Alphaville, the 1965 French New Wave dystopian film is one that holds a creative legacy, and the same could be said for German synth-pop three-piece of the same name – so is Alphaville Withington about to put the district on the cusp of creative revolution?
Owners Hayley Scott and Kane Martin were once part of Wilderness, the beloved hybrid cafe, record store and bar that closed its doors in Withington back in April.
Whilst creative revolution might be pencilled in for their future plans, the pair approached the new bookstore concept armed with a keen love for a musty scented secondhand book, punk music and their beloved local community.
Putting their heads together one day over a pint, and after the sad closure of Wilderness earlier this year, Hayley and Kane wanted to open Alphaville to encourage creativity through a range of impressively curated literature, music and events which they host through Alphaville Records.
Alphaville Records is a DIY label and artist management company that was founded back in 2019. In keeping with the store’s commitment to its community, it specialises in brand-new alternative music from some of the North’s greatest local artists and has recently put on gigs at the likes of Withington’s Public Hall with electronic great, Lonelady.
Inside the store, you’ll find wall to wall novels, both new and secondhand, that have been carefully sourced from both Hayley and Kane’s personal collections, as well as charity shops and local distributors.
Alphaville houses books that its owners have either already read, or are wanting to read and with influential writers such as Mark Fisher held to high esteem here, you know the selection is going to be a good one.
There’s also a large selection of local publications including zines, poetry, photography including the DA DA DA fanzine, which documents the punk movement of the late 1980s – reflective of the DIY working class ethos that’s important to Alphaville’s owners.
Alphaville is open now from 12pm – 8pm Wednesday – Saturday.
……………………….
Tags:
newsletter
