Drift Record Shop

Last night, Bill Callahan came to Totnes and played some songs for us. It got steamy. If you’re gonna go out, then going out with Bill playing some songs in the shop is the way you go out, no? I mean, retirement aside, how could we have ever topped this one?  Bill’s new LP - My Days of 58 - is a real peach. We strongly recommend that you pick up a copy where good records are sold.  Thanks, @therealbillcallahan

Dear friends and patrons of Drift, we have big news. After a great deal of thought, I have made the decision that we’ve done all the good work we possibly can as Drift Records and we will be closing the business at the end of February. I know this will initially come as sad and uncomfortable news to many of you, but I want to assure you all that this choice was carefully considered and is very much on our terms. Thriving on the high street in 2026 takes a huge number of skills, knowledge and experience, and through the success we have gained in working collaboratively on Dinked Editions, we have realised that we very much are stronger together… The really big news is that I will be taking all of the Drift energy and, as Rupert Morrison, I will be joining the amazing team at @residentbrighton . In possibly an industry first, some of the most proactive individuals in indie music retail are combining forces under the Resident name. We have solid and exciting plans to truly offer the best record shopping experience for you all and to champion music culture - from the fringes and grassroots to the biggest and most iconic names. The Drift Records shop in Totnes and also driftrecords.com will be open as usual until Saturday 28th February and will then close. Not being at all subtle about it, we have a fantastic selection of records for you all to buy, so these are your last chances to come and see us, hear something new, hit the checkout and absorb that counter culture one more time. Also, fear not, Drift will be fulfilling all pre orders through March and the next few months, so please have no anxiety that we’re going to disappear into the night. All good things must come to an end. We are phenomenally proud of what we achieved with Drift over the last twenty years, but I am ready for a change and really excited about the future. I am sure this next month will have all sorts of bittersweet moments, but for now, this is thank you, and the start of goodbye. Rupert Morrison, founder of Drift Records.

Pinch us, we’ve peaked! To celebrate the release of his outstanding new album, My Days of 58, revered songwriter and all-time Drift hero Bill Callahan will be playing live in the shop at Drift on Wednesday 25th February at 7pm. Yes, it really is happening. Those in attendance will also be able to exclusively purchase My Days of 58 (on CD, LP or cassette) on the night, a couple of days ahead of it’s general release. Bill might even sign them you know! The babes at @rossototnes will be serving by the glass. Tickets are very limited. … Yes, the actual Bill Callahan. ANYONE BUYING MORE THAN TWO GETS CANCELLED. PUNISHMENT FOR BEING A BORE AND NOT READING STUFF PROPERLY.

Everyone here at Drift and Sea Change was so terribly sad to hear that Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin, co-founding guitarist of black midi, has died. Repeating the powerful words his family shared; “Please take a moment to check in with your loved ones so we can stop this happening to our young men” Being a small part of that remarkable band’s ascension was utterly thrilling and remains one of our most proudest moments. Anyone who was in attendance on that day in 2019 when the band took the bucolic Dartington countryside through some sort of vortex into another sonic dimension will testify to the awesome power of music. It was profound. 💔

This Sunday, the stereo is filled with exquisite air and a 1971 limited pressing called Seeds from cult British songwriter Alan James Eastwood. Look, we absolutely love obscurities over here at Drift, but we honestly had no idea about this one - or Alan James Eastwood - until the heads over at Be With reissued it last August. Seeds is an absolute gem; folk balladry and evocative strings wrapped around a singular voice. It may have been largely lost to the sands of time until recent years, and why it never found its audience on releases is a mystery, but Seeds remains a total charmer and a pretty perfect first spin for your Sunday.

Records of the Week For the first time in ages, we are back to the business of new music business!Our first Record of the Week for this new year is Quicksand Heart, the debut solo release from Jenny On Holiday (Jenny Hollingworth), half of Let’s Eat Grandma (of whom we have long been fans). Also benefitting from a little flash of 80s pop sheen is Selling A Vibe, the ninth studio LP from The Cribs. We probably shouldn’t mention III from Pullman (a supergroup featuring members of Tortoise, Codeine, Rex, and Gastr del Sol) as we have literally a couple left, but it really is very good and you all have to promise to take a listen somehow! We have the absolutely stonking third LP from Dry Cleaning. Finally for today we have a little not-new treat (the week’s only Best New Reissue in fact) with Hungarian jazz guitarist Gábor Szabó’s sizzling Jazz Raga on Vampisoul. Visit Drift to get it going on.

It was cold, but it was sunny. January seems okay so far.

Man alive, did you ever understand the brief... Thanks for all your BOXING orders, we are hard at it. As previously advised, DRIFT will be closed today, and Sunday through Tuesday. We have to pick, pack and post thousands of orders so you sadly can’t come in. You can however deliver gifts and offerings to the door. Click & Collect is fine too. We will be here for a brief 🥂 NYE party-starting session with the @rossototnes crew on Wednesday 31st. Maybe see you then? Sending you all the best seasonal energy.

🥂 And we are done... Firstly, a very Merry Christmas to you all. We do ever so love being a record shop, but without all of you getting involved with such passion, we’re just a building with loads of discs in it. You make it all come to life. Secondly, a huge thanks to all of the people who make Drift work, from the hard working and diligent shop people (both current and previously), to our good friends in distribution, those at labels, the music makers and the thousands of passionate people who buy and play new music with such gusto. Thirdly, big love to our neighbours at The Bull who turned a cold Wednesday into something a great deal more sparkly with a tray of liquid sustenance.  This year we really took it all in as if it’s the last time, and it has made us thankful and very festive. Merry Christmas to you all. Drift ‘25

Well, here it is... Merry Drift-Mas! The only yuletide playlist that you could need, or possibly get through. A few years ago, a good pal of ours asked for an hour or so of ‘weirdo Christmas music’ that avoided getting too traditional or veering into glam rock. So, we gladly took a deep dive through hours and hours of 45s, the Lomax Library, tasty soundtracks and other seasonal routes to put together a couple of hours of festive (adjacent) stunners. The first iteration had a low-running theme of cutting loose, getting caught, making amends and still making it home in time for mince pies and one last drink. After several years of refining, Merry Drift-Mas now clocks in at over nine hours and is a cornucopia of seasonal oddities and boozy treasures. Parboil them potatoes and stick it on, it’s a trip! The playlist link is in our bio (and we’ll add it to stories a few times this week too).

✍️ Signed Dry Cleaning... Honestly, Secret Love is quite brilliant! Dry Cleaning’s third LP - produced with Cate Le Bon - lands early January and we are firm fans. The band have kindly signed us a stack of prints. Shop now to cop one.

Okay, we can’t make the sun come out, but we can make rainbows happen when it does! Back in the early summer, we had these custom Drift Suncatcher Decals made out in L.A. It’s a special sticker that you fix to your window and watch the rainbows dance around when the sun peeps through. The massive great windows at Drift work a treat!