Cape Town’s quirkiest vinyl shop (with a wild backstory)

The man behind Slow Life Records tells all

Last updated: Friday, 25 July 2025 

If you don’t know Slow Life Records, you’d be forgiven, as the record store is easy to miss. Long, narrow, and packed with vinyls, it's tucked into a tiny nook between Jane Valken and Big Blue on Kalk Bay Main Road. The store is almost as charming as its owner Paul Kahanovitz. He tells us the story behind Slow Life.

Paul Kahanovitz (left), the founder of Slow Life Records, with Jonathan Butler popping by. Image: Slow Life Records

1. When did the shop open?

Slow Life Records opened on 1 November 2024. We’ve secured one of the most curious little spaces. It’s essentially one long hallway and the vision was brought to life by Thomas Leach, one of the pioneers of contemporary design and architecture in Kalk Bay.

 It’s tucked into a long, narrow nook between Jane Valken and Big Blue. Slow Life Records 

2. What’s something no one knows about you? 

I was arrested and spent a night in jail in 1982 for stealing a record, Ghost in the Machine by The Police, from OK Bazaars in Sandton City. I thought I was slick with it. I put the record inside my trench coat. I wasn’t. A night behind bars really does something to a person.

3. Where did your love for music begin?

I started learning classical guitar when I was about 10. But the real spark came from hours of listening to Radio 5 with Barney Simon and Keith Lindsay. My first vinyl buys were Hotter Than July by Stevie Wonder, Speak and Spell by Depeche Mode, and Signing Off by UB40.

4. What kind of records can we expect to find at Slow Life?

There’s a bit of everything I love. There’s jazz like Kind of Blue by Males Davis, rare Blue Note funk compilations, South African gems like BLK JKS and èVoid, and 80s icons like Depeche Mode and Herb Alpert. Basically: Jazz, disco, folk rock, house, or anything with soul.

Genres like jazz, disco, folk rock, house, and more. Image: Slow Life Records

5. What inspired the name Slow Life Records? 

It started with a concept café I opened in Muizenberg in 2012 with my then-partner, Sherri le Mottee. I needed to move away from the “fast life”. I didn’t like the impact it was having on me, so I shifted from fast-paced to pensive, unhurried, unbothered. Hence, Slow Life.

6. What’s a key moment in your music journey since moving to Cape Town?

In 2013, I left Joburg and started the Slow Life café. We would host live performances and that’s where I got to work with some of Cape Town’s most talented musicians, producers, and creatives. In 2017, I put on live jazz shows at The Olympia Bakery in Kalk Bay, and called it Jazz at the Bakery. It became one of my favourite places to host live music and indie shows.

7. Did anyone have an influence in your relationship with music?

I discovered jazz through my father. He was a jazz musician and photographer in the late 50s. He knew members of South Africa’s legendary jazz group The Blue Notes: Chris McGregor, Louis Moholo, and Johnny Dyani. 

The long, narrow shop is full of vinyl treasures. Image: Slow Life Records 

8. Where can people find you, besides the record shop?

Sirocco in Kalk Bay. We often host vinyl DJ sets there, with different DJs on the decks playing all kinds of genres on vinyl.

9. What’s one weird or wonderful thing about you?

I was once peer-pressured into breakdancing in front of 800 students at my high school, Hyde Park High, back in 1983. Just because I had peroxided hair, the students decided I was the chosen one. I didn’t want to, but peer pressure won.

As I started spinning, coins from my pocket went flying across the stage. Moral of the story? Not every weirdo with an odd haircut can dance.

10. Why should someone bring a friend to the store?

Old school is cool. Kalk Bay is vibey. Music connects people, and finding your favourite record can feel like finding buried treasure. And sometimes, finding a song helps you find yourself.

The store is filled with music he loves, like jazz, disco, folk rock and house. Image: Slow Life Records

VISIT SLOW LIFE RECORDS 

Slow Life Records is open: Tuesday - Sunday, 9am to 5pm
Find it: 27 Duignam Rd, Kalk Bay, Cape Town, South Africa
Contact on: info@slowlife.co.za, 021 788 2620, @slowliferecords

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