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Stroud record store named as one of the best in the world

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A Stroud record store has been named as one of the best in the world by the Financial Times.

Klang Tone Records, run by Sean Roe and his wife Ritsuko Hidaka, opened in Lansdown in September 2023 having previously been in London Road.

Klang Tone 6 | Stroud record store named as one of the best in the world

Sean told Stroud Times: “I was very surprised and, as you can imagine, honoured to be included – there are some great shops on the list including Honest Jon’s (in London) one of my favourite shops on the planet and one we have a working relationship with (they distribute Klang Tone Label releases). It’s something of a shock to be in the company of them as well as other brilliant shops like Superfly, Sounds of the Universe and Rough Trade.

“I heard the news by email on Wednesday – an urgent request for images of the shop front – with Financial Times HTSI Magazine – World’s Best Record Shops Klang Tone Stroud in the subject box.

R0025714 | Stroud record store named as one of the best in the world
Sean Roe

“I thought it was spam and only half believed it – But when I Googled it on Friday morning it proved to be true. We have worked incredibly hard building the business following my departure from Sound Records.

“It took a while to find a shop space. Our first home at 50A London Road was an interesting place – but not enough footfall to make it viable. When we found the space in Lansdown in September 2023, we realised we’d found a place we could really develop and expand our objectives. 

“Last year was about developing our brand with our son Akira working on designs for T-Shirts, tote bags and the record label design. Ritsuko’s eye for great design meant that we always have great window displays and though we’re a record shop primarily there is also room for her to display her 20th century modern design items – we now offer an amazing curated mix of art, craft and music under one roof. The response to our efforts has been amazing – we’ve had a steady increase in customers as more and more people explore Lansdown – which we see as a hub for the arts and music, with Lansdown Gallery at its centre.

Tezeta Seventh Place Cover | Stroud record store named as one of the best in the world
Screenshot

“This year we’re moving forward with the record label. We released Radiolarians in early 2024 which garnered some great reviews. In 2025 we have three releases pending – all of which are exciting and all very different. The first release of 2025 will be by Tezeta – they were an incredible Bristol-based group that performed a unique fusion of Ethiopian jazz and progressive rock. The band was led by Daniel Inzani whose solo career has really taken off following the release of his album Selected Worlds on Stroud’s own Hidden Notes label. Tezeta’s debut release Seventh Place had a limited release in 2016 on CD and it’s this superb recording that we will be reissuing on vinyl in the spring. We love its beguiling mix of styles – with some wonderful playing on it – and hope it reaches more people with this release.

Wooolheads publicityshot1 | Stroud record store named as one of the best in the world
Wooolheads

Our next big release is my own personal musical project with poet Uta Baldauf called Wooolheads – we worked with producer William J Stokes (of Voka Gentle) in his studio in Stroud for six months and have made a surprisingly poppy noir-electroclash classic (!) Its title is Can’t think about it all the time and it’s out in late spring early summer on vinyl, naturally. The third release later in the year will be a free jazz recording by Saxophonist Raymond MacDonald and Percussionist Christian Ferliano.

“So, our plans for the year are to continue pouring our energy into the shop, making improvements as we go along. We’ll continue to work closely with local festivals and events – we’re very excited to be part of Neo-Ancients, Jazz Stroud in May and Hidden Notes in September.

Rits Sean SuzanneCianni | Stroud record store named as one of the best in the world
Sean and Ritsuko (left) with Suzanne Cianni (headliner Hidden Notes September 24)

“We will continue to hold our small informal gigs, exhibitions and talks – Stroud has so many amazing creative people living here – we are immensely proud and happy to be working collaboratively with so many artists and musicians in Stroud. We love our place on the edge of town and we are lucky to have a steady flow of interesting records, tapes and CDs coming in every week, helping to make Klang Tone a browser’s paradise. I think the reviewer in the Financial Times article got it right when they said we are ‘well suited to finding discs you have never heard of and never knew you wanted’ – sounds like my kind of shop!”

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