Popular Belfast cocktail bar, Rattlebag hosts a series of events this month, celebrating three years and more than 30 sell-out Tokyo Jazz Joints nights.
The cult Japanese-inspired listening event from the Tokyo Jazz Joints project is a collaboration between Belfast born photographer, writer and DJ Philip Arneill and Rattlebag.
Over the last three years, it’s grown to become one of Belfast’s most distinctive and quietly magnetic nights; a deep-listening experience inspired by Japan’s jazz ‘kissa’ café culture, where music is sacred, phones are put away, and people are encouraged to listen intentionally.
Arneill, who lived in Japan for two decades, created his Tokyo Jazz Joints project in 2015, in collaboration with American broadcaster James Catchpole, setting out to document the country’s fading network of jazz cafés – spaces that have since captivated audiences worldwide.
The project has spurred a beautiful coffee table book, now in its fourth edition – featuring photos from a selection of the 270 plus Japanese jazz joints Arneill has documented; in addition to a popular podcast, a Japanese version of the book, and a regular listening night at Rattlebag.
To celebrate the anniversary, Rattlebag hosts two Tokyo Jazz Joints listening events this month – the first on Wednesday 12 November quickly sold out, and a waitlist is in place for the next one on Wednesday 26 November.
Arneill has also created ‘iro iro’, an exhibition of photographic pieces from the project, which is one display in Rattlebag, offering a glimpse into the rich visual world of Japan’s jazz cafés and bars; the striking images will remain in situ through to 4 December.
The Tokyo Jazz Joints events at Rattlebag take their cue from Japan’s unique jazz cafes and bars, channelling their quiet, immersive spirit. The unusual concept centres around a night of music, storytelling and intentional listening.
Each event unfolds over a few hours, with Arneill at the turntables. Between stretches of music, he pauses three or four times to speak, introducing himself, sharing stories from his photographic jazz adventures in Japan, reflecting on the people and places captured in his striking images, while the Rattlebag team curates a bespoke menu of cocktails – stirred not shaken - to keep noise to a minimum.
“I talk a little bit about the project and the culture, and tell a story of visiting one particular joint, and then I play a track I have chosen inspired by that experience,”explains Arneill. “And that's the point where everyone's asked, ‘please don't talk, turn your phones off, don't film, just sit, relax, and enjoy the music’, so everyone can have a truly immersive experience.
“Rattlebag really took a chance on this format back in 2021,” says Arneill. “But it’s now become the spiritual home of the Tokyo Jazz Joints immersive listening events.”
With over 30 events now chalked up, there are seasoned regulars that come back time and time again, but new faces each time too, and a truly diverse spread of ages.
“It's been a real revelation,” Arneill explains. “It still amazes me that people buy tickets to come and sit in silence and listen to really obscure jazz in a dark room with a load of strangers, which is essentially what a jazz kissa cafe is.
“At the last event, I played an absolutely wild Charles Mingus track that was 25 minutes long. It’s incredible that people are coming and sitting in silence for that length of time and losing themselves in this amazing music.
“I think what's fascinating is that it's not even necessarily people who are not heavily into jazz that come along too. Immersive listening taps in, I think, to this digital fatigue that people have now; they want something tangible, something analog; a place where you have permission not to talk, or post, or to switch off and not be on a screen. To just sit and listen. In many ways it’s a radical act in our overstimulated, multi-tasking, distracted world.”
Speaking about the celebrations, Chris Wareing, Rattlebag’s bar manager, said: “Tokyo Jazz Joints has grown to become one of our favourite regular events. There’s a calmness to the room that you can feel the moment it starts; the lights dim, phones go away, and the connection between our guests, the music and each other is the focus. Every detail is considered, right down to the way the drinks are made. We stir rather than shake drinks to let the sound breathe. It’s one of those nights where silence really does speak volumes.”
Join the waitlist for the Tokyo Jazz Joints event on 26 November on Glistrr. Tickets are priced at £10, including a bespoke Rattlebag × Campari cocktail. Doors open at 7pm with Arneill playing jazz on vinyl, with the event starting promptly at 7.30pm and as always, no entry will be permitted once the first immersive listening track begins. Arneill’s exhibition ‘iro iro’ is available to view in Rattlebag now, through to 4 December, and all works are for sale.
For more information, visit, rattlebag.co.uk/ and tokyojazzjoints.com/remixer
