The Guide to the World’s Most Inspiring Sound Venues.
The Latest Listening Bars & Venues Not To Be Missed
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Black Lacquer — London / Old Bailey — Subterran...
Rafi MercerA subterranean vinyl-led bar beneath Old Bailey, Black Lacquer brings a new kind of London listening culture — intimate, crafted, and built for those who treat sound as a luxury.
Black Lacquer — London / Old Bailey — Subterran...
Rafi MercerA subterranean vinyl-led bar beneath Old Bailey, Black Lacquer brings a new kind of London listening culture — intimate, crafted, and built for those who treat sound as a luxury.
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Jan’s Place — San Luis Obispo’s Vinyl Sanctuary
Rafi MercerA quiet California sanctuary built around vinyl, intention, and beautifully tuned sound — Rafi Mercer on why Jan’s Place in San Luis Obispo feels like a small but essential reminder...
Jan’s Place — San Luis Obispo’s Vinyl Sanctuary
Rafi MercerA quiet California sanctuary built around vinyl, intention, and beautifully tuned sound — Rafi Mercer on why Jan’s Place in San Luis Obispo feels like a small but essential reminder...
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Shibuya HiFi — Seattle / Ballard + nocturnal an...
Rafi MercerShibuya HiFi in Seattle — a nocturnal analogue refuge where albums are played with intention and listening becomes a shared act of quiet
Shibuya HiFi — Seattle / Ballard + nocturnal an...
Rafi MercerShibuya HiFi in Seattle — a nocturnal analogue refuge where albums are played with intention and listening becomes a shared act of quiet
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Ambient Bar — Helsinki/Arabia District — quiet ...
Rafi MercerA quiet, glowing corner of Helsinki where ambient sound, Nordic design and deep listening come together — Ambient Bar is the space where the city’s calm becomes a kind of...
Ambient Bar — Helsinki/Arabia District — quiet ...
Rafi MercerA quiet, glowing corner of Helsinki where ambient sound, Nordic design and deep listening come together — Ambient Bar is the space where the city’s calm becomes a kind of...
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Listening Cities & Essays
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The Founder’s One Hundred and Eleven — Lifetime Membership
By Rafi Mercer
The Founder’s One Hundred and Eleven is a once-only, never-to-return offering: a lifetime Tracks & Tales membership for $1500, limited to just one hundred and eleven people worldwide.
Albums that reward the listener, not the algorithm
By Rafi Mercer
From rare jazz to warm electronica and late-night soul, these are the records that unfold with time — chosen for their depth, their detail, and the way they shape a room.
Listening Bar Advisory — Rafi Mercer
By Rafi Mercer
Sound is the new luxury. Across hotels, bars, private homes and new developments, the world is shifting toward a quieter, more intentional way of experiencing music — rooms where sound is not background, but the defining signature of the space.
Rafi Mercer helps build those rooms. Founder of Tracks & Tales.
The Pour & The Ritual
More Reads From Tracks & Tales-
Angostura — The Small Bottle That Teaches a Dri...
Rafi MercerA new Rafi Mercer essay exploring the deep history and quiet magic of Angostura bitters — the secretive, aromatic force that gives the Old Fashioned its soul.
Angostura — The Small Bottle That Teaches a Dri...
Rafi MercerA new Rafi Mercer essay exploring the deep history and quiet magic of Angostura bitters — the secretive, aromatic force that gives the Old Fashioned its soul.
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The Zest That Changes Everything — On the Quiet...
Rafi MercerThe quiet power of small rituals — from twisting orange zest over an Old Fashioned to the subtle art of deep listening.
The Zest That Changes Everything — On the Quiet...
Rafi MercerThe quiet power of small rituals — from twisting orange zest over an Old Fashioned to the subtle art of deep listening.
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The Orange That Opens the Room
Rafi MercerA quiet meditation on the ritual of an Old Fashioned — the citrus flare, the warmth it opens, and the small brightness that can shift a whole night.
The Orange That Opens the Room
Rafi MercerA quiet meditation on the ritual of an Old Fashioned — the citrus flare, the warmth it opens, and the small brightness that can shift a whole night.
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Five Drinks for the Home Listening Bar
Rafi MercerFive drinks that shape the perfect home listening bar — from the Old Fashioned to the Highball, Rafi Mercer explores the art of sound and taste.
Five Drinks for the Home Listening Bar
Rafi MercerFive drinks that shape the perfect home listening bar — from the Old Fashioned to the Highball, Rafi Mercer explores the art of sound and taste.
Listening Culture
More Reads From Tracks & Tales-
The Gentle Collision — On Listening, Ideas, and...
How listening, thinking, and entrepreneurship intertwine — exploring the delicate way ideas begin, the courage needed to share them, and the rare luxury of true attention.
The Gentle Collision — On Listening, Ideas, and...
How listening, thinking, and entrepreneurship intertwine — exploring the delicate way ideas begin, the courage needed to share them, and the rare luxury of true attention.
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Duke Pearson — The Quiet Modernist of Blue Note
Duke Pearson — the quiet modernist of Blue Note whose spacious, emotionally intelligent sound from the late 1960s feels startlingly contemporary today.
Duke Pearson — The Quiet Modernist of Blue Note
Duke Pearson — the quiet modernist of Blue Note whose spacious, emotionally intelligent sound from the late 1960s feels startlingly contemporary today.
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The Rise of the Vinyl Bar — Where Records Becom...
A long, immersive essay exploring the rise of vinyl bars around the world — intimate rooms where records shape the night, culture slows down, and analogue sound becomes a shared...
The Rise of the Vinyl Bar — Where Records Becom...
A long, immersive essay exploring the rise of vinyl bars around the world — intimate rooms where records shape the night, culture slows down, and analogue sound becomes a shared...
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Listening Friday — The Quiet Luxury We Can All ...
A long-form reflection on Listening Friday — a quiet alternative to Black Friday. An essay on the luxury of slow listening, the magic of listening bars, and why choosing one...
Listening Friday — The Quiet Luxury We Can All ...
A long-form reflection on Listening Friday — a quiet alternative to Black Friday. An essay on the luxury of slow listening, the magic of listening bars, and why choosing one...
What is a Tracks & Tales Star?
Rafi Mercer explains the thinking behind the Tracks & Tales Star — how we listen, choose, and award.