ, as it turned out, and we got on straight away. We ended up talking for ages about music, gear, the scene and sharing experiences. Two people from opposite ends of the world bonding over this shared language.
That’s what music does. I’ve spent a while teaching people to DJ at BAD Studios, and the thing I never tell them is that the music’s only half of it. The other half is the people it puts you in a room with. Turned out that theory worked well in Melaka too.
Leaving the book
I’d brought four copies of my book with me to leave somewhere across my travels. I’d pictured hostel shelves and random cafes. The first one went to a lovely vinyl cafe in Melaka, handed over to people who actually get what it’s about.
Why I travel
This is exactly the experience I love travelling. You can’t plan a conversation like that. You just have to be somewhere new and to walk through the right door at a good time.
If you’re ever in Melaka, go and find Love Music Vinyl Cafe. Have a drink, flick through the crates, and if you see a semi professional yellow book on the shelf, have a read 😉.
