The electronic music scene in Brisbane isn’t massive, but it’s certainly tight-knit. Go to a few events and you start seeing familiar faces. Many people in that community - including DJs Paul “Ralphie” Connolly, Nadeem Tiafau Eshraghi and Greer Shannon - banded together to open Echo & Bounce in Woolloongabba.

Connolly first opened Echo & Bounce as a record store in 2020 in Fortitude Valley before moving operations to an upstairs loft spot in Woolloongabba in 2021. He began hosting gigs, exhibitions and even a handball competition in the open-air car park, as well as small events in the basement space called Refuge.

Late last year, he teamed up with Eshraghi, Shannon and number of friends to take over the downstairs space, which previously housed the Clarence Corner Book Shop & Cafe.

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The team removed the bookshelves and a staircase and have created a bright, homey cafe and record shop filled with lots of timber and natural lighting. Artwork from local artists adorns the walls, while the character of the heritage building remains intact. There are several seating options, including a high bench that’s fitted with power plugs for hot-desking, a large communal table, and a courtyard out the back. Listening stations are set up along the front window for people to test out records.

“Anyone can come in, pick out a record from the shelves, pop it on and have a listen,” Eshraghi tells Broadsheet. “It’s an invitation to try it before you buy it, but you don’t even need to buy it. There are people who come in and listen to four records and go home.”

Currently, the vinyl selection has an electronic music focus with lots of house, techno, dance and disco, but there’s also things like a Bluey soundtrack and records by classic artists such as Talking Heads on offer too. While the selection is pretty specialised at the moment, the plan is to expand and diversify the range over time.

For food, there’s a concise menu of toasties and baked goods by West End’s Superthing. Toasties include a Reuben with pastrami, sauerkraut, pickles, provolone and special sauce; a vegetarian number with roasted capsicum, eggplant, spinach and pesto; and the Rise & Bounce, which has bacon, fried egg, spinach, tomato and breakfast sauce. Coffee-wise, they are running Coffee Supreme’s Supreme Blend as the house blend, and also offer pour-over using a V60 and batch brew.

“We try to source everything on the menu locally,” Shannon says. “The beans are roasted in Woolloongabba, most of the produce is from Queensland, and we get a lot of the spreads from All My Friends in Highgate Hill.”

The team will continue to host events in the courtyard and stage intimate gigs in Refuge and the loft upstairs. They have also taken over the bar next door – previously The Grand on Stanley – and plan to open it in a few months.

Echo & Bounce
596 Stanley Street, Woolloongabba

Cafe hours:
Mon to Fri 6am–2pm
Sat 7am–3pm

Record store hours:
Mon to Fri 10am–6pm
Sat: 10am–5pm

www.echoandbounce.com
@echoandbounce_

This story was originally published on January 1, 2023 but updated on January 24, 2023 to reflect changes to the team.