Rise Record Shop

Rise Records is essentially an independent record shop but with added extras.
I’ve been meaning to check Rise out for a while, being a music enthusiast and DJ (at least I like to think I am). I’d heard from friends that it also has a café which I’ve always thought would be a good idea as we see our independent and not so independent record shops diminish and statistics apparently showing that our friendly neighbourhood record shops are a dying bread.
I finally made my way there from work after hearing that they were hosting an Aphex Twin listening party to promote the new album release, giving fans a chance to hear the record first before it’s release date.
A friend and I headed up Park Street and noticed a big illumines blimp above the shop. I’d seen the blimp a week or so before in an online article. It was the Aphex blimp!
Not a lot of detail had been released about what the ‘listening party’ would entail so my friend and I were intrigued to find out what was in store in the record store…
It turned out that the event itself was a very low key affaire with the new album being played quietly as background music in the shop as fans browsed through records and stood around drinking the odd beer. It was great to get a first listen of the new album though and it resulted in me ordering the CD with 10% off for coming to the event. Bargain!
Any way about Rise… First of all I was surprised at how big the shop is. It is much bigger than I expected with a café downstairs (the café is in partnership and actually in the name of Friska) and the record shop upstairs. The shop is lined with vinyl old and new with most new indie/​leftfield releases available on vinyl and cd and loads of classic old vinyl and rereleases. I could have spent a fortune! I was a little disappointed at the lack of a dedicated Techno section. All dance/​electronic appeared to be in one section (correct me if I’m wrong).
The shop is much more than just records with clothes scattered throughout, books and lots of other random stuffery. With the café downstairs and so much else on sale other than just music it makes you wonder whether it is an attempt to keep a record store afloat without simply selling music in all it’s formats.
All in all I was impressed with Rise even if it didn’t quite meet my Techno needs. It’s a quirky shop with a huge selection of classic vinyl releases in most genres. Newly released electronica (think the likes of Warp) and a great selection of books and other bits and pieces. A great idea and a big thumbs up if the added extras succeed in keeping a record shop afloat. It hasn’t got the feel of your classic old record shop such as Replay that use to be in the Bear Pit before relocated just down the road from Rise that closed an age ago (Try Idle Hands on Stokes Croft if that’s what your after) but a great shop and you can grab a lite refreshment while you’re there to!

This is such an awesome shop! Based just off the Clifton Triangle, it’s a great shop to spend half an hour, or more, browsing all the wonders they have inside!
Downstairs is a wicked little café that sells delicious coffee, teas and some really good looking cakes and sandwiches. I’ve not eaten here, but the food does look good!
Upstairs is an open treasure chest of musical, arty and film stuff! Literally everything from records, CD’s, DVD’s, poster, books — the lot! And everything from old gems to new releases! I could spend hours looking through all the music stuff!
They also have a really cool vintage and reclaimed clothing section. Some of the mens stuff is a little out there for me, but I’ve bought a t-​shirts. It’s very hipster!
The girls section is a bit more varied — as always! But equally as hipster!
Great shop. Almost a day out for music/​film buff! Great place to check out loads of flyers for up coming events as well!

After a four star review a few months ago I must say I will never step here again. I only wanted to know if they had a band’s new album in stock, and I was given a load of abuse. Out of the blue. I was shouted at that if I ran a record shop of my own then I should see how tough it is, before some language that I won’t put here. Never again shall I step through those doors.

I was in the shop on Saturday and was delighted to see the range of stuff and the good prices too.
I’ve heard that Fopp, being owned by HMV, will be lucky to survive, so I wish Rise all the very best for the future. We need places like this!

With most record shops closing down nowadays, finding a large new record shop is a pleasant surprise. Rise operates on a very similar principle to the Fopp store at the bottom of the hill, with certain CDs being priced down to only £2 or £3 to draw people in, then with a back catalogue of ‘normal’-priced CDs they’re hoping people will be tempted to pick up.
The range is good, especially in the electronic & dance section I’m most interested in. There’s plenty of space and it’s nicely laid out. Service is friendly and quick. Who needs iTunes?!

