Slow Living with Liquor and Music 倚酒伴樂，慢轉時光

tape or digital methods, were sometimes re-issued on vinyl. Since 1950s, a new concept "listening bar" emerged in Japan. Usually they are bars or cafes with high-end audio equipment, where patrons listen to vinyl records carefully selected by the bartender or the owner, becoming the "Eden" of audiophiles. Behind the bar is usually a wall full of record library instead of liquor shelves. Today, listening bars stage a comeback as a new trend among the young generation who seldom have the opportunities to grow up listening to the music from high-end audio equipment and are less likely to appreciate music in this way at present due to the high price of those high-end equipment. In listening bars, they are able to experience a novel way of

music appreciation. It is quite interesting that the Chinese translation of "listening bar" can be also interpreted as "to listen", implying that we need "less chatting and more listening" in the bar. In the dim light, everyone was bathed in music. Time seems to be frozen. Nowadays, listening bars are also influencing people's night lifestyle all around the world. Inspired by hi-fi bars from Tokyo, Japan, Bar Shiru, located in Oakland, is the first hi-fi vinyl bar in the bay area focusing on Jazz music. Daniel Gahr and Shirin Raza, the owners of Bar Shiru, see the vinyl-centric sound system in a space built with acoustics as the top priority, committing to building a pure music world to let the patrons focus on the music itself. They believe in

the connective power of music among people. Compared with the listening bars with strict rules in Japan which will shush patrons or even ban chit-chats, Gahr and Raza tend not to constrain people's behavior, but rather "subtly guide it". Although the inspiration of the founding of Bar Shiru was from Japan, its interior design featuring a high ceiling, warm lights and the utilization of concrete as well as timber brings out a primitive industrial style with its own regional characteristic. Gahr said he concerns more about the conciseness and functionalism when considering the actual design. The wooden bar and the grayish concrete wall behind it are in stark contrast. Liquor bottles in different colors are placed orderly on the shelf which takes up the

entire side of the wall, showing a sense of "chaotic" balance. On the blank wall above the shelf successively hung the photos of Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone and Grant Green. With what can be constantly seen and listened to in the bar, we can travel back to the golden age in the photo. In Sheep's Clothing is a hi-fi bar in LA open from day time until midnight, which is also inspired by jazz cafes in Japan. Entering the bar, the exposing tubes above reveal a sense of roughness. However, if we take a closer look, the ceiling, the walls as well as the flooring are all made from timber, surrounding the whole room with a gold color tone. The coziness surely can ease up our nerves. In the bar equipped with two different turntable setups and sets of vintage Altec Lansing that costs as much as a luxury car, wooden built-in shelves filled by an abundant collection of vinyl records are built all around the place and behind the bar. The rest of the room is taken up by twelve simplydesigned round tables and cassette desks, among which a half-dozen of round tables are matched with some Midcentury Modern chairs in a totally different style. "Please keep your conversations below the music" read a small folded card on each table, showing the attitude of the owners towards music. The philosophy of the place is also obviously shown on their official website and social media: "To hear more, say less." As Zach Cowie, the Creative Director of the bar, said, we are in an era where music can be easily accessed everywhere —— "this is such a great time to be a music listener, but no one's listening" in his own words. Therefore, the intention behind the establishment of In Sheep's Clothing is to "teach people how to listen again". He and his partners want In Sheep's Clothing to be a place where people stop seeing music as a background sound, but listening to it as life itself. Let's draw the curtains and dim the lights. In the glass, bubbles slowly float in the mellow liquor while melody from the lentamente spinning record is authentic and vivid. As the needle rubbing against the grooves, we can listen to the music expressed in its most primal way. The needle is like the hand of an archaeologist, clearing away the withered leaves and dusts on the surface of an aged stone tablet, unveiling the ancient writings engraved on the surface. At this moment, music is visible, which is a surprise that cannot be weathered by time. MahatmaGandhi once said: "There is more to life than increasing its speed." If you have the chance, why not going to visit a listening bar with a group of young friends, to listen to the story "told personally" by the music, to savor a sip of fine liquor and to feel the slowing of time.

