the sound of music
a matcha at Hi-Fi Espresso, Hermosa Beach
Coffee is a greeter. It greets farmers in the soil. It meets producers as it matures. It woos buyers. And it comforts customers. This mixtape, curated from independent coffee shops in California to Ecuador does all and more, it engulfs you into sound.
I have a confession. My bias to coffee shops is not just because of the coffee. It’s for the memories that coffee, and at times, matcha, kombucha and shrubs give me while connecting with its existence as an experience. I believe that’s why the music of a space, streaming in the molecules that create air, is so important to me and has been as I’ve documented coffee culture these past 7 1/2 years.
During the year, I usually publish mixtapes on the webzine, curated from songs played in actual coffee shops. This is the first of the year. Music is an important part of my family, as it is to many families. Vinyl, 8-tracks, 45’s, tapes and cd’s filled our lives with music, how could it not – when my mom and dad met in a music class. We are who we are from.
When I compiled these songs, I thought they were going to weave a thread back to a theme about the spaces that I’d been in. While they do, what it really brought me back to was my dad. Coffee shops were never a chance for me to have a date with my daddio. but in the last month I’ve been selfish and having many coffee dates solo just so I could hear him. He adored music. He’s in each of these songs: his deep baritone voice, his love for soul music, his impromptu dancing, his hand claps and I even heard his smile: yes, I think that smiles have sound.
Whatever you hear, may you dance where people can see you, may you remember what isn’t forgotten and may you embrace what blooms for you here.
Enjoy and enjoy June.
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Featured Coffee Shops
- Bloom and Plume, Historic Filipinotown, LA
- Cafe Demitasse, Mid-Wilshire, LA
- Cognoscenti Coffee, Culver City, CA
- Daydream Surf Shop, Newport Beach, CA
- The Boy and The Bear Culver City, CA
- Hi-Fi Espresso, Hermosa, Beach, CA
- Neighborhood, Los Angeles, CA
- Sailor Coffee, Guayaquil, Ecuador
p.s. thank you to the coffee shops for caring as much about coffee as you do the sound.