Chinatown Records: A Music and Memory Project Comes to Seattle

DJ Rochelle "YiuYiu ''€ Kwan collects much more than vinyl, connecting and preserving Asian American stories through music.

by Sarah Goh

A hub for community and truly one of its kind, Chinatown Records is a music and memory project started by cultural organizer, oral historian, and DJ Rochelle "YiuYiu ''€ Kwan. From Chinatown block parties to listening sessions to collecting family histories, the project has steadily grown and taken on greater cultural significance since its origin in New York City and is going on its first tour — Seattle being its fifth stop.

Though some might cast Kwan as just a DJ spinning vinyls of Chinese music, Chinatown Records is more than just a music gig. It's a tale of preservation, connection, and a way for everyone to unearth the storytellers within themselves.

"I'd like to think of Chinatown Records as having quite a few different origin stories," Kwan says.

Growing up in San Francisco, Kwan experienced many karaoke parties and car rides filled with her parents' love of Chinese music. So when Kwan uncovered her dad's record collection on her move to New York City, her dad sent a box of vinyls with her.

The vinyls stayed tucked away; until one morning in 2020, she heard a familiar song playing from her Chinatown apartment.

"I went through my dad's records that he had given to me … and realized that it was one of the songs from one of his records."

That same day, Kwan ended up having lunch with a friend and told him about her nostalgic discovery. He grew excited at her interest in Chinese vinyls and offered his own grandfather's collection with a turntable and mixer to use.

"That was the day that I became an archivist and a DJ all at once," Kwan said.

From that single lunch, the word spread to Kwan's neighbors and friends of friends. They had their own family's record collections and wanted to find a home for them too.

Today, Chinatown Records has inherited around 30 family collections of records, CDs, tapes, DVDs, and more.

"But what's important is that the records don't just stay in my archive where no one can interact with them," Kwan said. "DJing is a part of bringing the archives back out to the people."

This ability for Kwan's community to experience and participate in their collections is essential to Chinatown Records. When she first started out, Kwan's background as an oral historian and cultural organizer was separate from her music. However, most recently, they have become more intertwined.

When Kwan first fell into the world of oral history, she was working for an organization that sent her to record and collect stories from people around the nation. However, she was left disappointed by the lack of follow-through and community building.

"I saw how oral history was an institution where people fly in, collect your stories, and you never hear from them again," Kwan said, "You don't know what happens to your story … and for me that is not what oral history should do."

As a result, Kwan left to do more research to build her own program of oral history, specifically for Asian American voices. She began hosting storytelling workshops and showcases where people can hear their own stories — many based in New York's Chinatown.

"And through all that storytelling and building of those relationships, those were all the first people who donated their collections to me for the archive," Kwan said. "And so for me, Chinatown Records from its very beginning has always been oral history and music together."

In 2023, Chinatown Records started merging oral history and music together through living room listening sessions. Kwan hosts these sessions in intimate settings where guests are invited to bring a record of their own to play while sharing their story about it afterward.

"We're trying to get folks to think about how we can use our favorite songs to spark those memories with our family members," Kwan said, "Especially folks who are older and not as responsive to just asking interview questions."

Kwan tells her story with her own father as an example. When asked about his history of immigrating from Hong Kong to America, Kwan's father did not want to share. But when they found themselves flipping through his vinyl collection, her father pulled out a record filled with memories.

Kwan remembered that moment. "This was my first record," he said. "And I would listen to this every day when I first moved here from Hong Kong because I was so lonely; it was the only thing that could get me through being in America by myself."

"His whole immigration story came pouring out," Kwan said. "And it was seeing and touching that record that sparked that memory."

Kwan hopes that Chinatown Records can spark a new era of storytelling and DJ historians. She doesn't want to be the only one. Chinatown Records is a "homegrown community effort," and everyone has something to contribute.

Everyone is a storyteller, and everyone has an important artifact, song, or narrative to share. Individuals don't need to interview a celebrity, Kwan says. There are stories hidden in their families, neighborhoods, and under their living room couches.

"I think that's what the hope for Chinatown Records is: to get even more DJ historians out in the world," Kwan said. "And to see ourselves, our community members, and our everyday objects as really important pieces of history."

Chinatown Records will make appearances in Seattle from Aug. 14 to Aug. 19, including:

• Wednesday, Aug. 14, 9—10:30 p.m. — Soul City: House Session at The Beacon.
• Thursday, Aug. 15, 7—10:00 p.m. — Eastern Echoes, listen on KEXP.
• Saturday, Aug. 17, 4:30—6:00 p.m. — CID Block Party at Chinatown-International District Seattle.
• Monday, Aug. 19, 6:30—8 p.m. — Sonic Histories: Living Room Listening at mam's books.

Find Rochelle "YiuYiu ''€ Kwan and Chinatown Records on Instagram: @rochellehkwan @chinatownrecordsproject and at RochelleHKwan.com

This article is published under a Seattle Human Services Department grant, "Resilience Amidst Hate," in response to anti-Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander violence.

📸 Featured Image: Chinatown Records is a music and storytelling project by DJ Rochelle "YiuYiu ''€ Kwan. (Photo: Elodie Kwan)