#2: Amy Winehouse at 20, Chess on QRP, and hip-hop on wax

Gear pick

Rega Replay

A plug-and-play beginner deck, announced by Rega on Sep 23, 2026. It comes with the Carbon MM cartridge and RB110 arm fitted, weighs 2.2 kg and is belt-driven. We haven't found a US price yet.

Also new: Audiolab PPA7: Audiolab's first standalone phono stage in nearly 20 years pairs a phono preamp with a headphone amp, Bluetooth and USB recording, per What Hi-Fi. What Hi-Fi: PPA7

Source: Rega · What Hi-Fi · Audio T (£259.00)

Vinyl story · People & culture

Brian Eno revives Opal

Brian Eno has relaunched his Opal label. Its first releases, out Oct 16, are reissues of Another Day on Earth (2005) and Drawn From Life (2001, with J. Peter Schwalm), each with a bonus track, on CD and vinyl. New releases are planned.

Source: Uncut · NME

Also out this week

• Dire Straits, On Every Street 35th, National Album Day 2LP (UK, out Oct 17): "2x half-speed mastered 180g black vinyl… overseen by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios." £35.99.
  Rock
• Billy Ocean, Love Zone 40th, National Album Day (UK, out Oct 17): violet transparent 1LP, £23.99, available again at Jacaranda Records (retailer). (pressing details not yet confirmed)
  PopSoul, Funk & R&B
• Tears for Fears, The Seeds of Love reissues (out Oct 16–17): deluxe blue 2LP £39.99; Steven Wilson mix LP £29.99 (new, first time on vinyl; $39.98 on the US band store); half-speed National Album Day LP £29.99. (pressing details not yet confirmed) EMI: Steven Wilson mix · EMI: half-speed · US band store
  Pop
• Orchestra Baobab, Made in Senegal: Strut released Orchestra Baobab's Made in Senegal on Oct 23 on vinyl LP and CD, plus a Strut-exclusive expanded 2LP. The Dakar band formed more than 50 years ago as the resident group at the Baobab Club, blending Afro-Cuban rhythms, Wolof griot traditions, mbalax, Congolese rumba and jazz. Strut store: exclusive 2LP £34.95, 1LP £28.95. (pressing details not yet confirmed)
  World & Global

Quick news

• RSD: RSD Black Friday is Friday, Nov 27, and the US list is out. Record Store Day's official Special Releases page lists the Nov 27 titles, including Miles Davis's Copenhagen Live 1969 and Norah Jones. Record Store Day (US) · RSD UK list
• RSD: Norah Jones puts Playing Along, Vol. 2 on transparent red vinyl for RSD Black Friday (EMI, Nov 27). It captures performances from the second season of her podcast, including duets with Joshua Homme, María Zardoya (of The Marías), Josh Groban and Jason Isbell, per RSD UK. RSD UK
• RSD: RSD Unsigned is back: one unsigned UK act wins a 500-copy vinyl pressing sold through indie shops (RSD UK with Breed Media). Entries (a video of original music under three minutes, tagged #RSDUnsigned) opened Oct 8 and close Nov 24. RSD UK · Music Week
• Industry: UK vinyl keeps growing. Q3 2026 vinyl sales were 1,675,311 units, up 8.8% year on year; year to date, 5,471,562, up 13.9%. The overall market (album-equivalent sales) rose 0.1% to 50.96M, and CD fell 9.5%. BPI figures based on Official Charts Company data, via Music Week. Music Week
• Industry: Universal Music Group has made another round of cuts in the US and UK, with leaders leaving Def Jam, Interscope, Polydor and Republic, per Digital Music News, Music Week, Billboard and Variety. UMG says it has removed 'certain roles' but hasn't said how many. Digital Music News · Variety
• Industry: Several independent artists say DistroKid removed releases that didn't infringe anyone's rights, per Mixmag. DistroKid told Music Business Worldwide it removed 'a very small number' of recordings in response to UMG's claims, and says it disputes the copyright lawsuit UMG filed against it in Delaware federal court on Sept 15. The case is ongoing; there's no ruling. Mixmag · Music Business Worldwide
• Shops: Crooked Beat Records, the Alexandria, Virginia, shop that lost stock to a flood in January, has reopened at a new standalone home at 2101-B Mt. Vernon Ave. in Del Ray, per the shop and Alexandria Gazette's The Zebra. Used vinyl is upstairs and new releases are on the ground floor. It's in a soft opening, with a grand opening still to be dated. Visit Mon 1–7 PM, Thu–Fri 12–7 PM, Sat 11:30 AM–7 PM or Sun 12–6 PM (closed Tue and Wed), per the shop's site. Crooked Beat Records · The Zebra
• Labels: Infinite Machine turns 15. The Montréal-born, Mexico City-based electronic label has invited friends of the imprint, old and new, onto a 15th-anniversary compilation, Infinite Machine 15 Years, out in full on Nov 27, per DJ Mag. DJ Mag
  Electronic & Dance
• Labels: DaMetalMessiah curates a FABRICLIVE grime LP: a snapshot of grime in 2026, with Novelist, Manga Saint Hilaire, Tailor Jae and more, per DJ Mag. DJ Mag

