Events › Sonic Histories: Living Room Listening with Chinatown Records 華埠錄音

Join us for a special Living Room Listening event at the library, presented by Chinatown Records 華埠錄音. This intimate gathering invites you to delve into the music we love and the histories behind them.

Experience the history and memories of Chinatown's musical heritage through a curated selection from Chinatown Records' expansive archive—featuring over 30 record collections passed down from family and neighbors. Listen to the songs that have resonated in Chinatown living rooms for generations, and uncover the personal stories and memories that come with them.

We believe everyone can be both a DJ and an oral historian, so we encourage guests to bring a favorite record of their own or pick a favorite from the Chinatown Records collection to listen and soundtrack our living room with us – and share the special memories attached to these treasured songs.

After the event, you'll have the chance to submit your own beloved song and memory to create a community playlist on Spotify – a collective musical record, celebrating our shared experiences and stories. You’ll also take home a special reminder to reconnect with someone special over your favorite songs.

Walk away from this event inspired by the music and memories of others, and find new ways to connect with the songs that shape your own life stories. Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate music and memory in a warm, community-centered setting.

About Chinatown Records

Chinatown Records 華埠錄音 is a homegrown community effort to celebrate the sonic tapestry of music, memory, & history that comes with inherited family collections. Homebased in NYC’s Manhattan Chinatown, DJ historian yiuyiu 瑶瑶 takes on her childhood name to care for & activate the Chinatown Records archive of over 30 record/CD/tape collections inherited from her family & neighbors. yiuyiu 瑶瑶 has the most fun playing records of golden songs at senior centers, leading karaoke dance floors with families & neighbors on the streets of Chinatown, & heating up club nights – as a dancer & DJ – with all genres of Chinese dance music. Spanning across Chinatown block parties, sonic histories, living room listenings, and beyond, Chinatown Records 華埠錄音 is an ever-growing record of the people we love, who bring all this music to life with us.

chinatownrecords.us || @chinatownrecordsproject @rochellehkwan

This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Oakland Public Library.

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