Vinylogue

Vinyl Souk

By Thomas Hobbs / Photography by Max Gower 

“Maybe there’s this misconception that the United Arab Emirates as a region is a place only concerned with hosting big pop groups like disco) and music label marketer, Jayesh Veralkar.

“People subsequently believe there’s no diverse musical subcultures around here. This perception is really what we’re fighting to change.”

Veralkar, alongside his wife Serina Pinheiro, is the co-founder of Vinyl Souk, a fast-growing Dubai-based organization committed to cementing a grassroots scene for musical acts and record collectors across the UAE region. Established in April 2023, it combines vinyl fairs, curated events, live performances, new artist showcases, and educational initiatives, with an overall goal of helping local artists and musical fans kickstart their obsessions. It’s geared around eradicating the feeling you might have to move from Dubai to another country just to encounter a tangible music scene. 

Because we have such a wide range of nationalities creating music, it means there’s this real melting pot of sounds you just don’t get in other places.

Jayesh Veralkar

Before the pandemic Dubai only had a couple of record stores. However, the city (and by extension, Vinyl Souk itself) has benefitted from a consumer explosion during the post-COVID-19 years, with notable stores like The Flip Side, Raw Music Store, Retro House, The Source Distro, and Metal East now catering for those in hunt of rare wax. The boom is due to the rise of retro products, but also because of people wishing to continue the collections that they started as a distraction during the COVID-19 years. 

Setting Up Vinyl Souk

Veralkar (who previously worked for Dolby Laboratories) moved to Dubai back in 2013. Upon arrival, he quickly realized that things were pretty threadbare for music fans hoping to stock up on records or audiophile-grade equipment, with no obvious hub to foster buzzing musical communities.

In Wantlist

Sharayet El Disco (Egyptian Disco & Boogie Cassettes 1982-1992)

Disco Arabesquo

2022

World, Disco, Boogie

Vinyl, Compilation, Remastered

Shop Want

“There’s no pressing plant in Dubai,” he said. “I think artists in those early phases just naturally assume they have to move abroad to kickstart a career … It’s crazy, because a place like Dubai, which has 100s of different nationalities, is so, so diverse, all the way from the artists to the listeners. Only 10 percent of our population is people born here. It was very important, then to try to create something to bring all these different people together and connect them as one.”

Vinyl Souk has achieved this by hosting curated record fairs with help from artists like British DJ DJ Amir. The genre selections they have on offer are amplified by educational talks aiming to teach those in the UAE region more about musical genealogy, with Amir previously doing a talk about how techno is a Black genre, despite its roots often being white-washed by the mainstream.

“Our first event took place in April 2023,” Veralkar said. “A friend from Beirut, Sharayet El Disco — a compilation of Egyptian disco and boogie from 1982 to 1992. He played a cassette-only set at our vinyl marketplace and completely packed the dance floor at our after-party.

“We were ambitious in curating an event across two venues: one for families in the early evening and another for the party crowd with 11 hours of music. We didn’t know if we could sustain such a format, but it’s been two years now, and we’ve kept it going with purpose. By our third event, we had expanded from one record shop participating in our marketplace to five pop-up shops. We estimate over 500 guests attending our first three events and buying vinyl.”

Vinyl Souk has also screened educational films, including Rest is History: The Early Days of Drum and Bass, at their monthly free events, which are basically pop-ups at interchanging locations across the UAE region. “The educational part is a crucial component to the community and gives it more meaning,” said Veralker. “We want people to go away with a deeper appreciation for the roots of music. It’s about doing it in a more accessible and less formal way than maybe the traditional educational programs around music you might get at a college or school.” 

He continues: “When we screened the documentary, When God Said Give ‘Em Drum Machines, for example, maybe there were people in the crowd who still thought techno was only from and created by white musicians. Afterwards, they were under no illusion of how techno really started in Detroit and has always been this Black movement. We aim to teach but in a non-judgmental, fun way.”

