Pre-order your copy of George Danquah's "Hot and Jumpy" LP reissue and get a limited edition pink vinyl pressing. We're only making 100 copies in pink and the only way to get one is by pre-ordering it through our website before the street date of August 9th. Learn more and have a look at the pink test pressing in the video below. When they're gone, they're gone!

Tonight we are supposed to be partying with our friends and supporters here in Minneapolis as we assemble our reissue of Tabou Combo's Respect LP.  However, yesterday the LPs showed up from the plant and over 3/4 of them are warped.  It's sort of bittersweet, though.  We would never have caught this problem if we didn't do our own assembly.  Most factories wouldn't take the time to test every single record the way we do here.  That means if we hadn't been doing things the way we are doing them, that your copy of this record could have showed up warped.  We're trying to look on the bright side and are just happy that we caught the issue when we did.  To learn more about this issue and see how we test for warped records, check out the video below.

At this point we don't know when the plant will provide replacement LPs, but we'll be sure to keep you up to date.  We're very sorry to those who pre-ordered the limited edition colored version.  We appreciate your  support and will get these records to you ASAP.  You are our top priority.  If you have any questions or concerns, please email our sales department.

Also, we should mention that included in the shipment from the plant was the re-order of K. Frimpong's Blue Album.  It looks like many of those didn't warp, so we'll let you know when they are fully assembled and available for purchase through our webstore.  We're still testing them all to make sure we don't ship any duds.

We are pumped, once again, to extend an open invitation to everyone in the Twin Cities area to join us at the Tabou Combo assembly party! There will be free beer and pizza (all from local makers) as well as a free album for anyone who pitches in. We've set aside 15 copies of the limited edition purple and black swirl vinyl for people who come to help out. There are only 100 of these in existence! If you want one, please RSVP ASAP to reserve your copy! Thanks to everyone in the past for coming, helping us assemble records, and making it a fun time!

Please bring some records to spin. We've got a couple turntables and a mixer set up. We'll take turns controlling the speakers all night.

If you are in the Twin Cities area, check out our Facebook event page and join us!

We are excited to announce our next release: George Danquah - Hot & Jumpy. More details will arrive soon as to our plans for limited edition pre-orders!


Hot and Jumpy is one of the funkiest gems to come out of the incredible 1970's Ghanaian music scene. It is the only known album by this New Edubiase (3 hours NW of Accra) native. He appears to have arrived out of thin air, recorded one of the funkiest albums in African history, and then vanished. However, this isn’t entirely true.


Throughout his career, Danquah played with many of Ghana’s top musicians. Before recording this album, he toured much of West Africa playing in such bands as Benya Beats, Blue Monks (which C.K. Mann, Ebo Taylor, and Pat Thomas were all members of), and the legendary Uhuru Dance Band (one of today’s most popular artists from this scene). He honed his skills playing with some of the country’s greatest musicians and arrangers. Hot and Jumpy is the culmination of many years of hard work and musical exploration.

Click here to download a free track!

Take a peek at Part 2 of the "Intern's Guide to Minnesota Vinyl" as Billy and Lee venture over to the Needle Doctor and discover how they got started and how their clientele has changed over the years.

This week the interns headed over to the Needle Doctor in St. Louis Park. When owner Jerry Raskin started the Needle Doctor in 1979, it was located in the University of Minnesota's Dinkytown neighborhood where it remained a staple until its move in 2010. While still offering a great online selection, the move to a bigger location in St. Louis Park has given the Needle Doctor a greater opportunity to assist customers in-store with their questions, as well as continue to build its reputation as a reputable vinyl accessory dealer.

Unfortunately the plant is a little behind with the pressing of our Tabou Combo records. As it turns out, they broke the stampers and had to have new ones made. Above is a picture of a record stamper. These very thin pieces of metal are used to "press" the grooves into the vinyl. Under 20,000+ pounds of pressure, they've been known to break from time to time. The records should be shipped to us today, but we'll keep you up to date if there are any more delays. We're very sorry for any inconvenience. We appreciate your patience.

-Eric Foss
Secret Stash Records

If you've ever seen one of our records, you've probably noticed a weird little cluster of black boxes on the cover sticker. This image is called a QR Code (quick response code). It's a very sophisticated type of bar code that was invented by Toyota in 1994 for the purpose of tracking vehicle parts in the manufacturing process. You've probably seen them before on airplane tickets and FED EX labels. In recent years people have gotten very creative with the use of these codes. Today just about any smart phone can run a QR reader which allows the user to scan QR codes and deliver content immediately to their device. QR codes are being used to deliver coupons, contact information, and even text messages.

6 or 7 months ago we became very enamored with this technology and starting playing around with ways in which we could harness this technology. It seems like most people use this technology as way to push something on you. We wanted to use it as a way to enhance consumers' experiences with our brand. That's what lead to the "listening station sticker" concept. Now every one of our records are stickered with a QR code that delivers a free streaming sample of that record when scanned with a smart phone. The stream is delivered via youtube to avoid any compatibility issues (what smart phone doesn't work with youtube, right?!).

So next time you are browsing the bins at your favorite record store and come across a Secret Stash release, pick it up, scan the QR and try before you buy. If you don't like what you hear, don't buy it!  Check out the video below to learn more....

Check out Part 1 of the "Intern's Guide to Minnesota Vinyl" - Secret Stash interns Billy and Lee visit Shuga Records and learn about this NE Minneapolis-based record store's history and plans for the future.


This week the interns checked out Shuga Records in Northeast Minneapolis. Originally known for their major online presence, Shuga moved to a 7,500-square-foot building in 2009 to accommodate their growing business, while also giving local musicians a place to hold shows. Boasting a collection of close to 60,000 records, Shuga is a force in the vinyl community and is an obvious stop for die-hard collectors.


The “Interns Guide to Minnesota Vinyl” was started as a way to showcase the record stores, turntable and accessory retailers, and DJs that operate out of the Twin Cities. Nationally, Minneapolis has a reputation for being a very music-savvy city, so being able to highlight some interesting stories and indie vinyl stores is the perfect way to show the state’s vinyl depth. Over the course of the next several weeks, the “Guide” will provide countless tips and tricks for finding the hippest in all things spinning.

We're very excited to announce that we are now taking pre-orders for our reissue of "Respect..," the legendary 1973 LP by Haiti's Tabou Combo.  To celebrate this exciting release, we've pressed 100 units in purple/black swirl colored vinyl.  The only way to get your copy of this limited edition colored pressing is by pre-ordering it from our website before July 12, 2011.  Each one is hand numbered.  The sooner you order, the lower number LP you will receive.  Last time we did this, they sold out in just over 4 days.  If you want one, reserve your copy now!  Price: $17 (USD) + shipping.  To learn a bit more about this release and have a look at the pruple/black mixed vinyl, check out the video below.

The jackets and LPs for the K Frimpong "Blue Album" LP are here! Once again we're extending an open invitation to anyone in the Twin Cities area who would like to come pitch in with the assembly process. There will be free beer and pizza (all form local makers) as well as a free album for anyone who pitches in. We've set aside 15 copies of the limited edition blue vinyl for people who come to help out. There are only 100 of these in existence! If you want one, please RSVP ASAP to reserve your copy!  You can RSVP by sending an email here

Please bring some records to spin. We've got a couple turntables and a mixer set up. We'll take take turns controlling the speakers all night.

Where: 711 W Lake St, suite 211, Minneapolis, 55408

When: 6pm.  Last time we finished assembly by 10, but people stuck around for an hour or so.

Phone: 612-466-2224

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