The world’s best record shops #079: Clone, Rotterdam

An electronic hotspot in Holland for over two decades.

Every week, we pick out one must-visit spot from a different city around the world with photos and a little bit of history. Think of it as a kind of 1000 places to see before you die for record shops.

While Amsterdam boasts an enticing offering of (vinyl) delights, like Rush Hour and Red Light Records who also made this list, the venerable Clone cements Rotterdam as a must-visit Dutch port of call.

Though its location has varied slightly during the course of its 20+ years of operation, Clone has remained a unique epicentre for independent electronic music, beginning as a techno label in 1993, before opening up a storefront and distribution wing a few years later.

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Clone

Contact

Location: Raampoortstraat 12, 3032 AH Rotterdam, Netherlands

Go for: Clone’s own imprints like Royal Oak and Jack for Daze, vintage rarities, and that 300-copy Kenny Larkin promo you never knew existed.

What’s the story?

Since Serge Verschuur founded record label Clone 25 years ago, it has grown to encompass over a dozen different sublabels, a distribution company, and a physical store that features the finest new and secondhand, independent, electronic records from around the world.

Like its founder, the shop’s staff are refreshingly unsnooty and passionate about helping customers to discover lesser-known gems.

“I built a whole record company and record store off selling the B2 sides, so I always check the B2s,” says Vershuur.

It is this attitude toward finding and sharing music that others might overlook, reflected in the types of vinyl on offer in store, as well as via the label, that makes Clone so special today.