The Tale of WINI Records
Once upon a time, two kindred spirits crossed paths—Willem and Nienke. From that moment, a story of love, music, and adventure began—a story that has now lasted more than twenty-five years and is still unfolding.
Willem, a quiet soul with a deep passion for sound, is a musician, producer, DJ, and record collector. Nienke, radiant and full of laughter, is also a DJ, a devoted music lover, and a collector of vinyl treasures, with a long career of twenty-five years in publishing and cultural heritage. Together, their initials—WI from Willem and NI from Nienke—became the heart of their future: WINI Records.
Their journey was never confined to one place. Guided by rhythm and curiosity, they traveled the world in search of songs and stories. They walked the streets of Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans, Detroit, and Chicago, where echoes of soul, jazz, and blues still linger in the air. And then there was Tokyo, a city that captured their hearts so completely it became like a second home.
Wherever they went, Willem listened with thoughtful intensity, while Nienke brought light and joy to every room they entered. Together, they balanced one another—two halves of the same melody.
And so, WINI Records was born: a label built on love, vinyl, and a shared dream. Its foundation rests on more than music—it is a fairy tale of two people bound by sound, traveling the world to keep the flame of music alive.
And their story will spin on, like a record, until the end of time.
The Tale of WINI Records
Once upon a time, two kindred spirits found each other: Willem and Nienke. What began as a spark between two young dreamers grew into a lifelong story woven from love, curiosity, and music. For more than twenty-five years they have walked side by side, collecting not just records but experiences, sounds, and memories that would one day find their way into WINI Records—a name born from their initials, a symbol of everything they share.
Willem is a man of many notes. A musician, producer, DJ, and record collector, he listens to the world with an almost meditative attention. He is reserved, contemplative, always seeking the details others might overlook—the crackle of a forgotten 7-inch, the warmth of a bassline buried in time. Nienke is his counterpoint: outgoing, joyful, a DJ and music lover with a radiant spirit, carrying twenty-five years of experience in publishing and cultural heritage. She gathers music the way others gather stories, and she tells them with laughter, light, and energy.
Together, they have traveled far beyond their own borders. They have stood on Beale Street in Memphis, where the blues still hums in the sidewalks. They have felt the pulse of Nashville honky-tonks, drifted through the night sounds of New Orleans, traced the footsteps of Motown in Detroit, and let the echoes of Chicago’s jazz halls seep into their bones. And always, there was Tokyo—a city that embraced them with its neon glow and endless vinyl treasures, a place so close to their hearts it became a second home.
Their journeys are not only about destinations, but about collecting fragments of the world’s soul. In every market, in every dusty record shop, in every conversation with fellow travelers, they have gathered pieces of a larger song. And from these pieces, they have built WINI Records: not just a label, but a living fairy tale.
WINI Records is founded on the belief that music is eternal—that a love song pressed into vinyl carries not just sound but memory, that a rhythm from decades past can still spark joy today, and that records are not objects but portals to other times and places. For Willem and Nienke, every release is an invitation: to travel with them, to feel the echoes of history, to dance in the moment, and to dream of what is yet to come.
Their story has no ending, only movements, like a symphony unfolding. It spins on, like a record turning under a needle, each revolution adding depth, resonance, and meaning. And so it will continue—Willem listening, Nienke shining, WINI Records carrying their song—until the end of time.