People come here more to listen than to talk
"Che, how good this place sounds." This is the slogan that the Argentine Santiago Rigoni want for Proper Sound , his latest project in the Madrid neighborhood of Chamberí.
To this mantra you can also add a "hey, how good is the coffee" because Rigoni, who forms a tandem with his partner Patricia Alda, is the person responsible for Toma Café, one of the most recognized coffee emblems in the Spanish capital.
With Pro Sound the expansion of Toma Café is maintained, which is also a supplier for many businesses in the city. In 2011 they opened their first store in the Palm Street. Later came the second cafeteria in the Santa Feliciana street. Not far from there, in the number 16 of Raimundo Lulio, the new branch is located It is also called Take 3.
Here there are natural wines, artisanal cheeses and, of course, coffee
"It's a somewhat selfish project," says Rigoni. in need of find spaces that favor active listening to music, the owner has decided to set up his own. Customers can now enjoy a “warm sound”.
This initiative, known worldwide as listening bar , was born in the Japan mid-twentieth century and since then has settled in cities such as Barcelona, London, New York and Los Angeles. Most of these establishments are nightlife establishments, but Toma Café has opted to promote a listening bar open during the day.
HI-FI is in fashion. In its claim for good sound, Toma 3 gives prominence to high fidelity. For this it is necessary a specific sound system that is capable of reproducing the music as faithfully as possible to how it was recorded. Everything is to "respect the work of the sound engineer and the sound preparation process of the album", says Rigoni.
The employees select the vinyls to create an atmosphere according to the time of day. The selection includes various genres, but, due to another interested decision of the owner, jazz predominates. Rigoni is a great fan of German record label ECM Records. In Toma 3 there is no shortage of titles like into the silence, Avishai Cohen; The Gleaners, by Larry Grenadier or timeless, by John Abercrombie. And the work of the American pianist Keith Jarrett, among which stand out The Köln Concert Y facing you.
The place, which achieves an aesthetic balance between functionality and warmth, is an ideal retreat for audiophiles. But this is not a place for elitists. Beginners find a space that, thanks to its intimate conception, makes conversations are kept low key. Although Rigoni does not renounce that the environment is suddenly altered: "We are Latinos," he emphasizes. And he adds: “In Toma nobody is ever forced. We want listening to occur in a natural way. The ideal is for the client to naturalize this sound”.
MORE THAN COFFEE
"It's a place of enjoyment that people don't just come for the music," says Rigoni. Nor exclusively for coffee. Unlike the other coffee shops, Proper Sounds extends its hours until midnight on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
In its night strip they perform monographic sessions of groups or musical styles, but this “is not a place of DJs spinning. The idea is to have a listening bar, not a disco”.
The nights of pét-nat (sparkling natural wines) and vinyls arrive. Along with its breakfasts and snacks, Toma 3's menu is expanded to offer artisan cheeses, toasts and other snacks such as hummus.
Rigoni doesn't like labels like “specialty coffee shop”. He wants places that serve good coffee without any fancy stuff. No drama. With this listening bar he does not seek to create a trend in Madrid but invite the citizen to slow down their routine and listen carefully to the music.
They have already valued the work behind each cup of coffee. Now they try to appreciate the mastery put into an album.
Toma 3 is the recipe to find a moment of silence accompanied by coffee or wine. “Good things take time. This new space is designed for it”, Rigoni finishes off.