Interview: Jovahn Sandhu, Resolute Records

Resolute Records is evolving from Toronto’s smallest record shop into a hub for the city's vinyl culture.

While having a uniquely tiny record store tucked away on Toronto’s bustling Queen Street was a huge flex, owner Jovahn Sandu's mission to provide Toronto with a home for new vinyl releases couldn't be limited to only 75 square feet. After a short transition period, Resolute Records moved down the street and is now back and bigger than ever. We caught up with Jovahn before the move to learn more about what's in store for the next chapter of Resoute Records.

How did Resolute Records first come together?

My parents exposed me to music in different ways in my childhood. They would play records around the house. I've been a record collector my entire life, mostly CDs and cassettes in my younger days, and then vinyl in the last 15 years.

Before Resolute Records became my full-time job, I worked in hospitality as a chef and a consultant. When the industry took a hit during the pandemic, I needed to pivot careers. The industry is hard on your body, soul, and family, and I've always wanted to open a record store. At the time, many were scrambling to go online, so I saw a small opportunity to provide a service here in Toronto.
 
In December 2020, I registered the business, I maxed out a few credit cards, bought some records, and started an online store only. It was a risk at the time because I knew I wouldn't make a ton of money. Rather than taking a big risk and signing a commercial lease, I ran the early operations out of my home. Once I saw that it was feasible, that fear went away.

What did the early days of the shop look like during the pandemic?

It was an online-only store for the first three years. Because of the pandemic, people had to either pick up curbside at my apartment building, or I would drive records to their homes. 

Six months after that, I opened up a small, brick-and-mortar space, which I needed to do. Because Resolute Records was growing, I couldn’t keep operating from home, as the den in my apartment was full of boxes of records.

What kind of listening experience are you trying to create through the shop’s selection?

The DNA of Resolute Records was once heavily influenced by 90s Alternative Rock and Grunge. It’s what I grew up with. The demographic I was going after gravitated toward that genre, and that’s what was mostly in stock at first. Eventually, Resolute Records evolved into a store that stocked the best and most celebrated records of all time.

What are you most excited about with the move into the new space?

Sometimes, you have to take risks on certain albums and artists that you may or may not have ever heard to support the local scene. Now, I have space to do that. I'm looking forward to expanding the collection of the greatest records of all time. Having more stock in specialized genres would be huge, since the old location was limited to what I could fit in only 75 square feet.

Now, I can curate a larger, more diverse collection that reflects what I'm listening to these days. Personally, I've been getting into Jazz a lot lately, so I'm starting to try to stock more Jazz. Jazz, Metal, and Punk are genres I'd like to have dedicated sections for.

Before, the store was so small that it couldn't really be a hub for anything beyond records. The new store has almost four times the shopping space, so it will feel more open and inviting. I’ll decorate, put up a community board, and host a few bands to get more involved in the local music scene.

What made staying on Queen Street important for the next chapter of Resolute Records?

I moved down the street from the old location. The new space is a bit larger and is a recently designated heritage building, built around 1830. Though I grew up in London, Ontario, I like how vibrant the neighbourhood is. I like the multiculturalism; all the languages you hear in the summer when walking down the street. I live nearby, so keeping the store here made sense.

How have you built trust and community around the shop?

There are a million places to buy a new record, so building trust is important when so many stores offer the same new vinyl. Being personable is important. There's that "High Fidelity record-store employee" stereotype that when I opened the shop, I wanted to be the opposite of. When Resolute Records was online-only, I would deliver records to people's houses and offer curbside pickup. That gave me the opportunity to talk with people and get to know them. Post-pandemic, I saw high customer return just by being friendly and reliable.

Social media helps me connect with people who don't frequent the store. My social media has always been about celebrating a record. I'll post a picture of the record and caption it with stories about the album or how I connect with it. That way, someone who had followed me for a year can walk into the shop and be already familiar with me.
 
I take pride in my packaging, and many customers appreciate the extra care and attention to detail. I focus on premium packaging and ensure records arrive in good shape; I wouldn't accept a record with a little ding in the corner, and I don't think my customers would either. Everything at the shop is in a sleeve to protect the shrink wrap, which is important to some collectors. If people purchase records as an investment, they should be in good shape when they buy them.

Why is physical media still important to you?

I've always felt there's something beautiful about having something tangible, like physical media. The format forces you to listen and pay attention, which is a lost art these days. In the unlikely event that the internet went away, all the music, pictures, and videos we don't have physical copies of would be gone.

To see what Resolute Records has in store, please visit resoluterecords.ca