Some summer rituals are non-negotiable. Mine begins in Valencia. Every year I return for a few days with my family and, while the city is still asleep, lose myself in the centre: empty streets, shutters rising, cafés setting out their chairs. It is the perfect time to do what I enjoy most—stepping into shops with a history. Books, clothes, music. No hurry.
This summer I had a clear destination: Disco Oldies. For months I had watched Mario's Instagram videos—the new arrivals, the discoveries and his direct way of talking about vinyl. It had been too long since I had visited a record shop like the ones I remembered. The moment I crossed the threshold, the old feeling returned: disappearing into labyrinthine shelves, convinced that any crate might contain the record you have been hunting for or a sleeve you will fall in love with, while time slows around you.
I already knew part of the story: four friends who decided to run a vinyl business face to face with the public. No algorithms, just judgement and street-level knowledge. On my first visit I only browsed—display copies, reissues, rarities, new releases, second-hand records. An entire world in which to get lost. I wanted to introduce myself to Mario and say that I followed his videos, but I lost my nerve.
I came home and thought about it. We had just launched this magazine and it was clear to me that his story fit here. I calmly began to prepare questions, with the idea of talking about music, a physical store and how to sustain a passion in 2026.
I returned a few days later. This time I introduced myself. Mario opened up immediately and agreed to the interview. He is young, direct and genuinely welcoming. Talking music with him was as easy as turning over a good record for side B. We arranged to speak again a few days later.
Interview
After three days offline in Las Negras, Cabo de Gata—phone switched off, with only the beach, books and music for company—Mario returns to the “routine” of the record shop and gives us some of his limited time. We are here to discuss what drove four young friends to take over one of Valencia's most historic record shops: Disco Oldies.
Valdi You are four young entrepreneurs. What led you to embark on this adventure together?
Mario I think we must have been out of our minds, especially given our age. I wasn't even 30 when we took the leap.
Valdi How did the opportunity to take over Disco Oldies come about?
Mario The opportunity came up in September 2021, when the previous owners put a sign on the door. One of my partners, Pere, saw it and told his brother Andreu, who then told Chema and me. The timing simply worked. I had taken leave because I could no longer face my job, and another partner was burnt out too. We began to consider it and took over in January 2022. Looking back is dizzying: so much more responsibility. Self-employment rewires your brain, for better and worse, because everything depends on your work. But I am doing what I love most, so I couldn't be happier.
Valdi Did you have experience as a businessman?
Mario As business owners, none at all. It was our first time. I had worked in retail and studied marketing, but in other fields. Music was our hobby—and it still is. My partners were similar: one worked in general buying and selling, another in factories. We all had work experience, but none of us had been the boss before.
Valdi In an era dominated by digital platforms, what does vinyl represent to you?
Mario The connection with the things I like, a more physical connection. I have very varied tastes and I like to be surrounded by objects with which I identify. Having my collection at home and being able to turn to it whenever I feel like it is essential to being at peace with myself.
I was born in 1993, so I lived through the transition to Spotify. I saw it and thought, “Cool—but having access to everything, all the time, isn't normal.” It has advantages, but for me the negatives outweigh them. It devalues the things you love. Younger generations are beginning to push back against that.
Valdi Do you remember what your first vinyl was?
Mario Not exactly, but I think the first one I bought with my own money was Amy Winehouse's Back to Black. We sell a lot of copies here, to all kinds of people—especially younger customers. It has never stopped selling.
But my first contacts were Christmas gifts from my parents: Beatles records. BBC Sessions. As a baby I already sang Beatles songs in the car, my mother says. At 14 years old I was already interested in vinyl, although there wasn't even a turntable at home. I liked having things that I connected with.
Valdi What is your most precious vinyl?
Mario Ugh, difficult. A first edition in mono Revolver, by the Beatles, quite rare. Two copies of El Escarabajo más grande de Europa, from El Niño Gusano, which my partner and a friend gave me for my birthday without agreeing. Soul singles that cost me time, effort and money to obtain.
