Founded in 2014, Rye Wax may look like a standard record shop but there’s more to it than meets the eye. It’s a versatile and cavernous warehouse space, located in the basement of the Bussey Building, where you can get coffee, eat, relax and enjoy new sounds but also runs a range of workshops and in-store events and serves as a gig/club space with regular live bands, DJ sets and parties.
Rye Wax’s much-loved nights host big names such as South London hero Bradley Zero but music-loving regulars also frequent the space to check in with down-to-earth staff who are knowledgeable about the store’s plethora of vinyl, comics, prints, books and magazines. Stockpiling up-to-the-minute brand new house, techno, disco, psych rock, garage, afro, and soul with a nifty second hand collection, alongside oddities and rarities, the store also offers graphic novels, books, T-shirts, prints and more.
Rye Wax functions as a bar in the evening – happy hour is from 6-8pm with 2 cocktails for £10 – with beer by Fourpure while the cafe serves delicious street food by Eastern Bloc with its ever-changing menu that’s all about grilling, charring and smoking; be it vegetables or exciting cuts of meat. Expect smoked sausage hot dogs, eggplant pork belly, green beans & mango pickle, celeriac shawarma and even a Sunday roast burger.
For Peckham locals, the cafe / bar is the spot if you’re on an ill-advised Tinder date, finishing off some work in the daytime or having a few pre drinks before a big night. And whether it’s the latest psych-noise tape, a second hand garage white label, the freshest disco edits or just a copy of that East 17 album you’ve always secretly wanted, Rye Wax record staff won’t judge.