Our Story

In the early 80s, while some were dancing the Mia, others were taking the cold wave head-on: The Stranglers, Joy Division, and The Cure awkwardly danced on the ashes of prog rock and punk, paving the way for the indie rock of The Smiths and the electro-pop of New Order. At that time, analog reigned supreme, and there were 3000 record stores in France. Teenagers would spend an entire afternoon choosing THE vinyl they would take home with the 50 franc bill from grandma, a vinyl that would be duplicated by friends dozens of times on BASF or TDK cassettes – chrome if possible – without Hadopi batting an eyelid.

The object, coveted for weeks or even months, then became the subject of a cult that often turned into obsession. Both the cover and the music were worn out, so much so that certain scratches or crackles became an integral part of a track, and one would be surprised not to hear them when listening to a less-played record. The anticipation multiplied a pleasure that the internet would later transform into pure consumption.

It is on the basis of this heritage that the brand ROCK ON WALL, entirely dedicated to the vinyl record as a symbolic object of popular culture, was created in 2006. While it was perishing in boxes in cellars or attics, supplanted by CDs and finished off by the arrival of Apple's iPod, the vinyl record retained its power of attraction over us and pushed us to believe in its possible return in the face of the dematerialization of music. What's the point of accumulating megabytes on hard drives with planned obsolescence, or having access to millions of tracks via streaming, if you don't know the first name of that pretty, slightly shy singer, if you haven't noticed that the guitarist is left-handed, or if you don't know that the cover was designed by Peter Saville?

 

Through our products, we therefore pay homage to a format that allows for a complete musical experience. Because the vinyl record is a sound, a gesture, a large-format visual enriched with a lot of information. It's also the possibility of building a personal, even intimate collection, like the soundtrack of a life. Of course, it's not very practical in the car, but since it's now sold with an MP3 download voucher, there's nothing holding you back!

This site is finally an opportunity for us to express ourselves more broadly on what we call the music industry, and to gather your opinion on these stances as well as on the quality of our products, to which we attach the utmost importance. Without making it too rigid a rule, we prioritize sourcing from France or Europe whenever possible, and we try to support you in building your collection with passion.

Vinylly yours,
The Rock on Wall team