過去這幾個月以來，我們的生活如同被按下了「慢放 鍵」，以0.5的速度運轉著。我們逐漸遠離人群，家 裡某個房間成為新的娛樂場地，酒和音樂成為新的娛 樂陪伴。 這種陪伴可能是從冰箱裡拿出一瓶冰得剛剛好的啤酒，瓶蓋被 撬開時發出清脆的擠壓聲，啤酒的花香氣攀著那股白煙竄出，沁人 心脾。將藍牙音響連接iPhone，調高音量，整個房間都充斥著音 浪擊打喇叭鼓膜的震動，讓空間的充實替代時間的充實。對另一些 人來說，這種陪伴則是從酒櫃拿出一瓶波本威士忌，倒少許在已放 入冰塊的威士忌杯中，再從唱片架上精心挑選一張黑膠唱片，放在 唱盤上，悠長的旋律就此流出。音符間的「沙沙」聲就像給空氣罩 上了一層星光斑駁的濾鏡，就算音量不大，那旋律卻仿佛能鑽進人 心里。酌一口威士忌，讓它的濃厚佈滿口中，喉韻回甘。 如今，科技的發展讓一部輕薄的手機變成音樂的主要播放載 體，手指輕觸幾下，不僅任何音樂都能奉送到眼前，還能享受不被 壓縮、毫無「雜質」的「無損音質」。然而隨著復古風潮的再次來 襲，許多人也開始發現黑膠唱片和唱片機的魅力。 1877年，湯馬士·歐華·愛迪生發明了第一台可以記錄和再現聲 音的留聲機，聲音通過雕刻、切割或壓印的方式被「記錄」在旋轉 的圓筒唱片表面。唱針接觸表面的溝槽并隨之移動而振動，便可以 非常微弱地再現所記錄的聲音。1890年代，愛米爾·貝利納（Emile Berliner）發起了從留聲機圓筒唱片到平盤唱片的過渡，使其作為 播放和錄音的媒體，同時也可製成母版複製，使得唱片商業化量產 成為可能。 起初，唱片大多由蟲膠製成，從1940年代起，由聚氯乙烯 （Polyvinyl Chloride）這種材料製成的唱片變得普遍，才因此得 名「黑膠」。2000年代中期開始，任何材料製成的唱片都逐漸被

統稱為「黑膠唱片」，并成為整個20世紀用於音 樂複製的主要媒介。它在1912年左右取代了原先 的留聲機圓筒唱片，即便是在卡式錄音帶等新格式 進入大眾市場時，黑膠唱片仍保持著最大的市場份 額，直到1980年代，以光碟形式出現的數位媒體獲 得了更大的市場份額。1991年退出主流後，黑膠唱 片雖然繼續以較小的規模製造和銷售，但仍然是許 多DJ和嘻哈音樂及電子舞曲音樂人最喜歡的格式， 并受到越來越多發燒友的歡迎。在21世紀初期，黑膠 唱片成 為搖滾音樂的一種新興形式。音樂家的原始錄音有時也會重新以黑 膠唱片的形式發行。 1950年代開始，日本出現「聽吧（listening bar）」的概念。 這種酒吧或咖啡廳配備高端的音響設備，播放著酒保或老闆精心挑

