Rupert Morrison, owner of Drift Records in Totnes, tells Groovy Times about the history of an indie record shop initiative with its roots lodged in a love of vinyl

Sometime around 2018 in a pre-pandemic world, Rupert Morrison, owner of Drift Records in Totnes and Natasha Youngs, co-founder of Resident in Brighton, drew up a list of independent record shops they both liked and wanted to work with more.

It was a list that included Piccadilly Records in Manchester, co-owned by Darryl Mottershead, and Margate’s Transmission Records, co-founded by Spencer Hickman, who has subsequently quit the retail business. Having long realised there was value in independent record stores co-operating, the quartet kicked around an idea called Dinked.

So what is Dinked exactly?
Dinked releases are limited-edition vinyl packages sold through a loose network of 20-plus independent record stores. As to how Dinked got going in practical terms, it all began, remembers Rupert Morrison, with a call to a contact at the Beggars Group. A “leap of faith” followed as Matador, one of the Beggars’ labels, came on board with a special edition of Kurt Vile’s seventh album, Bottle It In. Limited to 800 copies in orange and yellow splatter vinyl and housed in a die-cut sleeve with custom rounded corners, Dinked Edition No.1, released in October 2018, was a handsome artefact. More importantly, acting as it did as proof of concept, it was a success. “We launched it with our partner shops and sold it out in minutes,” remembers Morrison. “It was a really euphoric way to start.”

What’s happening?
From this small beginning, the Dinked catalogue has grown to encompass more than 300 releases, including new-release offerings from such artists as Field Music, The Weather Station, Hannah Peel, Tricky and Teenage Fanclub.

A parallel Dinked Archive series has encompassed, among others, reissues from Suede, Weyes Blood, The Coral And X-Ray Spex. To date, despite some releases being limited to 200 copies, Dinked has given the world in the region of 180,000 records.

Choosing the records, Morrison says, is “a very democratic process”. Labels pitch ideas for Dinked releases “all the time” and each potential release is discussed with the stores that will sell them. The artists have a say too. Brett Anderson, for example, made the final decision in choosing the tracks to include on a 7” single that was part of the package with a recent re-release of Dog Man Star.

“[The process] is highly curated to honouring the release as best we can,” Morrison says. If, he adds, Dinked went down the route of commercial releases that offered “cheap victories”, it would “change the dynamic” and destroy trust. And trust is crucially important. While, realistically, nobody is going to like every Dinked release, these are always records that are intriguing, where you can at least see why they’ve been chosen, suggests Groovy Times. “That’s a big thumbs up,” says Morrison. “That’s a badge of honour.”

Flipping ‘eck
Success brings its own problems. For all that Dinked releases are aimed at fans, there will always be those who buy the records to flip, sell on at a profit without even playing them. There’s only so much stores can do to prevent this, says Morrison. “We press a number that we think is suitable based on not putting pressure on the artist, the label and the individual partner shops,” he says. “We price the releases as best we can to sell.”

In addition, shops try to limit the number of purchases by individual customers, while every release is teased so that fans know when they go on sale. Recently, Morrison adds, Los Campesinos! Wanted to tell their “ardent” fan base direct about the Dinked release All Hell because the emo band knew they would “have to be engaged and involved” in the process, helping to manage fans’ expectations.

From a different angle, one former record store employee, who prefers not to be named, says that stocking certain releases can be a strain financially if they don’t sell quickly.

Keep on keeping on
Looking ahead, Dinked is now integral to the release landscape and, back to that idea that Dinked releases are always at least worth hearing, arguably particularly important for up-and-coming artists. While you cannot directly prove the Dinked release played a part in Fat Dog’s debut LP, WOOF, making the Top 20, it was surely a factor in helping to build a noise around the band.

“We have to keep doing what we’ve done well,” says Morrison. “I think we deliberately set parameters as loose as possible so that we have suitable room to grow, and we can include and continue to support a diverse range of shops and a diverse range of releases.” But the Dinked aesthetic will remain in place, don’t expect any overtly mainstream releases – ever.

A Dinked release a year

Seven releases that reveal the breadth of Dinked

2018
Halloween OST (No.2)
John Carpenter
A ‘reboot’ that “pays homage to the classic Halloween score that Carpenter composed and recorded in 1978”. 200 copies pressed, available for a very reasonable £20 or so via Discogs.

2019
Sweet Princess / Boundary Road Snacks And Drinks (No.30)
Dry Cleaning
The band’s first two EPs combined in a hand-signed and numbered edition. 500 copies pressed. Median Discogs price reflects the band’s recent success: a whopping £200.

2020
Fall To Pieces (No.55)
Tricky
The Bristol pioneer’s 14th album, which foregrounds the vocals of Polish singer Marta Złakowska. 800 copies pressed and on sale via Discogs for £20 upwards.

2021
Visions Of Light (No.117)
Ishmael Ensemble
Jazz with an experimental edge from the Bristol-based collective. Proof that, by 2021, Dinked was covering a huge range of musical bases. 300 copies pressed, expect to pay circa £30.

2022
The Unfolding (No.165)
Hannah Peel & Paraorchestra
Classical-electronic crossover between Peel and the ensemble led by Charles Hazlewood. 750 copies pressed. A far better record than the £20 median price on Discogs suggests.

2023
Irish Rock N Roll (No.253)
The Mary Wallopers
The trad punk folk band’s glorious sophomore album. 600 copies pressed and increasing in value. The cheapest near mint copy on Discogs will set you back £50.

2024
Fuse (No.18 – Archive Edition)
Cranes
Portsmouth doomsters’ debut from 1986, which back then was distributed only on cassette. 500 copies of this first vinyl edition were pressed and such is the enthusiasm of Cranes’ fans that it sold out fast. Mint copies on Discogs start at £50.