FAZE Magazine, one of Germany's longest-standing electronic music titles, has given the SEVEN Community Record Store a two-page spread in its July 2026 print edition (issue 173). Photographer Mara Menzel shot the space, and owner Glenn Elliott, who founded SEVEN together with Berlin producer and DJ Lucas Kreimeier (aka CRYME), talked through how a label turned into a record store, what makes the shop feel like home, and what is coming next for SEVEN.
The piece is print-only and in German, so we have put the full story together here in English for everyone who will not catch it on the newsstand. If you want the real thing, and the rest of a genuinely great issue, you can order FAZE 173 directly from the FAZE shop (link at the bottom).
How a label became a record store
SEVEN started in 2024 as a label, not a shop. "That came later," Glenn told FAZE. The first release took longer than expected, so the team bridged the wait by making T-shirts and merch. After a year, they realised they had outgrown the living room where it all began and needed a proper office. The plan was modest: keep a little retail space in the new office to sell merch and records. "And then somehow it turned into a full record store. I often ask myself how that actually happened, lol."
It became far bigger than anyone planned. "If we had known how much work it would be, it might have put us off. But now I am glad we did it. There is nothing better than meeting someone in real life who loves and wants to buy something you made yourself."
A shop built for lingering
SEVEN is designed to be a safe space, and Glenn is clear that this starts with the people. "We are a very friendly bunch. This is not a shop where you feel nervous or intimidated." The goal is a room that feels cosy, warm and welcoming, somewhere people can dig and listen for hours.
That intent runs through the fit-out. There are four vinyl listening stations with Technics SL-1200 turntables, Graham Slee pre-amps, dedicated headphone amps and Sennheiser HD25 headphones, plus a cassette listening station and one for CDs. The stations are made for sitting down and staying a while. There are free soft drinks and coffee, a unisex toilet, and a few seats outside for sunny days.
The pink booth and nine CRTs
The centrepiece is a custom-made pink DJ booth that has already appeared in Wallpaper Magazine, Architectural Digest and at Milan Design Week. The look is a deliberate mix of old and new. "We are all tech nerds," Glenn said, pointing to the nine vintage CRT televisions dotted around the shop, including four of the most iconic Italian design sets ever made, by Brionvega. Two of those models sit in the collection of MoMA in New York.
Why Berlin-Mitte
SEVEN is the only record store in Mitte with a house and electronic focus, and that gap is exactly why it landed there. "More and more of our friends live in Mitte, and the area is getting culturally really exciting," Glenn explained. "There was no record store with a house and electronic focus in Mitte, so it made sense to fill that gap." Many customers come straight from the neighbourhood and have said how good it is to have a new shop close by.
In a city with so many great record stores, SEVEN leans into being one of the smaller ones. "We are very lucky that Berlin has so many great and different record stores. We all know and respect each other, and every shop has its own character." As a smaller store, the focus is a selection you will not easily find elsewhere: the many subgenres of house and techno, plus music from tiny labels, lesser-known artists and Berlin's real underground.
The SEVEN sound
Musically, SEVEN sits at the crossroads of house and techno. Its sublabel A.2AUM (pronounced "A-RAUM") stands for a more minimal, stripped-back sound that is dubby, breaky and atmospheric, with releases from Ground16 (Switzerland) and Andu Simion (Romania). On the main SEVEN label, the roster has featured artists such as Cinthie and Ackermann, with a new direction on the way that kicks off in December with a release from Nesa Azadikhah.
The wider selection feeds the label as much as the other way round. "It is actually symbiotic. I think the catalogue is a little inspired by us, but we are also inspired by the records we have in the shop. Running a store means you listen to a huge amount of music, and that is one of the great joys of the job." Labels on the shelves include Big Trouble, Berg Audio, Kompakt, Cabaret and Kalahari Oyster Cult.
One to take home
Asked for a recommendation from the house, Glenn went with one of SEVEN's own: the debut from Amsterdam's Moody Mehran, "Cruise Terminal," out as SEVEN7012. The official release date is in September, but all of our in-house releases land in the shop early, so this one arrives from mid-July.
Come say hi, and grab the magazine
You will find the SEVEN Community Record Store at Torstrasse 220, 10115 Berlin. Opening hours, the full catalogue and everything else live at seven.berlin.
Huge thanks to FAZE Magazine and to photographer Mara Menzel for the feature. To read the original German interview in print, order FAZE issue 173 (July 2026) from the FAZE shop.