Page 40 - Decadence

SOUND WAVES A musical journey into SPIRITLAND
We might have done this the wrong way around, but when we accidently stumbled in to the headphone boutique, Spiritland, just off Regent Street in London’s Mayfair we discovered there is a bar and restaurant of the same name at Kings Cross, so we thought we should check it out. The bar and Café is also a radio studio that was conceived from a deep love of music and culture surrounding it. The team behind this very different and adventurous venue are ex BBC music consultant Paul Noble (who has the really cool title of Acoustic Director), Dominic Lake and Patrick Clayton-Malone, the guys behind the restaurant chain Canteen. So, there was a very interesting meeting of skillsets to marry music into the DNA of a bar, rather than just play it in the background as most others do.
Spiritland is shop, workspace and café by day, becoming a bar and restaurant by night. The food is eclectic, simple and well thought through, served under the experienced eye of Owen Kenworthy (of Brawn, one of London’s nest ingredient led restaurants), the menu is almost ‘zoned’ by time of day; Morning, Lunch, Evening and Weekend Brunch, all served up as a sort of ‘British’ take on tapas. The menu is interesting and the food is amazing, we had a selection from the evening menu ranging from small plates to hot sandwiches and it was all superb. But that’s what we expect from a smart restaurant, where Spiritland takes you on a journey is the décor, it is more like a recording studio than bar; and it works.
The rst thing you notice is the monster sound system, but this is not just a wall of big boxes that look loud, nor is it a huge pumping bass heavy club system. No, this is the best sound system in the world... now that is a bold claim. Built without compromise by audio company Living Voice to play music with absolute clarity, de nition and precision so you experience the music exactly the way the artiste intended you to. It is this high-end audio that is the main focus of the bar and indeed the brand. Inspired by the aesthetic of traditional analogue equipment it resembles a giant valve ampli er and takes an entire wall of the venue. This custom designed and built system cost as much as a very high-end hypercar and is the heart and soul of not just the venue, but the concept.
The ethos of Spiritland was always to connect you to the music in the deepest possible way, to access the emotion stirred by rhythm, melody and lyrics that
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