What do you know, I actually bought vinyl records in Phnom Penh. Our discovery of Space Four Zero, possibly Phnom Penh's best and coolest record ship, was completely by accident. We had completed a tour of the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda and were walking down Street 240 towards Monument Books on Norodom Boulevard when we saw the face of Cambodian pop icon Sinn Sisamouth smiling at us. The sign pointed us to the new location of Space Four Zero, on a row of hip-looking shop houses.
Besides being a vinyl emporium, Space Four Zero also sells pop art prints, which added to the colour to the premises. It's such a cool and hip space you could linger here for a long time. Unfortunately, there was no coffee shop attached to it.
Interestingly, the compact discs are priced far higher than the LPs. The CD of vintage Cambodian pop sold for USD 40, whereas the LPs went for a steal. Whoever thought you could get Nathan Milstein, Lazar Berman, Jacqueline du Pre and the 1966 Karl Bohm Tristan und Isolde here? These appear to be German pressings. The four pre-loved vinyl records set me back a cool USD 15!
This post is dedicated to the record-collecting Phan brothers, Ming Yen and Ming Ruey, and Kevin YL Tan who would have no doubt pounced on these classics, if given the opportunity.
SPACE FOUR ZERO
25 Street 240, Phnom Penh
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