After a decade working at HMV, Dundee-based music-lover Keith Ingram was determined to start his very own record shop. When a first attempt in Stirling didn’t quite go to plan, Assai got its start online. ‘We were a top ten Amazon seller but completely under the radar. Nobody really knew much about us,’ recalls Ingram as we speak in the recently opened Glasgow shop, Assai’s third branch since the flagship Dundee store opened in 2015. 

Now having built a large community of record enthusiasts, Assai caters to a wide variety of genres, including pop, metal and hip hop. ‘We curate what’s in the shop so there is something for everybody,’ explains Ingram. ‘People walk in off the street who see our racks, but also people all over the world order from us so it’s a good way to reach that customer base and make people aware of Scottish acts like Mark Sharp or Brownbear.’ When emerging local acts didn’t have the means to physically press their music, Ingram decided to start his own label so Assai could stock them exclusively. ‘We’re trying to do the things that record shops should do, which is supporting the local music community and giving people a reason to come to the shop.’ 

Getting even more people through the door are Assai’s in-store events which have seen acts like Lewis Capaldi, Olivia Dean and Joesef perform acoustic sets. But perhaps the highlight of last year’s event calendar arrived in the form of Young Fathers’ Heavy Heavy album launch show at Edinburgh’s La Belle Angele. ‘It sold out in two hours,’ Ingram laughs. ‘It was great to have them back. People who were there are going to remember that gig forever.’
Assai Records, 233 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow; follow Assai Records' Glasgow store on Instagram.