About Us - Our Story
From Roadburn Festival to Europe's Ultimate Record Store
Burning World Records is founded by Jurgen van den Brand, who co-founded Roadburn Festival in 1999 alongside Walter Hoeijmakers. What started as a vision to celebrate underground heavy music became Europe's leading festival for doom, stoner, psychedelic, and experimental music.
The Roadburn Legacy
For nearly two decades, Roadburn Festival has been described as a "Mecca for those seduced by the experimental dark arts of psychedelia and doom" by leading music publications including Revolver, Kerrang!, and BrooklynVegan. Held annually in Tilburg, Netherlands, the festival attracts approximately 4,500 attendees per day, with 75% traveling from outside the Netherlands.
Roadburn has reliably coaxed landmark performances from the biggest and most intriguing names in extreme music, earning recognition as the 2023 European Festival Awards "Best Small Festival."
A New Chapter
In 2016, Jurgen parted ways with Roadburn Festival to focus on building Burning World Records and Roadburn Records. This transition allowed him to channel 25+ years of expertise from the heart of the underground music scene into creating the ultimate destination for vinyl collectors.
Recently relocating from Amsterdam to Haarlem, Burning World has evolved from a niche doom and stoner specialist into a comprehensive record store serving collectors across all genres of heavy and underground music.
Our Mission: Artist-First, Collector-Focused
The same ethos that made Roadburn Festival legendary drives everything we do at Burning World Records:
- Curated Excellence: Every release is selected with the same care Jurgen brought to booking Roadburn's lineup
- Artist Support: Fast payments, fair deals, and direct relationships with labels and musicians
- Collector Service: Competitive pricing, reliable shipping via WeShipVinyl, and 99.6% positive feedback
- Community Connection: Deep roots in the underground scene through partnerships with Southern Lord Europe, Lay Bare Recordings, and countless independent labels
Connections That Matter
Through Roadburn Records and ongoing partnerships, we've released official live recordings from legendary performances by Sleep, Electric Wizard, Converge, Neurosis, and many more. Our partnership with Guy Pinhas (Southern Lord Europe) and collaboration with leading underground labels means we bring you releases you won't find anywhere else.
When you shop at Burning World Records, you're not just buying vinyl from another online store. You're connecting with a piece of underground music history, curated by someone who's been at the center of the scene for over 25 years.