For record collectors, half the fun is never knowing what you are going to find.
That spirit of discovery sits at the heart of Lifted Trax, a new specialist record store at 25 Lorong Telok, in the middle of Singapore's music and nightlife district. From secondhand dance records and rare groove to new releases from artists and labels across Asia, the shop is designed as somewhere listeners can dig deep, discover something unfamiliar, and stay awhile.
Tucked away on the third floor of a shophouse, Lifted Trax is the project of Singapore-based DJ, producer, and label head Jordan Glick, who performs and releases music as Dexter Colt and runs the labels Darker Than Wax and Super Enjoy.
Canadian-born Glick has lived in Singapore for 20 years, and left a corporate career in the music industry to build the record store. While the idea had been on his mind for some time, a trip to Japan in May 2025 ultimately pushed him to make it happen.
“The idea had been kicking around in my head for a while,” Glick shared. “Then I was in Japan for some gigs, and all my free time between shows was spent digging — Revelation Time, Rare Groove and Compufunk in Osaka, Mole Music in Nara, Rana Musica and Ella Records in Tokyo.”
It wasn't only the records that stayed with him.
“Something about talking to the owners and spending hours in those rooms made me realise record shops are my favourite spaces in the world — and some of the most important spaces for community building in local music scenes,” he continued. “I came home extremely inspired and started working on Lifted Trax straight away.”
A shop made for the long dig
That Japanese record-store experience helped shape what Lifted Trax would eventually become.
Its secondhand collection moves across dance and electronic music, ambient and new age, reggae and dancehall, jazz, soul, disco, rare groove, and other sounds, with the emphasis firmly on a tightly selected catalogue rather than simply filling as many crates as possible.
Alongside those secondhand records is a smaller new-release section with a strong focus on artists and labels from across Asia. Independent dance music from North America and Europe also makes its way onto the shelves, including records that previously may have required Singapore listeners to order internationally or pick up while travelling.
The result is a selection that draws inspiration from specialist shops in Japan, New York, and London while placing music from Asia prominently within the mix.
There is more than vinyl to browse, too. Lifted Trax stocks vinyl care products, turntable accessories, incense, zines, and other goods for anyone looking to spend considerably more time around a record player.
For Glick, though, what happens to a record after it leaves the shop can be just as interesting as how it arrived there.
Some of Lifted Trax's secondhand stock comes from older DJs in Singapore, allowing records that once soundtracked the city's dancefloors to find their way into the collections of another generation.
“I get most excited when records sourced from an older DJ’s collection get picked up by a younger DJ,” he said.
“This physical object that was moving dancefloors in Singapore twenty, thirty years ago is getting a new life, and will continue to be part of the city’s dance music culture. That perpetuation of musical heritage, in such a tangible way, is one of the main reasons I love records.”
It is a particularly fitting cycle for a store built around secondhand music: one DJ lets go of a record, another finds it years later, and the same piece of wax enters a different chapter of Singapore's club culture.
From Lorong Telok to the rest of Asia
Lifted Trax may have a physical home in Singapore, but Glick is also looking beyond the city.
The store ships its entire collection — both secondhand records and new releases — throughout Asia. That means listeners and collectors in places such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Hong Kong can shop from the same catalogue as someone dropping by the store in person.
It also gives Lifted Trax a wider role within a region where specialist records can often be spread across different cities and scenes.
While the shelves are naturally a major part of the experience, Glick's ambitions for the shop go beyond retail.
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Lifted Trax is expected to host in-store events, organise club nights around Singapore, and eventually operate in-house record labels, extending the project into a broader platform for the musicians, DJs, listeners, and communities around it.
“I hope the shop contributes to the growing landscape of cultural spaces here,” Glick shared, “by being a place to meet like-minded people, exchange ideas, and forge musical connections in the local scene.”
And what exactly should an afternoon there feel like?
For Glick, the answer does not involve anything overly complicated.
“Buzzing but calm, nice light coming through the windows, and a great track you’ve never heard before coming through the speakers.”
For anyone who has ever lost an afternoon flicking through crates, that probably says enough.
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Lifted Trax is located at 25 Lorong Telok #03-01, Singapore 049037. The store is open from 12 PM to 7 PM on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 12 PM to 8 PM on Fridays and Saturdays, and 12 PM to 6 PM on Sundays, and is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Lifted Trax also ships its secondhand and new-release collections throughout Asia. For more information, visit www.liftedtrax.com, follow @liftedtrax on Instagram, or contact +65 8083 3184 / contact@liftedtrax.com
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