選的黑膠唱片。吧檯后往往不是酒櫃，而是一整面墻的黑膠唱片珍 藏，是眾多高保真音響愛好者們的「伊甸園」。今天，「聽吧」成 為一股新的潮流，為熱愛音樂的年輕一代帶來別樣的音樂體驗—— 在他們成長的時代，很少有機會能通過高端音響設備聽音樂，由於 這些設備價格昂貴，許多人也沒有條件去使用，那麼「聽吧」便 讓這種與眾不同的音樂享受成為可能。說來也妙，「聽吧」既是 「listening bar」的直譯，從中文意思來看又似一句耳語，仿佛 在說道：「閉上眼睛，聽吧，別說話。」昏暗的燈光中，每個人都 沐浴在音樂中，時間似乎流動地更慢了。 「聽吧」這種形式也逐漸走出日本，影響著世界各地人們的夜 生活方式。受到日本東京高保真音響酒吧的啟發，位於美國加州西 部奧克蘭的Bar Shiru是灣區第一家專注于爵士樂的高保真黑膠 唱片聽吧。Bar Shiru的創立者Daniel Gahr和Shirin Raza追 求極高的音質效果，致力於打造一個純淨的音樂空間，讓客人專注 於音樂本身，并通過音樂的力量成為人與人之間的紐帶。比起日本 一些會讓客人「噤聲」的「嚴格」聽吧，Gahr和Raza傾向於不 過多干擾客人的行為，而是潛移默化地引導他們。雖然Bar Shiru 的創立靈感來源於東瀛，但其室內挑高的天花板、溫暖的燈光和混 凝土及木材的運用則保留了具有本地特色的原始的美式工業風， Gahr表示自己更加注重設計的簡潔性與功能性。木製的吧檯與其 背後灰色的混凝土墻形成鮮明對比，色彩繽紛的酒瓶被整齊擺放 在佔據一整面墻的酒櫃上，既規整又不規則的協調感為整個空間 增色不少。酒櫃上方的空白墻面依次掛著Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone和Grant Green的照片，耳濡目染間 好像就可以回到照片中的黃金時代。 位於洛杉磯的In Sheep's Clothing是一家難得從白天開放直 到午夜的高保真音響設備聽吧，其創立亦是受到日本爵士咖啡館的 啟發。走入室內，上方外露的管道仍有一絲工業風的粗獷氣息，但 仔細一看，天花板、墻身和地板都以木材為主，溫暖的淡金色調包 裹著整個空間，令每一根緊繃的神經都能放鬆下來。聽吧四周及吧 檯後方都打造了木製入墻立櫃，被密密麻麻的黑膠唱片佔據著；設 有兩組不同的黑膠唱片機裝置及老式的Altec Lansing揚聲器， 價值與豪華轎車相當。吧檯以外的空間擺放著12張設計簡潔的圓 桌及卡座，其中幾張圓桌搭配了世紀中葉現代風格的座椅，色彩跳 脫。每張桌子上都有一張小卡片寫著：「請不要讓說話的音量超過 音樂聲」，「多聽，少說（to hear more, say less）」也是他們 的標語，被醒目地張貼在官網和社交網站上，盡顯其主創的音樂 態度。與其說In Sheep's Clothing是一家聽吧，不如說它是一個 音樂社區。除了在官網上列出所使用的音響設備，他們也會定期在 Spotify更新他們的歌單，讓這種音樂形式更多地滲透到人們的現 實生活中。身為創意總監的Zach Cowie說，我們正處在一個音 樂隨處可及的時代——「這正是聆聽音樂的好時機，卻沒有人再去 認真聽了。」因此，創辦In Sheep's Clothing的初衷便是希望帶 大家找回「聆聽音樂」的真諦，讓音樂不再淪為繁忙生活的背景音， 而是再次成為生活本身。 拉上窗簾，調暗燈光。酒杯中，氣泡在柔滑的液體中緩緩上升； 唱盤上，徐徐轉出的旋律真實生動。隨著唱針摩擦黑膠唱片表面的 起伏，音樂以最原始的承載方式傳入我們的耳中。唱針就像考古學 家的手，撥開石碑上的枯葉和塵土，拂過石碑上鐫刻的古文字—— 唱片上一圈圈不規則的溝槽。這一刻，音樂分明是有形的，是一種 時間沖刷不掉的驚喜。 甘地曾說過，「生活不能匆忙度過，需要體驗的還有很多。」 如果有機會，一定約上年輕朋友走入聽吧，聆聽音樂「親口」訴說 的故事，細細品一口酒，感受慢轉的人生。

Not long ago, it has been quite normal for us to spend off-work hours in bars, swaying our glasses, toasting each other and enjoying our lively and tipsy nightlife. However, at this special time when social distancing becomes the priority, the way of enjoying nightlife has to make a change to adapt to the current situation while fulfilling our craving for drinks. Nothing can keep us from having some good time after all. It is certainly simple and convenient to open a canned beer from your refrigerator or a bottle of wine from your own collection and enjoy the "happy hour" at home, but don't you think it seems to be lacking some vibes? Right now, cocktails for take-out make it possible to duplicate the bar drinking experience at home: you get to make yourself a cocktail in a fancy cocktail glass with the pre-mixed liquor and other ingredients delivered to you, creating a ceremonial drinking experience. The emergence of cocktails for take-out opens up more possibilities for liquor lovers. Cocktails, originally a kind of flavored beverage offered in particular occasions such as bars or restaurants, can add a sense of atmosphere in special circumstances. Because of its variability of flavors, people just cannot quit their love for this kind of drink; instead, they are willing to put forth new ideas and explore more surprising combination of flavors. Apart from its own flexibility, the charming bartenders standing behind the bar counter give more meaning to a simple glass of cocktail. Upon the ordering of a glass, the

performance art about cocktails is being staged. A skilled bartender is the soul of the cocktail, whose experiencebased judgments towards different flavors of ingredients and aesthetic insights when designing a glass of enjoyable cocktail will all be presented after the words "please enjoy". It explains why people cannot resist sitting next to the bar counter just to be closer to the "art making stage" so as to have a panoramic view of how a glass of cocktail is made. Due to the non-replicability of restaurants and bars' social attributes as well as the strict storing conditions of the fresh ingredients used for making cocktails, the whole process from a glass being made by the bartender to being finished up by the customer usually only takes place in the dining places. People rarely order cocktails for delivery. However, this year is so special that it appointed cocktails some new missions. This kind of beverage is now entering customers' own house and healing tens of thousands of restless souls in the late night. Getting together "in the cloud" and toast to one another at both ends of the screen becomes a normalcy. The epidemic outbreak early this year forced bars of various scales to temporarily shut down. Under the operating pressure, some insiders in the industry pioneered the take-away service of cocktails after careful consideration of product research and development. Listed on Asia's 50 Best Bars for two consecutive years, Hope & Sesame, with its claim to fame as Guangzhou's first speakeasy bar, has

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