The Vinyl Cafe is a passion project and hobby store by Tareeq Musafer, who is the Founder and patron of the DJ Academy of Sri Lanka and author of the book Learn to be a DJ, published in 2008. 
Musafer started out DJing in the early 80s and music was always a big part of his life. He started out small, like every DJ; playing at school gigs and friends’ parties. In the late 80s, he moved to Australia, where he got the bulk of his experience and exposure in the mobile, club, and event circuits. Upon his return to Sri Lanka in the late 90s, he dabbled in many businesses ventures in the entertainment and leisure sectors.
Speaking to The Morning Brunch on how Vinyl Cafe started out, he said: “I have an extensive collection of vinyls due to my career as a DJ. Back in the 80s we used to only play out of vinyls, so as a DJ, you had to have a lot.” He went on to add that it was the lockdown that inspired him to create the Vinyl Cafe. “I had a lot of time on my hands, so I used that time to put all my vinyls into order. Then I thought to myself, ‘why not put it in a place where people can come and look at them?’ That is the story of the Vinyl Cafe.”
Although the place is called a “cafe”, Musafer explained that they do not serve food, but somewhere down the line, when things get better, turning it into a real cafe could become a possibility. For now, it’s just a great place to go chill, hang out, listen to some great tunes, and unwind. Anyone with a passion for vinyls can meet like-minded people at the workshops Musafer holds for this purpose.
Explaining what the workshops he holds entail, he said: “I conduct these workshops for Millennials or those who weren’t born into the vinyl era. People like that can actually touch and feel the different characteristics of a vinyl record. They will understand the sound differences between different records, even though they may be the same song.” He added that there are many technical aspects to a vinyl, which he also educates his audience about at these workshops, but everyone who attended has expressed how much fun it is to learn about these facts.
Using his experience as a DJ, he also gives his audience some insight into what it was like mixing and DJing using vinyls. The workshop covers everything from learning all the interesting details about vinyl playing and mixing music on vinyl like DJs do on a turntable. “A turntable is the record player. I also give one-on-one instructions on how to use it, with information on the needs, and how the sound comes out so they understand what record collecting entails before they embark on it as a hobby,” Musafer noted.
He added that they will be having a workshop for little kids called “Musical Minds”, to help develop their knowledge, skills, and understanding of music. The workshop will be conducted on 6 March from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Vinyl Cafe. The kids will get to experience DJing on a vinyl and at the same time learn the culture behind it.
