When, in the summer of 2014, Shadi Megallaa announced loudly from the cover of a now-defunct weekly local music magazine that he would open a specialist vinyl record store in Dubai, it sounded like a braver, more eccentric endeavour than it does now.
This is in part because of a global vinyl revival, which last year registered sales at a 25-year high as 12-inch albums were readily stocked by Europe's supermarket chains and
clothing retailers.
But this is partly, also, because Dubai's cultural vogue has evolved at a phenomenal pace over the past three years. A proliferation of food trucks, open-mic nights and leftfield homegrown clothing brands speak of a sudden hipster invasion, some where the vinyl fad fits right in.
“Dubai has changed a lot in the last three years – it sounded crazy at the time,” says Megallaa of his 2014 launch. “People kept asking me ‘Are you out of your mind?’– but now, not
so much.”
The DJ-turned-entrepreneur's dream finally became a reality recently when The Flip Side opened in Alserkal Avenue.
READ MORE: LISTEN: Flip Side DXB's Shadi Megallaa shares the best sounds you'll ever hear
Three years ago, the arts hub was still largely a stomping ground for those in the know, but today, following a 2015 expansion that doubled its size and applied a welcoming sheen to the former industrial area, it is now known by many taxi drivers and regarded by visitors as an emerging tourism destination.
Alserkal is an ideal location for a record shop. The Flip Side’s airy warehouse space wafts with both arty affluence and nostalgic reverence. Vintage blues and jazz resound from overhead speakers. Iconic and rare record covers line the walls – a mix of familiar faces like Bob Marley and Etta James, alongside nerdy new compilations of obscure, decades-old African and Arabic recordings.
“If this doesn’t work, what have I got to lose?“ says Megallaa, before dashing off to flip a spinning Art Taylor record – a classic 1960 session for the prized Blue Note label – over
to side B.
“It’s very surreal knowing you’re the only person in a whole country doing a thing – not many people can say that in any field. Every day I wake up and it blows my mind.”
His courage and patience appear to be paying off. When we stopped by, many of the racks were bare, a surprising result of selling out 70 per cent of the shop’s stock as quickly as it hits the shelves.
“We had a lot,” he says, surveying the empty space. “But they bought so much.”
Egyptian born, UAE-raised and widely travelled, Megallaa, who has been collecting records for almost two decades, wants to recreate the cultured, slightly nerdy community vibe of the record stores of his youth, hosting regular record launch parties and small-scale
live gigs.
While billed as Dubai's only independent vinyl store, The Flip Side is not technically the first. Ohm Records had a small record shop at their base in Sheikh Zayed Road, but The Flip Side is likely to be the largest.
The store's eclectic stock is divided into genres – blues, jazz, soul, funk, hip-hop, reggae – with no space for mainstream pop or rock releases. Aside from a rack of house and techno singles likely to be riffed by DJs, and a smattering of ambient records, nearly all the music is decades old.
Most of the imports are priced somewhere over the Dh100 mark. Releases on Megallaa's homegrown Ark to Ashes imprint start at Dh56 – but there is a second-hand bin of bargain cast-offs, all set at a flat Dh10, mainly electronic 12 inches which come straight from the owner's own epic collection.
“A lot of people come in and ask for a specific record. We can get it, but the point of coming to a record shop is discovering new music,” says Megallaa. “If you know what you want, just go and order it online.”
The Flip Side’s success will be likely to depend upon the fortunes of the global resurgence of vinyl.
Last year, more than 3.2 million records were sold in Britain alone – a 53 per cent increase on 2015, and a 16-fold increase on 2007, when digital downloads began dominating the music charts.
This newfound lust for the medium is widely seen as a rejection of the Mp3 age, a re-embrace of physical media – but it's also clear this growth cannot be sustained, and there will soon come a time when the LP-shaped bubble bursts.
“Vinyl is not going anywhere,” says Megallaa. “When the apocalypse comes and computers are extinct, there will be a pile of vinyl, still playable. Even after all the people have gone, vinyl will be here.
“Aliens will find them, and love them – that’s why they’re keeping us alive.”
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Don't get fined
The UAE FTA requires following to be kept:
- Records of all supplies and imports of goods and services
- All tax invoices and tax credit notes
- Alternative documents related to receiving goods or services
- All tax invoices and tax credit notes
- Alternative documents issued
- Records of goods and services that have been disposed of or used for matters not related to business
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Kibsons%20Cares
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERecycling%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fstrong%3EAny%20time%20you%20receive%20a%20Kibsons%20order%2C%20you%20can%20return%20your%20cardboard%20box%20to%20the%20drivers.%20They%E2%80%99ll%20be%20happy%20to%20take%20it%20off%20your%20hands%20and%20ensure%20it%20gets%20reused%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EKind%20to%20health%20and%20planet%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESolar%20%E2%80%93%2025-50%25%20of%20electricity%20saved%3Cbr%3EWater%20%E2%80%93%2075%25%20of%20water%20reused%3Cbr%3EBiofuel%20%E2%80%93%20Kibsons%20fleet%20to%20get%2020%25%20more%20mileage%20per%20litre%20with%20biofuel%20additives%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESustainable%20grocery%20shopping%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ENo%20antibiotics%3Cbr%3ENo%20added%20hormones%3Cbr%3ENo%20GMO%3Cbr%3ENo%20preservatives%3Cbr%3EMSG%20free%3Cbr%3E100%25%20natural%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
