By “Sharing music gives me the greatest joy. As a collector, it’s fun to buy, but as a record shop owner, it’s the sharing aspect that gives me the most satisfaction. Turning people onto new – or sometimes old – music is priceless,” states Shadi Megallaa. “That’s what motivates me to do what I do and there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing,” adds The Flip Side boss.
Of all the vinyl champions we know on the planet, Shadi Megallaa is one of the most devoted. DJ and Ark to Ashes label founder, Shadi’s passion for black wax spurned him to open The Flip Side in 2017 – Dubai’s only record store at that time.
Growing up in Abu Dhabi, Shadi’s journey in music began when he discovered skateboarding. While music from bygone eras still played on local radio, skateboarding culture opened up a world of punk and hip-hop sounds to an impressionable young Shadi. As the ’80s flipped into the ’90s, Shadi was soon captivated by the emerging house, jungle and drum & bass sounds shaking up the music scene. Before long, he mastered the art of DJing and still plays out with vinyl to this day – an increasingly rare sight in today’s digital world.
Living for a while in New York, Shadi landed a job at Halcyon Records, in Brooklyn. This job had a huge impact on his life. After working in Halcyon, Shadi returned to the UAE harbouring a dream to one day open up his own record store. Opening The Flip Side wasn’t easy and running the store is challenging, but it’s Shadi’s happy place – and a growing community hub for vinyl lovers in Dubai.
Photo: Jalal Abuthina
The Flip Side is in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue. What’s so great about the location?
Being surrounded by other like-minded entrepreneurs. Alserkal is a creative place. I was interested in building my community in the shop organically. I feel like I can really do that in Alserkal. I’ve always wanted to attract the right people to the store. Everyone is welcome, of course, but I feel the store wouldn’t have the same vibe if it was anywhere else in Dubai. I’ve been in Alserkal for almost five years now and it really feels like home.
How will you be celebrating Record Store Day on 23rd April?
As always, we’ll be hosting our DJ friends to play sets throughout the whole day at The Flip Side. We’ll be releasing some Record Store Day releases and possibly doing a sale, as a thank you to the people who have supported us throughout our five years of existence. I’m always thinking of new things to do to keep life exciting. We’re always trying to break our routine and stay inspired.
What are some of your favourite in-store sessions, shows or cool vinyl sets you’ve seen?
I invited Jannis Stürtz from Habibi Funk Records and Charlie Levine from Soul Clap to be guests on my Shady Shadow Show podcast before we opened the store. Those were private events with lots of my close friends and we had an amazing time.
The Astral Travelling series with my good friend Hani J was also lots of fun. We did those on Thursdays pre-Covid. It’s always fun doing extended DJ sets, whether solo or back-to-back with other artists. We hosted The Afif Brothers, Abri and Noon to play live on a few occasions too. Live music always hits differently!
Other than that, our Just Another In-Store series at The Flip Side, where we invite lots of friends, whether seasoned veterans or newbie DJs, to play. Those have the best community feel. And most recently, our showcases with Analog Amigo Records.
You recently started running a DJ course. Tell us about that…
It’s something I’ve always hesitated to do simply because in the past most DJs taught themselves. I am self-taught and was forced to develop my own style and sound. However, I realised I can focus on the basic DJ skills and teach my students the importance of developing their own voices. As I get older, I realise there is no point in having all this knowledge if I’m not sharing it with the new generation.
The first course I’m giving focuses on the digital side of DJing. You don’t need to have any prior experience in the field to take this course. The next one will focus on playing vinyl. I’m looking forward to seeing how the DJ courses turn out and hope everyone enjoys the learning process.
Any funny stories you can share about running The Flip Side?
I’ve got tonnes of them but I’ll share the latest one as it’s still fresh in my mind. We got a call this past month from someone asking us for a record by Hans Zimmer. That in itself is a fair request. But then it turns out they wanted it autographed by Hans himself. Unfortunately, I don’t have Hans on speed dial and I’m not sure any other record shop in the world can fulfill that request. We’ve had a lot of strange requests but that one wins, hands down.
Photo: Jalal Abuthina
How can you explain your passion for vinyl culture?
I started collecting and playing records over 20 years ago so it’s not just something I love; it’s a direct extension of who I am. There is no greater feeling than getting a fresh batch of records from one of our distributors. Playing a record for the first time is probably one of the best feelings ever. As is playing a gig when you know you’ve got some amazing records to share with people – that feeling is still up there.
