• Sell your record collection & designate it / part to a vinyl library

    preserve your recordings & share them w/ the public, inspiring the next generation & beyond

  • VINYL LIBRARY

    WHAT

    We buy collections of records. Sell your collection and designate it, or a portion of it, to be preserved as part of a vinyl library, archived and made available for public listening sessions and as a corpus for creative work.

    We are building a vinyl library physically archived in a 19th-century church that we have purchased and are currently restoring. The church will serve as a venue for live music performance, music recording, and recorded music playback, including the vinyl library. Rather than checking albums out of the vinyl library, the venue will be open to the public at least once a month at no charge and take requests. The public will be able to request songs from the physical catalogue on site, and it will also be available online. We will support the public listening nights with a variety of other events, including record swaps between the community, events celebrating musicians, sales of new records and designated portions of the collection, and boutique-made audio equipment.

    Multiple music playback systems feature vintage analog components, restored by Magnetic Tape of Louisville, Kentucky, as well as custom tube-based equipment designed for jazz clubs, churches, and small performing arts venues, to give the public a sense of scale and impact of the original performances as an experience.

    We currently have over seven thousand albums, mostly classical, and are particularly interested in jazz, world, and esoteric recordings from smaller labels and out-of-print recordings.

    WHY

    Preserve music and replace algorithm-based determinism with organic discovery in a physical space, together with other people.

    We are archiving and cataloging the entire collection, and, where applicable within copyright compliance, are digitizing select recordings to share with other archiving databases such as Internet Archive, the National Library, and our hosting, all at no charge to the public.

    We fund internships for music history students and other interested parties to assist, as well as offer grants for the creative use of applicable material in new contexts.

    WHERE

    The Church is located in the heart of Historic Downtown New Albany, Indiana, at 416 E Spring St, next door to our offices at Sassafras Studios.

    WHEN

    We are actively buying collections now and currently cleaning, cataloguing, and archiving them. We buy collections either to be sold, preserved, or both, such as with duplicates. The church has been purchased and is undergoing historic renovations with a planned opening next spring.

    WHO

    Josh Rosenthal, a PhD in history, Fulbright recipient, and an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for work in technology, has historically restored venues in Louisville and is joined in this project by his teenage daughters, all interested in music, recording, history, and audio.

  • SASSAFRAS|The Space

    Space Bringing Sound to Light. A 19th Century Church & Stained Glass Gallery tuned for Acoustic Mixed Use.

  • Section image

    VINYL ARCHIVE

    Thousands of vinyls including rare, out of print, and small labels. Physical library on site with listening nights and ongoing work digitizing and sharing with archives where applicable. If you're a music history student who wants to archive or an artist exploring creative uses of historic material, we write small grants. And, if you're selling vinyl collections, we are buying.

    LISTENING

    Open listening nights featuring the vinyl library played on stellar tube, horn, and vintage systems restored by Magnetic Tape of Louisville, specialists from around the world & custom work from JuneBiscuit Audio. Not purist or museum, but retro & vintage gear mixed across the epochs, even 'lowbrow' kit with crazy lights from the 80s, 90s & 00s. Various events featuring record swaps, artist celebrations and release parties. If you're interested in ditching the algorithm's determinism and listening with real, live people, this is your spot.

    Section image
  • Section image

    PERFORMANCES

    An historic space designed for acoustics. Built with a sound-first from 19th century craftsmen surrounded by light from stained glass. Hear the space. These spaces are few and far between, fewer every day. Churches like this are now condos or restaurants while modern venues are looks-first chalk full of digital sound processing bandaids. If you're an artist that wants to put on an historic show, or if you're young or just starting out and want a lab to try some things, this is your space.

    RECORDING

    Historic space designed ground up for acoustics, centuries ago. Play naturally and the space takes care of the rest. There's a reason why the Trinity Sessions sound like nothing else, why folks like Chesky Records hunt down select small churches in NYC. We keep it simple, recording primarily with stereo ribbon mics, augmenting as needed. No trickery required, the space sounds like magic. If you're an artist who wants a live recording of a performance, or a studio recording that sounds live, this checks your bucket list.

    Section image
  • Section image

    LABEL

    Let the space do the work, using the right gear that gets out of the way, to make a unique recording, one for the ages. Think Mapleshade but out in the middle of Americana, in a space that's sounded other-worldly throughout the ages, built to create great sound from before recordings were really a thing. If you're an artist that wants to record in the space and also work together on a pressing and distribution, Sassafras is your label.

    SUITES

    Many a time the best work comes late at night, after hours or days together, or just on a whim, an off-chance thing you tired when everyone was around. To capture it you have to be there, together, onsite. Crash in a space where you can work & record when the muse speaks. If you're an artist that wants to dedicate time and sequester away, you know 'live' in the studio, then this is your home.

    Section image
  • SASSAFRAS|SPACE, STUDIOS, SOUND

    A FAMILY OF MIXED MUSIC, TECH/CRAFTS & MEDIA

  • Section image

    Space Bringing Sound to Light. A 19th Century Church & Stained Glass Gallery tuned for Acoustic Mixed Use. Vinyl Library Actively Buying Collections, Open Listening Nights & Events with Epic Gear, Performances in a Sound-First Space, Recordings with Space You Can Hear Surrounded by Light, Supported by a Label and On-site Suites for Extended Sessions. We've got you.

    Section image

    Next-Gen Tech/Crafts in Based-America.

    A Business Studio focusing on AI & Blockchain based in the Middle of Americana. Backed by a VC & Family Office of Repeat-Exited Start Up Founders and EY Entrepreneurs of the Year. A full Media Agency serves as Education for Interns through Working with a Small Biz Network. Labs for American Dynamism & Micromanufacturing including Sassafras Sound & JuneBiscuit Audio.

    Section image

    Life Has Surface Noise. Curated Music, Online Store, Album Subscriptions Services, and Manufacturing of of JuneBiscuit Audio for Custom and Studio Environments and 'Listening Bars' featuring Albums as Art with High Quality Sound Experiences for Anyone in Any Space. Artist and Community Events, with Record Label support.

  • FRIENDS

    Section image

    Maxwell's HOUSE of MUSIC

    "we create musicians"

    Section image

    Magnetic Tape Recorder Inc.

    "Vintage Audio Equipment"

    Section image

    MAX MAXWELL'S DRUM SHOP

    "WHERE LOUD LIVES"

  • CONNECT WITH US

    Section image

    [502] 509-1331

    Section image

    Info@SassafrasSpace.org

  • Location

    OPENING SOON|Stay Tuned