Chiang Mai gets its first vinyl listening bar

Better known for its character, charm, and cooler temperatures just right for trekking (and tripping), Chiang Mai has never really been lauded for its music scene. But a community of music lovers exists within the movements of its subculture scenes and do what they can to cultivate a music community in Thailand’s second-largest city. Jai Thep, for example, has been grinding for several years, while Deaf Shop is the newest kid on the coming-up musical block.

Located in Chiang Mai’s rich old town, Deaf Shop is a listening bar and a record shop owned by Mum and Oomboi Lauw, a former Red Light Radio resident. While the city does have a few other places to dig for vinyl, when it comes to listening bars, Deaf Shop is the first to offer the kind of experience that roving audiophiles love to seek out in new cities.

“Deaf Shop is a small and cosy space offering guests an opportunity to actually listen to music,” the pair said to Mixmag Asia.

The vinyl scene is still small in Chiang Mai, they say, but it’s definitely active, and Mum and Oomboi Lauw believe that the city is undoubtedly ready for a proper listening bar that will bring a new experience to its dynamic, one where music reigns supreme.

“With Deaf Shop, we want to induce diversity to the city of Chiang Mai, seeing that a vinyl bar is one of the most intimate and social ways to discover new music in a collective setting.”

“By creating a common ground for music, culture and art, we tend to build a community for artists and vinyl enthusiasts in Chiang Mai.

The idea, they say, is quite simple: to hear more, say less.

On the concept, they drew inspiration from the Japanese bar culture that Oomboi Lauw discovered when he first landed in Asia from Amsterdam on tour in 2018. On the design tip, Oomboi Lauw and Mum drew it up themselves, combining their tastes to create a distinctive and unique atmosphere.

Deaf Shop’s humble collection is curated by Oomboi Lauw, who also runs Liquorish Records, and ranges from soul to jazz, reggae, funk and hip hop alongside global electronic music styles that run the gamut from the 60s to present times. They’re stocking anything from psychedelic rock to ambient, dub, EBM, techno, jungle, house, Gqom, footwork, and so on.

“The music being played is never static, never dwells on one genre for too long."

Follow Deaf Shop on Instagram here