absorb records Brings Heavy-Hitting Dance and Electronic Music to Hillman City

Behind a set of white doors and frosted glass windows on Rainier Avenue is absorb records, a new record store bringing a dose of dance and electronic music from around the world to its corner of Hillman City. 

Opening last month, the cozy shop — run by two friends, Zack W. and Kayvon K. — presents a sharp and lovingly curated mix of independent record labels, far-out genres, and seasoned artists for the heads, DJs, and dance music acolytes to dive right into. Often, getting one's hands on obscure records from small labels requires a focused internet query, shipping costs, and lots of patience. absorb's ethos is to bridge that gap by bringing those records to a physical shop here in Seattle.

A quick perusal of absorb's vinyl and tape offerings reflect the wide breadth of dance and electronic music, organized either by genre (think: Detroit techno, "deeep" house, ambient breaks, etc.), or by artist or record label. You can grab Eversines' acid, bouncy Upon EP off Rotterdam-based label Nous'klaer Audio or nab Sean La'Brooy's woozy, ambient-leaning Merchant from the Brooklyn-based label Scissor and Thread. Fingering through the stacks at absorb is meant to encourage discovery and curiosity for music-lovers of all levels, rather than submitting to the algorithmic whims of Big Music Streaming Service.

"The algorithm feeds you things you already know," said Zack. "We want to break out of that and give you something new and unexpected."

As such, Zack and Kayvon encourage absorb patrons to listen to records in-store. While the shop is situated in the front half of the space, the back half has some chairs, a couch, a plush rug, and custom New Fidelity speakers for people to have a seat and listen to a track or two from whatever record they're thinking of picking up. During my visit, we had a collective listening experience to an atmospheric and squelchy XENIA REAPER track off Luvaphy released by the Glasgow-based label INDEX:Records. It was like being awash in a sound bath of moss and techno.

Zack and Kayvon met back in 2007 and quickly bonded over their love of dance and electronic music. Over the years, the two would travel abroad and bring backpacks stuffed with hard-to-find releases from small record labels at independently run record stores in places like Lisbon and Berlin. They'd always dreamed about opening a store of their own, and after a few years into the pandemic, they finally started to make those dreams and discussions a reality. 

"We took little pieces from all of these different places, one of which was in a townhouse and you were literally in someone's living room," Zack said. "Combining that with the selection and the taste from one or the aesthetics of another. We built this orb with a lot of different places in mind."

Currently, absorb records is open by appointment only, but curious visitors can also check out its catalog online. On the site, Kayvon curates collections of certain records for different moods, moments, and memories. Purelink's Signs and Saphileaum's Exploring Together are categorized under "downtempo on a lowkey friday night," while Zero Key's self-titled LP and Lamin Fofana's Unsettling Scores are slotted under "in focus: peak oil & false aralia," highlighting two lauded record labels. absorb's site also has a "postcards" section, a blog featuring absorb-made mixes centered around labels and differing genres. It's all in service of making music lovers across the city feel encouraged to go deep in their exploration of electronic music.

"The feel of the website was intended to be personal, welcoming. A lot of places we've been to are so austere and unwelcoming," Kayvon reflected. "We want to do the opposite of that." 

For more information and appointment-making, head over to absorb records' website.