Pre-order radar

• Blue Note Tone Poet: Lee Morgan, The Sixth Sense, and Curtis Fuller, Vol. 3, Dec 4. £35.99 each (Blue Note UK store). The Sixth Sense is "produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at RTI". Blue Note: The Sixth Sense · Blue Note: Vol. 3
  Jazz
• Ryuichi Sakamoto, 1996, Dec 11 (Milan Records). $39.99 at Plaid Room (retailer). Plaid Room Records · The Quietus
• Cyndi Lauper, True Colors 40th Anniversary Expanded Edition, ships around Dec 4. $38.98, pre-order open (artist store). Cyndi Lauper store
  Pop
• András Schiff, Bach Goldberg Variations, Nov 13 (Deutsche Grammophon). Its first vinyl release: a 2LP tip-on gatefold with a 12-page booklet. Deutsche Grammophon store
  Classical

Hip-hop on wax

• Larry June, Who Coppin (Organic Edition): Larry June's official store lists an Organic Edition of Who Coppin as a gatefold 2LP with an 18x24 poster. The two webstore exclusives with an obi strip, capped at 500 each (orange with blue splatter, and baby blue and aqua with alternate cover art), are now sold out; the black version is still available at $40. Larry June store
  Hip-Hop & Rap
• Jay Worthy, Two4Two: RRC Music Co. has given Jay Worthy's Two4Two its first physical release, on vinyl. The label lists a black pressing of 300 copies (€29.99), plus a deluxe 40oz edition with an obi strip (90 copies) and a red and yellow edition (150), both sold out. Two previously unreleased bonus tracks are added: 'The Elites' and 'Floating'. RRC Music Co. (Bandcamp)
  Hip-Hop & Rap
• The Alchemist, "Nothing Is Freestyle" 7-inch: ALC Records issued The Alchemist's 'Nothing Is Freestyle', a single first released digitally in October 2023, as a 45 RPM 7-inch limited to 1,000 hand-numbered copies, two per customer. The main version is on side A and the instrumental on side B. The record went on sale in September and is now listed as sold out. ALC Records
  Hip-Hop & Rap
• Curren$y, Wiz Khalifa and Harry Fraud, Roofless Records For Drop Tops: the Curren$y and Wiz Khalifa collaboration produced by Harry Fraud is listed by distributor Cobraside as a Sept. 18 vinyl release on the Next label. The single LP is pressed on metallic clear vinyl and adds all the instrumentals. Cobraside calls it Disc 2 in the series, after a digital-only Disc 1 produced by Cardo. Cobraside
  Hip-Hop & Rap