Hard Wax - Record Shop in Berlin

Berlin's techno and dub institution, now inside Kraftwerk.

Shop

Hard Wax

Address

70 Köpenicker Straße

Town

Berlin, Germany

Established

1989

Formats

Vinyl

Crates

Techno, House, Dub, Reggae, Electronic

Opening hours

Mo-Sa 15:00-20:00

Hard Wax opened in December 1989, founded by Mark Ernestus, and spent its first years on Reichenberger Straße before moving to Paul-Lincke-Ufer in 1996. It stayed there for close to three decades and became the shop that shaped how Berlin techno sounds, tied closely to Basic Channel and Chain Reaction. In 2023 it moved again, into the Kraftwerk building on Köpenicker Straße alongside Tresor. The counter deals in techno, dub, reggae and dubstep, and the staff recommendations have carried more weight than most press for thirty-odd years.