And a Spanish promo of Joy Division's “Love Will Tear Us Apart” with a label misprint: the translated title says “love will not separate” rather than “love will tear us apart”. Tiny mistakes like that fascinate me. Even Borja from Los Prieto Flores is desperate to find one. I bought mine from a shop that had not realised it was a collector's item.
Valdi And which one are you ashamed of having bought?
Mario I do not deny the guilty pleasures. I am unable to get rid of disks. I always think I'll give it a second chance. I couldn't tell you.
What was a disappointment: Sleaford Mods. They stopped a concert in Madrid because of a Palestinian flag. A band with a political discourse that then only cares about what happens in England. I'm not ashamed of having their albums, but the myths fell apart.
Valdi Do you think vinyl is still a niche product or is it experiencing a true second youth?
Mario Here in the store yes, but at a general level capitalism has squeezed it. Tomorrow a Madonna album comes out with 15 editions and I only get two. Therefore, this store is for niche people, because we work with people who value what they buy. We don't notice that superficiality. We select. I spend hours a week listening to records to decide what to bring. I know my clients. Neither a platform nor El Corte Inglés has that.
Valdi What musical genres are you personally most passionate about?
Mario I love the 60s, black music, I love soul. Also noise and things like No Wave. The dissonance of 90s alternative rock, like Pavement. I recently got No New York, by Brian Eno, which is a compilation of No Wave bands from 1978, like Mars. It is very difficult to find and I am very fond of it. It's an album that I can only play at home and I can't take it to play, but I love it.
Valdi What does a record store have that a streaming platform can't offer?
Mario The chance to follow your intuition: walking in without knowing what you will buy, letting a cover call to you, asking someone for advice. With streaming, people now arrive having done their homework. It used to be more human; you let yourself be guided and asked questions.
I like that each store has personality and that not everything is available like in large stores. Here we bet on things and that's why I spend hours and hours a week listening to music to see what I can bring. It is evaluating the selection work.
Valdi Disco Oldies is a store with a recognized history. What does it mean to you to take on that legacy?
Mario A lot of responsibility. The former owners wanted people to lift it up, to look to the future. The business was stuck in the past.
At first it was very much, “What am I doing here?” They gave us two months of training. We worked alongside them and met the regulars. We learnt a great deal. We have kept 30-year-old posters, now framed. The best moment is when somebody returns after years away and says, “It still feels the same.”
They sold vinyl, CDs, DVDs and collectables. We reduced the space devoted to the other formats so we could stock more records. We needed the room.
Valdi What new features are you going to introduce or have you introduced in this new stage?
Mario We already control the business. Now it's time to grow in events. We started at a local level and now it's different. Sidonie was there recently, this afternoon a Valencian band is coming... Now I have to say no to many proposals.
We have a very good relationship with the labels, with the artists, with the music scene. We schedule many album presentations, listening parties. In fact, next Wednesday we will do one of Jack White's new album and raffle off a vinyl signed by him.
I have many ideas. I want to make more educational content on networks, but there is no time. The four of us live from this. My secondary job is DJing, but what I earn I spend on records. The truth is that I lead a fairly dynamic life, but you also have to know when to stop.
Every year we stage the Disco Oldies festival at 16 Toneladas; the next edition is in February 2027. I also help with the La Pérgola concerts and other events in a personal capacity, not as a promoter. I run plenty of cables, but I do not plan to make it my profession. It is punishing work and leaves no time for anything else.
Valdi What role do social networks play in your strategy?
Mario A very important one. When we took over the shop, it had no social-media presence. I clearly remember opening the Oldies Instagram account and publishing the first post; now we have more than 21,000 followers. I learnt how to use the platforms as I went, and it is a job in itself. Managing them could be a full-time role, but I juggle a thousand other things. I would still like to devote more time to it.
What the owners in the store did in the past, recommending things, well I have found a way to do it on social networks and it is something cool. Also, I don't want it to be a pamphlet just to sell records. I dedicate time to listen to it and be able to recommend the album. I'm not saying nonsense that I have read in a press release. I recommend things that I like and that's why I like to do it.
