Collections
2020 Records of the Year
Albums, compilations, reissues and books from a year united in adversity. For your consideration, one hundred albums (plus choice reissues, books and compilations) released between January and late October of this year that we have loved playing. Hope you do too.
View collectionAmbient
Some call it environmental music; Erik Satie called it furniture music (our favourite); but Brian Eno called it Ambient, and that's what stuck. Includes new age; drone; minimal electronic; and the softer side of experimental.
View collectionAmbient, Minimal and New Age
These are the albums that have shifted moods and created new worlds. Slowly evolving music using synthesisers, field recordings, layered voices and ancient instruments. Concentrate intently or just let it all wash over you, a set of transcendental listening experiences new and old.
View collectionBalladeers
Hard-learned life lessons from the cult-troubadours and long-roaming raconteurs. Tales of darkness and light with songs about all the vices. It's not a Country thing, it's just singing it like it is with a knowing gleam in the eye.
Beat Based Electronic
Broadly, anything with a beat. Some fast, some slow, but all Electronic music that brings up big human emotions with textures from house, techno, synth and experimental. Here are hand selected electronic records at Drift with a propulsive drive through beeps and clicks.
View collectionBeautiful Voices
A beautiful voice can express so much more than a smart lyric ever will, these are singers of collective experience and shared emotions. Above all else, these are heartbreaking or spirit raising vocals that swoon.
Blues
View collectionBooks & Zines
We love stocking books and magazines, they feel very much part of the same culture as the records we rack. Most of the books are about music, some aren't.
View collectionConnor
Listens to the extreme via the extreme in a full circle to include literally everything in between. Hammers the discount, pictures to prove it.
View collectionContemporary Classical
Contemporary Classical; strings, keys and drones, focused on the cinematic. Big cross-overs with avant-garde and Experimental.
Country, Americana
Country rock and roll right through to traditional American roots music and old fashioned Country. We love the new generation of voices, stories and outlaws.
Dinked Editions
Limited, special vinyl editions available exclusively at Drift. Dinked is a collective of like-minded, independent record shops from all over the UK and Ireland, working together to release music we love.
Drift Essentials
A constantly evolving set of Drift Essentials; all-time albums that we love and most certainly always will. Your classics.
View collectionDrift Records
View collectionElectronic
Compiled of electro, house, techno, disco, downtempo, IDM, italo, synth and synthpop. It also crosses over into Experimental.
Experimental
Incorporating elements of noise, free jazz, minimal electronic music, field recordings, metal, drones and loops. All require more investment, all offer huge rewards.
Explore
Take a deep dive and explore our carefully curated music collections, staff picks and how we can fix your gifting dilemmas!
View collectionFeatured Reissues
"New Not New". All time classics, anniversary editions, long lost gems and obscure favourites, the best new reissues at Drift.
View collectionFizzing Pop Production
Shimmering, space-age, high concept and awe-inspiring pop music from the sharpest minds around. Production to dazzle, where you can't even tell what they are playing or how they are doing it... But you're definitely moving! It can sound glacial or it can sound saturated, never under estimate the smartness.
Folk, Traditional
Early and traditional music, with contemporary folk voices too. Incorporates field recordings and Blues.
View collectionFunk & Soul
Releases that are Funk, Soul and all the crossovers in between. Traditional stylings through to modern adaptations, including Acid jazz and Afrobeat.
Garage Rock Stompers
Wailing guitars, pounding drums, fuzzing distortion and driving energy; our favourite sides of Rock and roll euphoria! From modern antipodean psychedelics, to the dirging ferocity of these shores and the sun baked Californians. The (current) best Garage Rock Stompers from all around the world.
Goods
Some of our favourite things, record-collecting essentials and higher culture. A bit like visiting the shop.
View collectionHigh Culture
View collectionIndie Record Shop Exclusives
Coloured vinyl, extra tracks, deluxe packaging and bonus stuff. Don't sleep on them, Indie Shop Exclusives they are always limited quantities.
View collectionIndie, Alternative
That is quite a broad term right? We mean a collection of singer-songwriters, pop bands, non-traditional folk musicians and rock that isn't too heavy. Daytime 6Music vibes.
Jazz
Bop, Modal and West Coast, Bossa nova, free jazz and experimental, Ethio jazz, spiritual and a lot of contemporary. We've also been loving the current Blue Note reissue series.
Jazz reissues
With the massive resurgence of interest in Jazz over the last ten years (Makaya McCraven, Kamasi Washington, Nubya Garcia, The Comet is Coming, Sons of Kemet, Ezra Collective...) it remains a total joy to see so many iconic and seminal albums from 75+ years of Jazz recording lovingly repressed by iconic labels like Blue Note, Impulse! and Decca.
Jenna
From ethereal to ominous, with a generous helping of angst, clunk and post-punk.
View collectionJenny C
Creative director for all the nice looking things that we make and do (including Deluxe and Sea Change). Neat with labels, prone to a good bpm too.
View collectionJenny M
Jenny has been behind the counter since selling records was renting VHS videos. Has painted every inch of the shop at least twice now. Met Bagpuss.
View collectionLatest Releases
Released in the last few weeks; this is what is currently on the walls at Drift.
View collectionLee
Artist of Drift's cartoon mascot Buddy the Cat, plus Metronomy tea towels & comics. Shop windows too. Provider of LEE'S FACTS. Always after something good to draw pictures to. Bring me your gossip. See my art here.
View collectionLong Lost Gems
Just because the recordings aren't new, it doesn't mean that they don't sound new! We're always looking backwards and discovering pure gold in the archives. Below, some of our recent favourite reissues to include anything from the iconic to the long lost. If you like this, we send out an email every Monday with the week's "Best New Reissues".
