We all sat in silence as the lever of the record player was gently placed onto the vinyl, releasing the music from the speakers. The pub stood still, with everyone joining in the shared experience. Shut off from the distractions of the outside world, this room and the music playing were now the only things to exist.
The idea of a group of people all sitting down together in a pub and listening to a record seems unlikely today. But that is what Bar Academia sets out to achieve. Hosted monthly in The Green Room in the West End of Edinburgh, the event features a presentation of a new jazz or improvised record each month. The event is curated by Professor Haftor Medbøe, an expert in the field.
The afternoon started with an introduction to the record, followed by a listening session to the album. This week’s record was Ella and Louis, the first collaboration between Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.
Music is often a backing track in my day to day life, so it has been a long time since I sat down and genuinely listened to a record front to back without doing anything else. To do this alongside a room full of people, made this especially memorable. Music can be a collaborative experience, and I think so often we forget that when listening to albums through our headphones. This felt different, an intentional gathering of people that came for the same reason: to experience music as it was originally meant to be heard.
Between the soft lilting melodies, Haftor explained the origins of the record, the production behind it and the label Verve Records, giving more colour to the music filling the room.
He also said something that stuck with me: “You always think that you’re inventing something new but actually you’re doing the same thing that people did 100 years ago.” To me, this echoes how analogue technology disappeared in the 21st century, but is now re-emerging as a trend to be followed. As this fad continues to steam ahead, it’s important that we remember to appreciate vinyl for its original intent: to bring people together. It was never meant to be an excessively consumed con hobby that we quickly get bored of.
“The introduction of streaming has meant that this culture of getting together to listen to physical media has disappeared.”
The emergence of our online world has resulted in a decline of third spaces – a location beyond home or work that allows you to relax and find community. This event provides that – a chance to meet and mingle with like-minded people over the love of physical media and music.
While the online world has helped open up collaborative listening experiences by allowing us to conduct album listening parties across the world with different people, the introduction of streaming has meant that this culture of getting together to listen to physical media has disappeared. Professor Medbøe described a time when, “a bloke would come along with a record player and play the latest release” which is how people listened to music together in these settings.
During the event, I didn’t even feel I had to remember or look up every song that played. I took it as its own experience in a vacuum. While I was watching the record spin I was very tempted to post this on Instagram as an online shared experience. Instead I actively chose to sit back, listen, and be present in the shared experience around me.
