London radio station and venue AAJA opens second-hand record store in Deptford

South London’s DIY music venue, bar, and radio station AAJA has newly launched a second-hand record store within its basement.

The Deptford institution recently revealed the news on Instagram, explaining that the store, named Crates R Us, will open from Wednesdays to Sundays each week.

It follows the success of a series of pop-up record fairs at the venue, and sees the AAJA crew collaborate with the Crates team – who have been involved with the venue since 2018.

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“Crates R Us opening has been a hugely positive step for AAJA,” the venue said in a statement. “Thus far it’s facilitated a really positive change of pace throughout the daytime, increasing footfall in the venue.”

The record store is set up by DJ Lessons, LS Dare, and Juniorbuzz, and takes over a disused workshop space in the venue’s basement, which has been transformed into a full-fledged shop by AAJA handyman Jesse using found and donated materials, finished off by Handy of Launch Soundsystem fame, working with the team to fit out the store.

Crates R Us specialises in second-hand vinyl, and will continue to host record fairs where sellers can buy, sell, and trade – with the next one set to go ahead tomorrow, December 6.

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“The current cultural climate doesn’t hugely support grassroots organisations such as our own, with state funding becoming harder to receive, and the cost of living driving people away from leisure-based activities,” AAJA said. 

“The opportunity to house Crates has helped us to adapt to some of these challenges, providing financial support and increasing our resilience to rising costs, and the volatility of being a grassroots organisation.”

Earlier this year, a fundraiser event was set up by Ahadadream and Save Our Scene to help save AAJA from closure after coming under threat with "rising rental costs in London".

Find out more about Crates R Us here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on Twitter