A guide to cities, venues, experiences, and places to stay chosen for how they sound. “I started Tracks & Tales to answer a simple question: Where does music actually sound right? Not where it’s loudest. Not where it’s trendiest. But where sound is treated with care — rooms designed to listen, systems tuned with intention, and music given the time it deserves. Think of it as the Michelin Guide to Listening — if such a thing existed. I travel, listen, return, and write. The rest is the map you can now explore.” — Rafi Mercer, Founder of Tracks & Tales
Hazels represents a refined dining-led venue where curated sound supports a cohesive evening atmosphere. While not a specialist listening room, its tonal control and vinyl presence position it as a...
Hazels represents a refined dining-led venue where curated sound supports a cohesive evening atmosphere. While not a specialist listening room, its tonal control and vinyl presence position it as a...
Forno represents a refined hybrid venue within Hackney’s evolving sound culture, pairing wood-fired dining with curated vinyl-led evenings. Its intimate scale and controlled acoustics position it as a culturally relevant...
Forno represents a refined hybrid venue within Hackney’s evolving sound culture, pairing wood-fired dining with curated vinyl-led evenings. Its intimate scale and controlled acoustics position it as a culturally relevant...
Behind This Wall represents one of East London’s more deliberate listening environments, pairing curated DJ programming with an acoustically mindful interior. Its design-led approach positions it as a refined contemporary...
Behind This Wall represents one of East London’s more deliberate listening environments, pairing curated DJ programming with an acoustically mindful interior. Its design-led approach positions it as a refined contemporary...
Oranj represents a softer evolution of Shoreditch’s listening culture, blending wine bar sensibility with curated DJ programming. While not a specialist hi-fi venue, its scale and considered music policy make...
Oranj represents a softer evolution of Shoreditch’s listening culture, blending wine bar sensibility with curated DJ programming. While not a specialist hi-fi venue, its scale and considered music policy make...
TRACKS & TALES
William Onyeabor’s Who Is William Onyeabor? is Nigerian synth-funk decades ahead of its time — mechanical grooves, deep basslines, and quiet futurism rediscovered. A classic Tracks & Tales album review.
Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2 is Finland in musical form — expansive, restrained and quietly powerful, a landscape carved into orchestral architecture.
Maurice Louca’s Elephantine (2019) is a dense, immersive journey through Cairo’s experimental sound — a record that rewards slow listening and reveals its magic through attention.
Twenty-three years after Original Pirate Material, the piano in “Weak Become Heroes” still rises like light over grey concrete — a reminder that in the right room, with the right bassline, ordinary lives glow and the overlooked b...
A deep listening journey into Augustus Pablo’s Rockers Meets King Tubbys in a Firehouse — where dub becomes architecture, echo becomes space, and repetition slows the modern mind.
By 1984, disco had been declared dead more than once, yet in Britain the appetite for emotionally charged, vocally driven dance music never disappeared. Somebody Else’s Guy sits in that quiet transition — gospel conviction meeting discip...
Tracks & Tales runs on curiosity and caffeine. One coffee at a time keeps the stories and soundscapes flowing.
By Rafi Mercer
Listening is a quiet luxury. A reflection on why sharing music without expectation has become one of the most generous acts we can offer each other—and why attention now matters more than ever.
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.
In 1987, CHANEL created its first watch for women: the PREMIÈRE, inspired by the codes of the House. Its octagonal case evokes the stopper of the N°5 perfume bottle. The original bracelet, interlaced with leather—like the chain of the iconic quilted bag—has been reinterpreted in chain, ceramic or velvet-finish ribbon versions. A timeless, feminine timepiece to slip on your wrist day and night.
Listening today: William Onyeabor’s minimalist Nigerian synth-funk — simple, hypnotic, and quietly powerful. A short Rafi Mercer reflection on groove without complication.
Listening today: William Onyeabor’s minimalist Nigerian synth-funk — simple, hypnotic, and quietly powerful. A short Rafi Mercer reflection on groove without complication.
A morning with Sibelius — how Finland’s Symphony No. 2 steadies a restless mind and reminds us that real power in listening is found in restraint, space and alignment.
A morning with Sibelius — how Finland’s Symphony No. 2 steadies a restless mind and reminds us that real power in listening is found in restraint, space and alignment.
Twenty-three years after Original Pirate Material, The Streets’ “Weak Become Heroes” still feels like a manifesto for belonging — a rising piano, a grey estate, and a reminder that on...
Twenty-three years after Original Pirate Material, The Streets’ “Weak Become Heroes” still feels like a manifesto for belonging — a rising piano, a grey estate, and a reminder that on...
Discover why The Listening Club begins online but is designed to grow into real-world listening rooms — from New York to wherever signal gathers. An essay on attention, architecture, and...
Discover why The Listening Club begins online but is designed to grow into real-world listening rooms — from New York to wherever signal gathers. An essay on attention, architecture, and...
Rafi Mercer explains the thinking behind the Tracks & Tales Star — how we listen, choose, and award.
