San Francisco Frontiers - 'Listening bars' bloom as hottest new nightlife trend

An increasing number of venues are adopting the concept, which originated in Japan, of installing high-end sound systems good enough to impress the most demanding audio geek.

Some offer a social experience over drinks, with the music playing in the background, while others sell admission to "active listening" sessions where the songs -- and the speakers -- are the focus of hushed attention.

"It really makes you listen to every word, every instrument, every note," Camille Calloch, 31, told AFP as she left a listening session dedicated to British neo-soul star Sampha at "Listener" bar in central Paris.

"It's become one of the ways I enjoy music, along with concerts, my headphones, bars and festivals," she added.

Listener's underground, soundproofed audio room has a system worth around 200,000 euros ($235,000) at catalogue prices, with sculptural speakers from niche Greek manufacturer Tune Audio, says co-founder Jerome Thomas.

Listening to albums there reveals subtleties that would go unnoticed in other settings, with the treble crystal-clear and the bass strong enough to be felt physically.

The idea is to combine the vibrancy of a live-music experience and the comfort of listening at home -- all in a way that responds to changes in music consumption habits.

"It's a completely different way of relating to music," Thomas explained. "It's not quick consumption like you have on streaming platforms, with small headphones.

"We really wanted people to take the time to rediscover their favorite artists."

- Sound loss -

Thomas, who worked in the medical sector before, says one of the joys of running the bar is seeing clients react to sessions dedicated to artists from Marvin Gaye to Mariah Carey.

"They come to me saying 'I thought I knew that track by heart, I've been listening to it for 15 years, but I heard new instruments, I could hear the mix from the sound engineer'," he says.

Recorded music has never been so ubiquitous and portable, yet most people consume it on Bluetooth headphones or low-quality portable speakers, using streaming platforms as the source.

The music is being highly compressed -- in order to stream smoothly, and then to be transmitted wirelessly -- sharply reducing audio quality compared to CDs or analogue-era vinyl.

Some listening bars use high-quality streaming services such as Tidal or Qobuz but most choose vinyl -- and always with high-end cabling, and often with tube or valve amplifiers.

The vibrancy of the listening bar scene contrasts with a decline in clubbing in many cities where rising rents and changing lifestyles among younger generations have hit demand.

"There's totally been an explosion of these places lately," the co-owner of the New York listening bar Eavesdrop, Dan Wissinger, told AFP.

He and his associates opened their Brooklyn venue in 2022, with one room for active listening and the other more social.

A key feature for any self-respecting listening bar is having its rooms designed for music, he said.

"If they don't have acoustic treatment, then they're just fake listening bars," Wissinger explained. "In a hospitality space, if you don't have good damping, you're not going to be hearing music first."

- Japanese influence -

The vibrant London scene includes one of the pioneers in Europe, Brilliant Corners, as well as Jumbi, Spiritland or All My Friends.

One of the newest additions is Hidden Grooves, which was created by the Virgin Hotels group for its latest venue in the Shoreditch area of the UK capital.

They compiled a 5,000-strong collection of vinyls, brought in a London-based sound engineering company behind clubs in Ibiza (Project Audio), and bought speakers from 100-year-old UK manufacturer Tannoy that cost around 50,000 pounds ($68,000) each.

"If I'm going out to experience music, the concept of a good listening bar checks all the boxes for me," Virgin's head of cultural entertainment, Neil Aline, told AFP.

Like other fans of the hottest trend in night entertainment, the former DJ and club night organiser pays tribute to the originators: Japan's atmospheric and cosy "jazz kissa" bars.

"When I was touring I'd go to these bars in Tokyo and Kyoto and I was like 'wow, this is amazing,'," Aline explained. "As a music lover, it's a whole different way of experiencing music outside of live venues or clubs."

Z.Phillips--SFF