Originating in Japan in the 1920s, listening bars—known as jazz kissa—rose to prominence in the 1960s and 70s, “amid the post-war embrace of Western culture,” as the South China Morning Post reported in 2023. These listening bars provided a space to listen to music at its optimal volume on state-of-the-art equipment.
While today Spotify offers endless musical genres at the swipe of a screen, the depth of experience that listening bars afford is leading to their resurgence.
In late September this year, London’s Spiritland bar, known for its focus on the listening experience, opened two destinations in Lisbon’s new Locke de Santa Joana hotel. Spiritland Lisbon spotlights a renovated vintage JBL sound system and features “DJs playing a variety of genres from the depths of their collections,” according to the venue. The Kissaten is an intimate, low-lit listening bar where, rather than having a DJ, visitors pick records to play from its extensive collection. It also lays claim to Lisbon’s largest selection of whiskies, curated by whisky expert and writer Dave Broom.