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Various contexts in the harmonized music selection
BAR MEIJIU is a bar with a high degree of perfection that has just such “originality unique to that bar.
Keisuke Matsumoto, The owner of the bar, has selected a variety of old and new genres of music, mainly jazz and post-classical, to be played here, and the music selection can only be described as BAR MEIJIU-like music.
My personal favorite is the array of records on the wall. The titles from the prestigious jazz label Blue Note are lined up in a row, and they include not only classic records, but also records that have been reevaluated by DJs, new jazz from the 21st century, and good records from a time when they were often overlooked. Blue Note’s tasteful choices are directly indicative of the store’s music selection tendencies.
The records are chosen to match the relaxed atmosphere of the so-called “bar,” and the tastes are often similar, but there is a fine mix of various contexts within the similar tastes. Personally, I was impressed by the fact that the music of famous players from the 1980s and 1990s, who influenced the current jazz scene, were played. The music is casually brought in where it is completely missing from the existing context of “Tokyo’s background music. On the other hand, there are also jazz records that could have been sold at a record store for less than 1,000 yen, but all the records sound like they belong in the interior of the store, which has a “simple, wooden, warm, and a bit rugged” atmosphere.
The audio equipment that provides high sound quality and at the same time plays with a gentle touch is also a special feature of this place. The Tannoy speakers softly convey the nuances of the restaurant’s mood.
Perhaps because of this environment, records that were trendy a long time ago sometimes sound fresh, and new releases sometimes sound as if they have been around for a long time. The music is not in an existing context; rather, it sounds like it belongs here, creating a very special space.
