London's Listening Bars: Sound-First Venues Multiply as Owners Debate Authenticity

A wave of sound-centric venues has spread through south and east London, borrowing a model that began in Japan. Waltz in Shoreditch, run by Tokyo-born Gento Torigata, formerly manager of Kwãnt, places speakers alongside spirits and a curated menu in a warm, ambient room. Michael Sager opened Equal Parts in Hackney in 2023; it has since collected awards and best-of listings. Sager says the listening element was structural from day one, not retrofitted, and describes the appeal as permission to actually listen, inverting the usual use of music as atmosphere management. Equal Parts developed its system with Audio Gold, lined the room in walnut and felt, and plays only vinyl, full albums in order. James Gilbody, owner of Bangkok's Freaking Out The Neighborhood, recently returned to London and argues few authentic listening bars exist outside Japan, warning that many new venues are cocktail bars rebranded with good speakers and little curation. Ryan Chetiyawardana, known as Mr Lyan, runs Seed Library and Lyaness at Sea Containers on the South Bank, where the Sunday Lyan series brings collaborations with SIPS in Barcelona, Candelaria in Paris and Native in Singapore. Andy Loudon, director of bars at the Rosewood Hotel in Covent Garden, oversees Scarfes Bar, which pairs themed menus with live music. Sager says struggling bars tried to be everything without a clear hierarchy of intent, while Chetiyawardana frames hospitality as competing only with apathy and loneliness.