Hurrah for independent record stores!!! Especially ones of this quality.
If like me you’ve watched and read too much High Fidelity you can spend hours in this shop, even though it’s a very ‘high-​end’, glossy version of the independent record store. You know, there are no dusty boxes of old vinyl and there’s a massive range of stock. But perhaps if more independents were like this they wouldn’t of been muscled out by the corporate chains.
They even show live music. Once a year we celebrate Independent Record Shop Day and this year Rise was given so much exclusive stock that only they were allowed to sell, e.g. loads of Vinyl with exclusive tracks from some of the best bands around, some of it even signed.
If you collect vinyl and love new music this is the best place for it in Bristol. A lot of bands have got back into the habit of only releasing their new material on 7 or 12 inch Vinyl and this is where you go to find it.
It’s cheaper to buy certain DVDs here than to rent them, but really it’s the music, atmosphere and sense of community for music lovers that makes this shop special. It’s a place for people with serious Vinyl addictions, hobbyists & collectors, enthusiasts or even people looking to know more about music or buy something specific to go and chat or just hang out.
So go in and enjoy whatever music they’ve got playing and kill some time looking at all the beautiful new releases from the best new bands.

A relatively new addition to Bristol’s music retail scene and geographically not that far from its obvious rival, Fopp — the former being at the Triange at the top of Park Street and the latter being at College Green at the bottom of Park Street. Listen to the critics and look at the evidence and you would’ve thought there was little space for a new record shop selling CDs, DVDs, Books and T-​shirts but I would argue otherwise. Rise oozes that old school cool of Empire Records/​High Fidelity and all the other romanticised record-​shop based American films. It has a fabulous selection of music, both current and back catalogue (with the occasional deleted item if you rummage enough). The prices can’t be barked at either, with stock starting from £1 and rarely topping the £10 mark. But the piece de resistance — the free instore gigs played by bands which visit the city. Recent gigs saw Laura Marling, Frank Turner and Mumford and Sons all play to a packed out Rise. Nice.

This independent record store has all the slickness of an HMV — tidy shelves, clear isles, no smell of ageing vinyl, which almost puts me off slightly. I like my independent shops to be a little rough around the edges, which Rise most certainly isn’t. What they do deliver is a range of old and new singles, albums, EPs and LPs at Fopp’s reasonable prices.
Whenever I go in there’s something weird and wonderful playing on the stereo which the friendly owners will be more than happy to tell you more about. I love going in and discovering something unheard of, or picking up a magazine I’ve never seen before. The selection isn’t QUITE as interesting or cheap as the Fopp at the bottom of Park Street but do pop in and support your local businessman.

The company’s third store is newly opened on Park Street. A great positioning for this Fopp-​style record shop (but without the sort-​of-​secret HMV ownership). Indeed the owners are happily taking over Fopp premises and their staff.
This store is spacious and easy to wander through, with lots of bargains on offer you are sure to buy. You can pick up DVDs and CDs from £3. Better still, they are dedicated to in-​store gigs and signings with previous acts XX and Mumford & Son at this branch. Keep an eye on their Twitter account for details about those appearances.
They also have a decent stock of rock&pop and chart dance vinyl upstairs, its always nice to see the black stuff being given space it deserves.

Record shops have been dropping like flies along Park Street for the last few years. Replay was the saddest departure in my opinion, and that it was replaced by an Estate Agents adds insult to injury. In the face of so many closing down, and the decline in CD sales, it’s a brave move to open a new record shop round here. Someone has though.
Unlike most independents it’s fairly neat and tidy — it feels more like an HMV rather than the stacks of vinyl stereotype. I think you’d have to be an independent record shop snob to think it’s any less good because of that. I actually quite appreciate being able to find what I want. There’s always music booming, which I really like in a record shop — I ended up discovering a new band when I was here because I liked what they were playing. The staff didn’t get annoyed when I dropped a CD; they seem pretty chilled out here. X will have to be a good record shop to survive and I think the omens are good.