Italian record shop Flexi launches fundraiser after severe flood damage

The almost 40-year-old record shop Flexi, based in Lugo, Italy, has launched a fundraising campaign after floods filled the building and caused significant damage.

The northern region of Emilia-Romagna has seen catastrophic flooding after six months of rainfall fell in a day and a half, resulting in the deaths of 13 people as well as thousands evacuated, reports the BBC.

Flexi record shop saw its “entire basement” fill with water, causing furniture, electronics and around 2000 records to be "irreparably damaged."

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Posting alongside its GoFundMe, Flexi’s statement reads: “We are conscious that the disaster around us is huge, and there are much more badly affected areas where the river has taken almost everything.

“But we also know that Flexi is not just an ordinary shop. In almost 40 years it has become a centre of culture and sharing, which is keeping up, standing firm, and re-shaping itself by looking to the future, always focusing on passion and love for music.

It concludes: “That is why we need your help in order to be able to restart and face the immediate costs of restoring what is no longer there.”

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Flexi’s Simone Guerra described the floods to Resident Advisor: "Everything happened in a matter of minutes," he said. "Many people have lost everything: home, job, car, personal belongings—a life buried by mud."

"Flexi flooded on May 18th and the water only went away on May 21st," said Guerra. "When we started cleaning and fixing up the shop, many diggers, friends and volunteers from Pollici Social Club, a local association of DJs and record enthusiasts, came to help."

With help from the social club, Flexi have started a vinyl restoration scheme to restore water-damaged vinyl for people in Lugo.

"We talked to the community to save their records from the flood, so that the music wouldn't be lost," said Guerra. "At first we were anxious about being overwhelmed by mountains of muddy vinyl, but many people asked us how to clean or save their collection compromised by the flood."

Flexi has since reopened with reconstruction planned however said to be a “very hard” job.

Check out Flexi’s GoFundMe page here.

Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Multimedia Editor, follow her on Twitter