Where do you source your music from and what are some of the rare records you’ve found?
I love to shop for records at other shops. For The Flip Side, I source from various distributors around the world, mainly from Europe, the US, the UK and Japan. Lately, some of the rarer records I’ve come across have been Arabic ones; they are probably the hardest to find. Otherwise, there are a lot of amazing new reissues of scarce records. I’m loving these because they give you access to music you would probably not be able to afford. The quest for finding records is a never-ending one. There’s always more to add to a collection.
What’s happening in electronic music that’s making you excited today?
I’m loving the new rebirth of UK Garage. When it comes to this scene, there are amazing records constantly coming out. I’m guessing that Covid had a part to play. With no gigs for two years, it seems tonnes of music was produced during the pandemic.
Some people argue that DJing with vinyl and record store shopping is dying out in this digital age. What are your views?
For me, nothing beats shopping for music physically and putting the needle on a record for the first time. In a record store, you get to meet people, share recommendations and be part of the culture. I’ve always been a vinyl fanatic and always will be. Sure, everything is available digitally but you really do have to go through heaps of music until you start uncovering the gems. In a record shop, most of the time, the collection is curated. It’s already been narrowed down to feature the cream of the crop.
There is no right or wrong way to buy music, as long as you’re buying it and not expecting a freebie. Whatever makes people happy is all good with me. Different strokes for different folks.
What’s so special about owning vinyl though?
I feel like you don’t own music when you’ve only got it digitally. That music is either on your phone, laptop or hard drive. If anything happens to those devices your music disappears with it. Owning vinyl means it physically sits on a shelf in your house – you truly own it. You get to enjoy the artwork, pull out the record, hold it in your hand and play it on a turntable. You can interact with it in a way that makes you appreciate the music – something you don’t get with digital formats.
That said, I’m aware of all the upsides of having your music digitally as well. It’s convenient and that’s the biggest plus. It’s the same as ordering food to your house though – it’s handy but it will never bring you the same satisfaction as cooking your own meals at home.
You DJed at the Desert Groove festival in Ras Al Khaimah last month. What vibe did you take there?
I played a mix of deep house, garage and breakbeat. I always pack my bag with everything I might want to play. Once I got there, I felt the atmosphere and went from there. I find it incredibly boring to DJ if I already know what I’m going to play.
I’m always excited to see my fellow local DJs play too, mainly because they’re all good friends and I know they play dope music. I watched Hassan Alwan, Ricardo De Meneses, Tristan Girault and Maks – all great local DJs based in the UAE.
The Flip Side is five years old this year. Where does your story go from here?
Personally, I’d really love to get a chance to play more gigs outside of the UAE. I don’t really promote myself as a DJ. These days it’s all about self-promotion and marketing. I can’t bring myself to play that game and want to get booked solely on merit. I’ve been doing it this way since I started DJing back in the day and I’ll continue to do so.
As for The Flip Side, I want it to grow and continuously become a better version of itself. We will continue to add new things all the time. It’s a never-ending work in progress but I’m enjoying the ride.
For vinyl culture, I hope the prices don’t keep skyrocketing because that obviously affects us as retailers. The gas price going up doesn’t help either, as our shipping costs increase as a result. But vinyl is more alive than ever and always will be. It’s the most resilient culture I know and I’m happy to be a part of it.
Shadi’s Top Five Records
1. Lightnin’ Hopkins ‘Lightnin’ and the Blues’
I recently got a reissue of this Lightnin’ Hopkins release in beautiful packaging. I’m a huge Hopkins fan and the rawness of this floors me every time. No one can get close to the guitar tone. It’s timeless music.
2. John Coltrane Quartet Crescent
I’ve listened to this album millions of times and it only gets better with every play. If you aren’t familiar with John Coltrane’s music, this is a great place to start and end.
3. Scientist Scientist Rids the World of the Evil Curse of The Vampires
This is a stone-cold dub classic. I cried tears of joy when I found an original pressing of this.
4. Kruder & Dorfmeister K&D Sessions
Another absolute classic I was pleased to buy when it first came out back in the day.
5. Rhythm & Sound With The Artists
This one is basically the Bible when it comes to electronic dub music. I’ve played the grooves off that one so might need a new copy – or four – soon.
Also read: Shadi made it onto our UAE Music Power List last year. Find out who he’s rubbing shoulders with on the power list here.
Main photo: Jalal Abuthina
