Cosmos Records

It’s a cool day and the start of the slow season for Cosmos Records. Just a couple of customers browse the store on a late Friday afternoon. One looks for obscure 1960s Arabic music; the other puts a rare find aside to pick up later. Owner Aki Abe sits behind the counter ready to share the unique sounds on the shelves that await music lovers.

Flash back to 1998 when music stores were replacing vinyl with CDs. Aki, a former chartered accountant and one-time DJ, decided to open a record shop. “My parents almost killed me,” he laughs. “Many people told me I would not last more than six months…I stuck to vinyl and lucky for me it worked out.”

Aki opened his first store at 607 Queen Street West in Toronto. The space previously housed a Mexican boot store. “The way I look for spaces, I want to be where the galleries are because the rent is cheap and they know where the cool people hang out,” Aki explains. “I also look for places that are out of place and this place was definitely out of place. I walked in and five Mexican guys came out from the back…all the boots in the store were dusty. I asked them if they were going to be around much longer and they offered to let me take over the lease. I’ve been here ever since.”