CONTACT RECORDS was founded in 2016 by Hannah Lew & Andrew Kerwin. Hannah & Andrew grew up in San Francisco and have been playing in bands since they were young (Cold Beat, Grass Widow, Trainwreck Riders, The Ovens, etc...). Their shared love of music brought them together in their early 20s, when they fell in love against the backdrop of illegal generator shows in abandoned Bay Area theaters, BART stations & parks, later sharing stages in venues all over the country and even other continents.

Always collecting records between gigs in faraway towns, they shared a love of discovery, getting turned on to new music and exploring the endless catalog of human expression through sound. In 2016 when a tiny converted shipping container space became available to rent in Oakland California, the couple decided to take a hopeful leap and open their own record shop. It felt like the perfect outlet for their music enthusiasm and an organic way to expand on what they were already doing with their friends, always making mix tapes, turning each other onto great albums, and just plain obsessing over all things records.

This musical love is reflected in Contact Records, from household-name hits to obscure B-sides, from local bands to international gems, from cheapo player-copies to high-end collectibles, the shop prides themselves on offering a selection of records that aims to have something for everyone. The quirkiness of their small shop helped them make it through pandemic shut-down but felt even smaller when doors reopened. This led to Contact moving just 10 blocks away into a larger shop in Temescal Alley, surrounded by other complimentary local businesses.

Once settled in their new space, Contact Records once again expanded their shop by launching their own website, offering choice records to the world and beyond...