Lucie Grace

Last week we featured the people behind Chiang Mai’s burgeoning vinyl revival - but now we have you excited about the scene, how can you lock in and build your very own collection? Very easily in fact.  The city is awash with vinyl listening bars, cafes and restaurants awaiting you - some that let you select an LP, some that curate the experience and kindly ask you to keep your mitts to yourselves. Then of course there are the record stores holding the market together with boxes upon boxes of wax discs, many of which come with sound systems in situ and buckets of experienced enthusiasm. Here are our favourite vinyl spots in Chiang Mai.

Rain is once again falling on our heads and the temptation to stay indoors and hibernate is oh so strong. But if you don your best raincoat and fight the urge to hide away ‘til September, there’s still plenty of top tier things to do in Chiang Mai during rainy season.  Whether it’s staying active, indulging in some R&R, making something cool for your house or topping up your cultural cachet at film screenings – Chiang Mai is packed with a fun array of hobbies and activities to occupy your boredom in these wetter months. So ditch the Netflix subscription and check out our fave things to do in the city this rainy season instead.  

Whether you’re a Chiang Mai local or just passing through, finding a top tier yet well priced massage (okay, we mean cheap) is a Golden Fleece-level quest in this town. If you’re lucky enough to have the lowdown on where to get an excellent massage for under B300, you better hope your masseuse doesn’t move on, as the staff turnover struggle is real.  Luckily, the old city is home to such mythical treatments, right under our noses. There’s a handful of humble temple massage spots where skilled aunties – and sometimes uncles – offer hour-long Thai massage from as little as B150. And while they’re not the most glamorous spots on the wellness circuit, they each offer something special. Here’s a breakdown of our favourites. 

Chiang Mai’s premier vinyl listening bar has many moods. The eclectic LP collection of DJ Laurens and his artist partner and co-founder, Mum, is so vast that a night here could take you anywhere. Swing by on Thursday evenings for a chat over hip-hop, funk, indie and punk; Friday and Saturday nights for big beats and bigger dance moves; and Sunday afternoons for some down-tempo afro-jazz, reggae and a more mellow vibe. Keep your eyes on their insta page for guest DJs, specialist events like ‘tape night’ and some of our favourite regular parties in town. 36 Prapokklao Road. 7.30pm-midnight Thur-Sat. 2.30pm-6.30pm Sun.

Laid back cafe by day and cool cocktail bar by night, The Toys Club is a collectors’ heaven, packed full of retro games and consoles – mostly from Japan. Its owner DJ Bird’s vinyl collection we’re here for though. He recently moved his records from his former bar First Press, so expect lots of jazz, funk and city pop. He’s added hip-hop, house and more electro flavours to the shelves though (with a few select records you can buy), and hosts an eclectic lineup of travelling DJs that cover everything from funk to drum and bass. So any day you like, pull up a bar stool and come watch the DJs spin, almost every night.  46/1 San Pa Koi Road.  10am-midnight. Closed Mon. 

Jed Yot’s coolest cafe by a mile was founded by DJ and record collector Khun OG, who opened this coffee and vinyl hotspot way ahead of the curve, eight years ago. Two baristas diligently serve up dripped brews, made from their own CNX roasted beans, next to shelves of OG’s hip-hop, soul and funk LPs, which he pops in to spin most mornings. He also hosts guest DJs in the dinky cafe, where street art lines the walls and punters often spill out onto the street outside.  144/55 Yu Yen Road. Open daily 8am-5pm.

Just around the corner from Deaf Shop, this double decker for music lovers provides a two in one: Nuii Bar downstairs has an extensive food menu and solid selection of guest DJs (no turntables, just laptops) but if you potter up the wooden staircase of this lush traditional house conversion, Fung Record Bar is all analogue, all the time. Fung is more of a sit down and enjoy a Beatles-themed high-ball cocktail and a chat sort of place, but the speakers are good and the tunes rock. 46 Pra Pok Klao Road Soi 1. Open daily 6.30pm-midnight.  

Freshly opened two months ago, Khun Pik’s love of music is ingrained in the very DNA of this bistro, where ‘Food! Drink! Vinyl!’ is the slogan. He’s moved his big LP collection into the lounge, where the records are attended to by his diligent serving staff, who also wait on diners in the garden. It’s mostly juicy burgers on the menu, and there’s no rush turning tables, come and graze, drink, select records and be merry. ‘Bring your own vinyl next time’, Pik offers. We definitely will. 33 Samlarn Road. Open daily 6pm-midnight.

Opened back in early 2023, Khun Munee’s Suthep spot is half record store, half soundsystem. He’s installed the most incredible hifi set up where audiophiles can lean back on a sofa and listen along. He’s keen to inspire a new gen of young collectors, so often has local uni students hanging out for a listening sesh. He offers a few boxes of three LPs for B100 (mostly of Japanese finds) to get newbie collectors started, plus he sells many Thai and Western artists on vinyl and cassette.  40 Sanambin Kao 4 Alley. 11am-6pm. Closed Wed. 

