Tokyo Jazz Joints in Belfast

BOTHERING | March 07, 2025

Scroll down to the bottom of this story to find out more about our listening event taking place in April in Hebden Bridge.

We feature music in BOTHER because it’s one of the last places you can go that’s really wild. Nick Cave describes music as being where we go for transcendental experience in our post religious world. Music moves us physically too, not just in dancing but in the act of going somewhere, with other people for an experience.

As well as a review of Doctor Feelgood’s first album and a feature on London post-Grime artist Hap Baker, issue 4 of BOTHER has a feature on the Tokyo Jazz Joints project. This is a photography book, podcast and occasional listening events, all of which focus on the world of the Japanese jazz kissa or listening bar. I travelled with my jazz friend Donald the Don to the unlikely destination of Belfast, to experience a jazz listening event and interview Philip Arneill, the photographer and DJ behind the project.

Donald the Don

Backgrounds for days

After 20 years living in Japan Philip has returned here to his native city where he does a remarkable job of pulling together the cultures of American jazz music and the Japanese take on it. Every place is more complicated than it seems at first glance but when you start to scratch the surface of Belfast it’s mind blowing. What you know from the news is nothing compared to the real and divergent stories you hear and encounter in person. It reminded me of going to Romania in the 90s after the fall of communism, where everyone wanted to be seen and valued and to tell you their side of the story.

Lovely boozer

Punk

The Wall

We visited the Ulster Museum where Donald loved the 1908 portrait by Sir John Lavery entitled The Lady in Black and my highlight was a massive stuffed champion Irish Wolfhound called Patrick. We were fascinated by the exhibition of Belfast murals spanning both sides of the political divide as well as attempts at reconciliation. There’s street art everywhere in the city and the building celebrating the Good Vibrations record label and Belfast punk was brilliant.

The Lady in Black

Patrick

Good Vibrations

The Crown Bar is a must visit with its over the top Italian artisan made interior. We sat in one of the snugs, originally designed to be a respectable place for women to sit, which we found to be the ideal spot for a pair of middle aged men of a certain age. Full marks to the booze Guinness as well the 0% version that we had respectively.

We spent a magical evening in the Rattlebag cocktail bar at a Tokyo Jazz Joints listening event. Over two hours we drank and chatted with a background jazz selection played by Philip. Cut into this he explained the background to his project and the world of the jazz kissa. Then we were instructed to be silent and switch off our phones and just listen to four separate tracks varying in length from 7 to 25 minutes. Given the permission to shut up and listen we all went deep into the music. To say how much music we hear every day we hardly ever really listen. I went on a sonic trip where background and foreground became one and I came out feeling loosened up in mind and body. You’ve got to experience this for yourself and HebTroCo are excited to be hosting Philip in Hebden Bridge on the evening of Tuesday 22nd April for an evening of jazz, cocktails and a bite to eat at Coin, the best place to eat and get a proper cocktail in our town. Details will be announced soon.

Jazz & booze

Philip on the wheels of steel

0%er

The next day Philip took us on a guided tour of his city. The museum exhibition served as a useful introduction to experiencing the actual murals up close. We saw them alongside barricaded walls and the segregation of communities which contrasted sharply with the easy going and familiar cosmopolitan feel of the city centre.

The Wall

Out of the centre was plenty of joy too with great record shops, a crafty beer bar where we did the magazine interview and a wonderful old school fish and chip shop in a place that looked like a young offenders institution. I was beyond excited to walk on Cypress Avenue, the street that Belfast musician Van Morrison made famous. We had more good coffee and pastries while digging through records in Bread and Records where Van the Man was once grumpy and did a street party and album launch.