Perhaps the biggest moment for Vinyl Souk so far has been its Vinyl Souk Mini Festival in November 2024. Split across five venues and curating 10 hours of music with only local talent, no internationals or headliners, along with film screenings, workshops, s, and performances from over 20 artists, it was the moment that cemented Vinyl Souk as a trusted name across the UAE region. 

People subsequently believe there’s no diverse musical subcultures around here. This perception is really what we’re fighting to change.

Jayesh Veralkar

“Our brand community is growing steadily with over 7,000 followers across social media, and we estimate over 3,000 attendees at our events to date,” said Veralkar. “There’s obviously a real demand for what we’re doing.” 

So far Vinyl Souk has hosted 26 events across the UAE, and there’s been workshops teaching budding musicians how to create remixes (hosted by musician Aroop Roy); master technology like Ableton Live 12, and perform live experimental DJ performances through sampling vinyl. Yet, it’s clear from speaking to Veralkar that his biggest ion is helping spark the journey of emerging artists from Dubai and its neighboring countries, so they can hopefully kickstart artist careers.

Vinyl Souk’s Independent Label Work

Progressing from live events to independent label work, Vinyl Souk has now put out a compilation called Adiga, a Sudanese band who mix traditional sounds with cutting edge funk. With each Made In Emirates release, we want to spotlight a different genre.”

---

In Wantlist

Made in the Emirates – Volume 1

Various

2024

Fusion, Psychedelic, Indie Pop

Vinyl, Compilation, Stereo

Shop Want

It’s clear these compilations are giving hope to independent artists who operate across the UAE region. “The Made In The Emirates compilation is more than just a record — it’s a statement,” said Shilpa Ananth, one of the artists featured. “It amplifies the voices of the UAE’s underground.”

Meanwhile. Ratish Chadha from the polyrhythmic jazz/rock group NOON, adds: “Never has anyone taken the initiative to showcase the world-class talent that exists in the UAE before. The vinyl releases immortalize a beautiful moment for local artists like us.” 

Vinyl Souk’s co-creator was set on the path of music from a young age, fully immersed in Indian and Pakistani indie music, name-checking artists like The Cairo Jazz Band, a record that showcased how the energy of Egyptian creatives and Pan African rebels was interlinked, that helped him to “truly understand” his adoptive home of the Middle East’s musical ingenuity. 

Veralkar is also a fan of the Palestinian collective 47 Soul, who have mixed dubstep with the traditional folk dances of Lebanese dabke to create a brand new genre: shamstep. “These are both examples that show the Middle East has been innovating musically for quite some time,” he said. “Especially around jazz and electronica.” 

The Future of Vinyl Souk

So, what next for Vinyl Souk? The long term goal is to find a permanent space and become profitable. Recent events have started to break even, while the goal is to get outside investment, with everything to date being self-funded, and therefore target bigger spaces.

“I would say the ultimate dream would be to have a multi-purpose space which could double down into a store, workshop, collaborative area, cafe, and then a night party,” said Veralkar. “We would love our own vinyl pressing plant too.”

Whatever the future holds, Veralkar is just proud that the Vinyl Souk movement has already created a ionate community and seems to be inspiring others to take action. “I visited Riyadh recently and a record shop owner there said he’d been inspired to create compilations of local Saudi artists due to the work Vinyl Souk was already doing,” he explains. “The hope is we can create this kind of trickle down effect.”

It all comes back to the start of the conversation, where he expressed fatigue around the stereotypes often thrown at places like Dubai. Eradicating them is Vinyl Souk’s primary goal. He concludes: “People just look at Dubai as a series of blingy resorts and pool side bars. It’s all about glitz and glamour, right? But there’s so much more to our music scene.”

“Because we have such a wide range of nationalities creating music, it means there’s this real melting pot of sounds you just don’t get in other places. If one person can go to a Vinyl Souk event and walk away with a cool vinyl as well as a greater awareness of how the UAE inspires such a gumbo of sounds, then I see that as a real success.”

Interested in reading more about the most influential players in vinyl culture? Check out our features with SRZ.

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