Khun Ae has been selling records in the city for five years but opened this chic new outlet just two years ago on the second floor of boutique clothing store Lonewanderer, near the Ping River. Both secondhand and new releases are stocked across all genres - you’ll just as likely find rare bits here from the ’90s and ’00s as a brand new, purple wax Sabrina Carpenter LP. Ae has a small cafe and seating area in situ, where he brews a mean drip coffee so you can sit a while and enjoy the music while you dig. 62/6 Charoen Prathet Road. Open daily 2pm-7.30pm

Khun Wang opened Franc Haus on the second floor of the Nimman diner Potto in April 2023. His is a small but mighty record store with the biggest selection of new releases in town - Charli XCX fans rejoice - selling rock, pop, indie, rock and hip-hop by western artists, as well as stocking Thai and Japanese acts on the racks. There’s also pre-loved LPs up for grabs which you can listen to before you buy, using the in-house turn table which has the best slipmat we’ve ever seen, which reads‘NO VINYL, NO LIFE.’ Wang is also the vendor of a few pieces of local merch. Our personal favourite is a black baseball cap that reads ‘I’m not a DJ. I’m drunk.’ One for the heads. 2/F, 116 5 Siri Mangkalajarn Road. Open daily 11am-7pm.

On the corner of Wua Lai Road, as the name suggests, the store is Chiang Mai’s longest-serving record shop selling vinyl here for over 10 years. It’s also the city’s largest, with four long rows of hundreds and hundreds of carefully categorised LPs - a crate digger's delight. If you’re after Thai rarities though, check out the boxes on the floor to the left of the counter and don’t let the white sleeved releases deceive you – back in the day, records were sent to Thai radio stations in blank sleeves, so while they might not immediately strike you as the rare box, they’re absolutely the section to dig through if you’re mining for Thai bangers from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. The store also sells turntables and speakers if you’re in the market for a new set up. 1, 6 Wua Lai Road. 11am-6pm  

Leaning into the US thrift store aesthetic, this extremely cool little basement store, tucked away under Nimman’s buzzy Think Park, sells secondhand sneakers, clothes and records. It’s a small but well-curated selection. Be sure to dig through the ‘Clearance Sale’ box of LPs for B100, there are always some worthy finds within. Don’t be surprised if you see folks tagging the walls during your visit - the owners are street artists as well as vintage vendors. 165 Huay Kaew Road. 11am-8pm. Closed Mon. 

Yes, we all know about SFX Cinema (book that sofa seat at the back, lovebirds), but there's some excellent new arthouse cinema clubs to get busy with this drizzle season. Dude, Movie are a film screening collective who’ve been programming a diverse array of independent flicks at venues across the city; recently showing The Lost Princess (about the last princess of Chiang Mai, Chao Duang Duen) at Chiang Mai Cultural Centre and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (a Nan Goldin documentary) at Sapphic Riot. Their Facebook page is one to keep an eye on for all upcoming showings.  F.R.A.M.E Film Club has also been showing some sassy classics at Fellowship Cafe. Recent months have seen David Lynch’s Eraserhead and Mattieu Kassovitz’s La Haine both screened with post-film discussions hosted among engaged crowds. Come for the movies, stay for the chat and grab a bit of delicious Indian grub from their cafe at the same time. It’s about as snug as rainy season nights get. For read more link: https://www.facebook.com/framefilmclubcnx 

Now that you’re on a roll with the handmade home decor, pop along to ceramics sanctuary, Mitt Studio, another inner city spot protected from the rain. The bright airy space is very much indoors (aka dry) and an inviting place to spend a wet day thanks to the wide range of courses, workshops and sessions you can book. From classics like their weekly wheel class, to the boozier, twice weekly ‘sip and clay’; or the much loved matcha bowl workshop – there’s loads for beginners to get stuck into here. And if you’re clay-averse, come and paint a pot instead for B150. There’s a shelf of pre-fired pieces of different shapes, sizes and uses that you can decorate and take home with you. Prices for clay courses start from B850 plus the price of the homeware you choose. Mitt Studio. B150-B850. 21 Soi Ratchamanka 1. 9.30am-6.30pm. Closed Mon-Tues.  For read more link: https://www.facebook.com/mittstudio.cnx/ 

Arriving in a very sleepy Chiang Mai one bright November day in 2021, it was clear to this newcomer that I’d rocked up in a creative city, but perhaps one that was slowly stretching its limbs and coming out of hibernation.  Only a few live music venues had survived 2020, and any thoughts I had of record shopping or spinning were a distant, pre-pandemic memory. DJing and record collecting was something I’d left behind in Europe, surely not on the cards again in the near future. Oh how wrong I was.  Chiang Mai’s vinyl revival is now in full swing with seemingly unstoppable momentum. A vibrant community of devoted wax lovers have launched stores, listening bars, festivals and record labels – each one determined to put the city on the global map as a music destination. Through collaboration and commitment, it seems to be working.  Photograph: Deaf Shop Centrifugal to the scene, Deaf Shop is now a local institution for vinyl lovers. Opening their doors in May 2022, owner Mum Pimolpud came with years of working in Bangkok’s music industry and her partner Laurens Brouwer, DJ and founder of independent label Liquorish Records, came with a colossal record collection. Inspired by a trip to Japan, they decided to open their own listening bar, where customers now pour in for a drink, a dance and the chance to select an LP they want to hear, from the rows of racks that line one side of their venue. It was a brave move in a city that was still finding its feet. ‘No one was waiting for th