Valdi How do you see the vinyl market currently in Spain?
Mario News keeps coming out that sales records are being broken, but this news is not our reality. Most stores do not report our sales to these statistics. These sales volumes are highly dependent on large stores.
What worries me is that they will keep pushing up prices, treating customers like idiots and issuing fifteen editions of every album. Labels and record companies have a major responsibility. If they keep squeezing, it will do real damage, because people's spending power is limited. I sleep more easily because second-hand records are our core business.
Valdi How do you see the current Valencian scene?
Mario Better than ever. When I started going out, Valencia was a wasteland. There was Magazine Club and little else. Now there are many young bands with a great spirit. Collectives such as Plagaindie are building solidarity between groups and encouraging real openness in their sound.
This scene outside of Valencia has been starting to be valued for some years now. Right now there are many Valencian bands included in the most alternative national circuit and they are highly regarded. Bands like La Plata have influenced others to form a group. It's like the Joy Division effect in Manchester, but in a Valencia version.
Our store is also a meeting point for all these bands. We have seen kids who were kids when we created the store and now we sell them tickets to concerts they organize. Above all, it is a meeting place when we organize activities or events, like the one this afternoon, when the band The Liquorice Experiment comes to present their new album. A very cool atmosphere is generated, since they are all colleagues and acquaintances, and also with free beers. All very cool.
Valdi Do you think that a festival like the FIB has influenced the Valencian music scene or the tastes of your clients?
Mario For me the FIB does not represent anything right now, but it is true that it is a very important festival in the Community. My first festival was the FIB and I went with a minor bracelet. For many of us, it has been our first contact with what live music is.
Valdi Which music sells more, the new ones or the old ones?
Mario By volume, older music. If we had a million records, 995,000 would be old rather than new. But we take great care with new releases. Every Friday people wait to see the small selection we bring in. The number of reissues of older records also blurs the line.
We do not stock a new album simply because it is new. We consider everything that comes our way. We do not buy for the sake of buying: if a record says nothing to us, it does not come in. You will not see the new Alejandro Sanz album here.
Valdi What do family and friends tell you about this unique business venture?
Mario We had quite a bit of support. At first we were incredulous, but since the previous owners were very clear with us and showed us numbers, and we saw that things worked as they did with them, we saw it quite clearly: that at least we threw a little energy and ideas into it, it was going to work.
My parents are super proud. The other day I was on a TV show and my grandmother and my family were freaking out: “What is Mario doing on TV?”
Valdi Have you had any moments of doubt during the process?
Mario I have no doubts about having gotten into this. Doubts about how to run the business, how to manage it, yes. I'm not going to say that it has been a bed of roses, because there have been years of a lot of suffering, therapy and important decisions, but it has been an enormous personal learning that I would not have had otherwise. Super happy and delighted with life.
Valdi What does each of you contribute to the project?
Mario We are four people, with very different personalities, with different tastes and very different attitudes. And it is something that we valued at the beginning: forming a team in which each of us takes care of certain things.
Valdi If you had to recommend a single vinyl to someone starting a collection, what would it be?
Mario The Beatles' Revolver. Although The Velvet Underground & Nico may be the most important album in rock history, I would choose Revolver as a starting point.
Valdi What album is playing the most lately in your store?
Mario Roses, by Widowspeak. A cool American group, released by Captured Tracks. A beautiful album that we keep on loop at home and in the store.
Valdi What would you like a person to feel when they walk through the door of Disco Oldies?
Mario That they are at home.
Valdi Complete this sentence: “We bought Disco Oldies because…”
Mario “We wanted to be happy.” It is the most honest.
Valdi At a time when millions of songs fit on a mobile phone, why do you think it still makes sense to invest in a vinyl store?
Mario Because if you have everything, you are unable to pay attention to it. People are stuffed with input. It is not logical to have access to everything.
Valdi Mario, thank you for your time and we will see you soon.
Mario A big hug. And if I remember a record that embarrasses me, I'll write to you.
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