Record Store Profile: Tengu Records NSW
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Tengu Records NSW (Supplied)
What is your store called?
Tengu Records
Where are you located?
39 Enmore Road Newtown NSW.
Do you cater for a specific niche or genre?
We specialise in quality vintage pressings with a focus on Japanese pressings. We stock all genres and cover all price ranges (hundreds of $5 records but also a very large section of high-end, premium vintage pressings).
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Tell us about the people behind the scenes?
Tengu Records is owned by Billy Hagiwara and David Messer. Billy is David's son. We also employ Joe Wilks, who does a lot of our design work along with working behind the counter.
When and why did the store open?
The store opened in late February this year. After years of selling successfully online through social media and at record fairs, we decided the time was right to open a store.
What do your customers most know you for?
For opening until late and stocking unusual records they can't find elsewhere (ranging from funky 1970s Japanese crime and wrestling TV show soundtracks and a Beatles section large enough to include multiple pressing variants of all their albums). Also, everyone knows us for the huge Tengu statue we have in our shop window (a tengu is a mythical Japanese creature).
What is the most popular title you stock at the moment?
Any Japanese city pop, especially anything by Masayashi Takanaka.
What is the most popular evergreen title?
Either Fleetwood Mac Rumours or Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon.
What is the best thing about running a record store in 2025?
There are so many best things. For all of us, being able to listen to great records all day and get paid for it makes this the easiest of jobs. Meeting and talking to all our amazing customers is a big part of it too. Continually discovering new music (be it actually new or something unearthed from the past) is always fun and satisfying.
What is the hardest thing about running a record store in 2025?
The hardest thing is maintaining a consistent supply of quality vintage records. Because we source most of our records from overseas, we are dependent on international shipping, which can have unreliable timelines. Our challenge, which we believe we will soon achieve, is to build up enough stock to always have back-up inventory to cover any gaps in international shipping deliveries.
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