Creeps Record Parlour

Creeps Record Parlour, in Newtown, Wellington, is the third record shop run by owner Apa, who goes by the nickname 'Boss Dude' online. He started in the business in 2011 with business partner Benjamin James at Evil Genius, before the pair relaunched as Death Ray Records on Wilson Street in 2013. When James left in 2014 to open Moon Bar, Apa kept Death Ray running solo for another five years until it closed — at which point regular customers pushed him to reopen next door, smaller, as Creeps Record Parlour in 2019.

The shop's inventory traces back to Apa's Death Ray days: 'trashy b-grade rock and roll,' garage, punk, lo-fi, and indie form the backbone, with a longstanding personal pull toward psych, krautrock, and prog. More recently he's built out a jazz section and leans on the world-music bins — funk, Zamrock, and Ghanaian and Igbo highlife — as a point of pride, while also stocking mainstream pop for younger customers.

The store's interior matches its name: Apa describes the look as 'kitsch weirdo mid-century retro,' filled with vintage salt-and-pepper shakers, old kitchenware, and retro toys and game consoles. He frames the whole approach around unhurried browsing rather than a quick purchase, greeting every customer hello and goodbye where he can.