View collectionMerch & Gifts
Drift vibrations on tees, sweats, totes and more. Seasonal tones and our favourite prints, wear them and think of us. All our clothing uses the best quality garments, they are built to last and made to feel premium.
OrderlyEmails - Recommended Products
This collection is used by the OrderlyEmails app, to make product recommendations in your notification emails, which automatically update over time.
This service is currenty provided for FREE, with any theme purchase.
Recommended products shown in your email are automatically updated every 4 hours, to match this collection.
By default, your Best-Selling products (that are in stock & not already purchased) will be recommended.
You can modify the rules below to change which products are recommended. Products at the top of the list are more likely to be shown.
To enable/disable recommendations in your emails, login to the OrderlyEmails app (Shopify Admin -> Apps) and add the "Recommended products" section to an email in the editor.
Note: This collection is "hidden", it is not be visible on your website.
PAX
For the last decade, PAX have been refining the technology in their vaporisers to create - head and shoulders - the best experience available on the market.
View collectionPost-punk and Art rock
Dark, heavy and bleak, but not without humour. Social commentary, dissatisfaction, kicking against the apathy (pricks) and taking us on a trip to get there. Ranting and screaming guitar based music that layers to euphoria.
Pre Order Releases
Available to pre order now at Drift. Check each title for its release date and shop early for a pre order discounted price.
View collectionPsychedelic
Mind-twisting sounds to get lost in. Ranging from mild trips to far-out jams.
View collectionRecord Store Day
Available titles released exclusively on Record Store Day over the years.
View collectionRECORDS OF THE YEAR / April 2022
View collectionRecords of the Year / April 2023
Coming into bloom with floating landscapes, spectacular art-pop, pastoral lushness and fuzzed-out emotions. Record Store Day is dead.
View collectionRECORDS OF THE YEAR / August 2022
View collectionRecords of the Year / August 2023
Staying hot and wistful with Country soothers from the Prince alongside some jacked-up synths, garage rock gnarlers, flashes of euphoria and seductive vocals.
View collectionRecords of the Year / Best New Reissues 2023
It has been another year where we’ve taken huge gratification in looking backwards at all time classics, anniversary editions, long lost gems and obscure favourites, the best new reissues that are all “new-not-new”.
View collectionRECORDS OF THE YEAR / February 2022
View collectionRecords of the Year / February 2023
Shaking the dark nights away with the year’s most enduring hues, guitar jangles, hard metal, high-gloss pop and a sense of joyous release.
View collectionRECORDS OF THE YEAR / January 2022
View collectionRecords of the Year / January 2023
Rumbling into the new year and the mid-winter with stark post punk, oozing metal, analogue amps, dense psychedelia and mesmerising hooks.
View collectionRECORDS OF THE YEAR / July 2022
View collectionRecords of the Year / July 2023
Beach days and big summer pop energy, beautiful voices, moody electronic washes, a tirade of riffs and the most epic returns.
View collectionRecords of the Year / June 2023
Those first summer nights with country-tinged scorchers, Zamrock, bubbling pop dreams, full-throated freakouts and an exotic take on Middle Eastern spaghetti Western.
View collectionRECORDS OF THE YEAR / March 2022
View collectionRecords of the Year / March 2023
Spring sprung with beautiful voices, folk traditionalists, Turkish blazers, knotty rhythms, new age soul soothers and the darkest goth pop.
View collectionRECORDS OF THE YEAR / May 2022
View collectionRecords of the Year / May 2023
Bringing it all back home with early summer bangers, tropical pop, industrial landscapes and ambient meditations. What a month it was.
View collectionRECORDS OF THE YEAR / November 2022
View collectionRecords of the Year / November 2023
Taking stock with firebrand new shoegaze, rousing vocals, brain-blastin’ smashers, experimental techno and well-boiled endorphins.
View collectionRECORDS OF THE YEAR / October 2022
View collectionRecords of the Year / October 2023
Shorter nights for new soul sounds, heartbreaking whispers, minute textures, vintage balladeering and otherworldly wails.
View collectionRECORDS OF THE YEAR / Reissues 2022
View collectionRECORDS OF THE YEAR / September 2022
View collectionRecords of the Year / September 2023
A goliath of a month with complex and knotty layers, dream pop icons, nocturnal jazz, rock belters, transcendental headspaces and soul voices.
View collectionRecords of the Year 2024
A collection of albums to cover the last 12 months of releases, with all the records that have especially struck a chord with us over the counter and on the stereo.
View collectionReggae, Dub
Early reggae and calypso through dub and experimental production to the more sparse Dancehall.
View collectionReissues
"New Not New". All time classics, anniversary editions, long lost gems and obscure favourites, the best new reissues at Drift.
Restock
Not always in huge supply, this section covers everything that has just landed back in the building at Drift.
View collectionRupert
Music is higher culture, maybe the highest culture? I get a rush from Jazz drummers. I also get a rush from bleeping synths. I also get a rush from crunching distortion. I really just love getting a rush. I'm not terribly positive about Record Store Day.
Sale
New releases, previous Record Store Day releases, the odd box set, warehouse finds and plenty more. Adding more daily so keep clicking, but when they're gone... They're gone!
View collectionSarah
Always and forever interested in a beautiful singing voice and uplifting beats. Sarah also really likes it when people send a remittance advice.
View collectionSinger-Songwriter
All about the voice here. Big crossovers into folk, pop, country and Americana and even electronic.
View collectionSoundtracks
Film soundtracks and original scores. Contemporary giants and some of the most iconic of all time.