Obi Studios
Sedgefield – Co Durham
Our Odyssey this week takes us to Sedgefield a pretty little market town in County Durham. Obi Studios is a dual purpose business combining a Tattoo Parlour and Vinyl Records and is run by Mark Werrett and Abigail Wells.
The name is derived from Abigail’s love for Japanese culture and the Obi sash which ties the kimono. Mark who runs the vinyl side of the business has utilised the name by putting an Obi strip on all his albums.
Steve and I both agree this is an ingenious touch that not only advertises his business but also makes all his albums look tidy and fresh.
The strip is also used to give the price of the album and any other applicable information.
When we walked into the store it could only be described as bijou but very well laid out with every available square foot used to good effect.
Lack of space means that Mark has to be more selective about the stock he displays but there is plenty on offer here and the biggest compliment I can give him is that Steve stated he could have spent hundreds of pounds because the stock is so good and of great quality.
Mark who is the youngest store owner we’ve met so far is obviously a real vinyl lover showing great knowledge on all genres. His first love is Hip Hop describing his personal collection as 90% Hip Hop and 10% Prince.
Have a listen to your selection on his Rega deck, Cambridge Audio amp and Monitor Audio speakers a really great set up.
Mark Werrett’s Five Vinyl Records I Can’t Live Without
1. Prince – Sign O’ The Times
2. NAS – Illmatic
3. Outkast – ATLiens
4. MF Doom and Madlib – Madvillainy
5. Wu-Tang Clan – Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Mark’s Selection for the Press On Vinyl Collection
Little Simz – GREY Area
Steve’s selection – Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
Neil’s selection – The Smiths – Meat is Murder
We would really recommend a visit to this store as it has some unique touches, some quality vinyl and a great Tattoo parlour if that’s your thing. You can also catch up with Mark at one of the many record fairs he attends.
The first Sunday in every month is the Sedgefield Farmer’s Market and Mark opens the shop to take advantage of the increased footfall now that sounds like a good day out.
We are introducing a new feature to our blogs starting this week. At every store we visit we will select a classic album for sale in the store and we will take each track on the album and rank them in order of least favourite to most favourite.
We are doing this individually without conferring and I am expecting us never to agree so lets see how it goes.
Our classic album on sale at Obi is:
The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour
The album is a 1967 mono Scranton pressing complete with booklet it was in good condition and selling at a reasonable £40.
Neil’s Ranking
1. Penny Lane
2. Strawberry Fields Forever
3. I Am The Walrus
4. All You Need Is Love
5. Hello Goodbye
6. The Fool On The Hill
7. Magical Mystery Tour
8. Your Mother Should Know
9. Baby You’re A Rich Man
10. Blue Jay Way
11. Flying
Steve’s Ranking
1. The Fool On The Hill
2. Strawberry Fields Forever
3. Penny Lane
4. All You Need Is Love
5. Hello Goodbye
6. Magical Mystery Tour
7. I Am The Walrus
8. Baby You’re A Rich Man
9. Your Mother Should Know
10. Blue Jay Way
11. Flying
What a shocker we are pretty close there we matched on 5
Neil’s Favourite Track – Penny Lane
Quite simply the greatest pop song ever written had to be number one for me.
Steve’s Favourite Track – The Fool On The Hill
This is my favourite Beatles track of all time (surely the only person on this planet that would place this song at No. 1 in any Beatles list).
P.S. Our next blog is from Hot Rats in Sunderland where we picked out The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars by David Bowie as our Classic Album.
Have a listen or a re listen to this great album and let us know if you agree with our rankings on our Facebook post it’s always nice to get your feedback.
P.P.S. Now I’m just going to book Steve in for his Coldplay tattoo.
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