There’s a showcase hanging on the wall inside Dischivolanti record store. There are tiny colored sheets of paper in it. Those are tickets to some of the many gigs Caterina Guida attended in her lifetime. Names like David Bowie, Dinosaur Jr. and Bob Dylan stand out. That wall portrays a kind of dedication to music that goes far beyond the mere act of listening. It embodies the same passion that led Caterina to found Dischivolanti in 1998.
The comeback of vynil records
Despite her being called “the actual boss”, we met the second half of the ownership, Caterina’s husband, Ferruccio, who has been by her side running the shop since the day they met. «My wife always had a strong passion for music, so making a job out of it was kind of natural to her» he says, «as for me, I also was a collector, but I was more into comic books».
Placed in Milan, right in front of the Naviglio in via Ripa di Porta Ticinese 47, Dischivolanti has become a staple in music enthusiasts’ shopping plans. In the last few years, this was amplified by vinyl records becoming a huge trend again, especially after the COVID 19 pandemic. «Young boys and girls come in, they ask for Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Kanye West. Nowadays we sell stuff by those artists even more than Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin» Ferruccio states. According to him, it’s not that convenient for major labels to produce vinyl records, but the demand is so high that they are sort of obliged to do it. «It is also a way to keep the market alive, since the prices of new releases have been skyrocketing recently».
A varied offer
Dischivolanti sells second hand records as well as new editions. One may imagine that places like this are just niche gathering spots for collectors who are looking for some rare stuff. As Ferruccio told us, though, it is not a one-way trend and the client base is quite varied. «Young people might come in and buy a reissue at 30 euros just to listen to it. Collectors, on the other hand, will go straight for some 900 euro first edition and keep it as a relic».
Such a segmented demand requires an adequate offer. That’s why Dischivolanti’s catalogue ranges from 60’s and 70’s classic rock to the most recent Trap and Hip Hop scene. There are sections dedicated to 80’s new wave as well as areas where Jazz, R&B and movie soundtracks can be found. The most interesting one is the little wooden box containing Industrial Music records; usually, finding a Current 93 album is not that easy. «The other day we took part in the Novegro vinyl exhibition. We were the youngest among more than 50 stores, 90% of the music the others sold didn’t go past the 1980’s».
The ritual of listening
What one learns from listening to a vinyl is that experiencing music is not just a matter of audio quality. The listener must perform the same ritual every time. Get it out of the sleeve, put it on the record player and clean it. Then spin it and enjoy the music, but be ready to turn it the other way round after 15 minutes. According to Ferruccio «that’s where the real quality resides, in the fact that you actually have to listen. You can’t do anything else in the meanwhile ».
People still go to him and ask him where they can buy a record player, or how to repair an old one. It doesn’t feel like this newfound love for vinyl is going to fade away soon. At the end of the day it is one of the few ways left to keep culture physical in a world that’s becoming more and more untouchable.
