Interview coffee house sounds.

A posting from Poetry Café

Raphael Dillhof is the initiator of the project “coffee house sounds“. In the beginning was the assumption that every coffee house sounds the same. Of course this theory had to be studied and the result is a blog with coffee house sounds from the different coffee houses in Vienna. We find that coffee house sounds can also be poetic and asked Raphael for an interview.

What fascinates you about coffee house sounds?
Every coffee house sounds different but at the same time they all sound the same. Even an empty coffee house sounds like a coffee house. That leads us to the question, what makes the classical coffee house atmosphere – the sound recordings for me are much stronger than for example photos. This leads me to further theoretical thoughts: the analogy of the artifical atmophere created by “Television fireplaces“ and coffee house sounds as a kind of “cartography“ of Vienna’s coffee houses. We could nearly write a dissertation on that topic ;-)

Have you had much feedback on your project?
The project has actually been an experiment for myself and I have not had the time to advertise it. But I have had feedback from quite a few people saying that they switch on the coffee house sounds while studying as it helps them concentrate. I am delighted about the interest in my project – I do believe it has potential.

Which is your favourite coffee house?
I like the diversity. The name “Vienna coffee house“ stretches from the luxurious Ringstraßencafe to more traditional old coffee houses. My favourites are probably the Café Bräunerhof, the Café Rüdigerhof, the Café Jelinek and the Café Westend (all in Vienna).

What are the next goals for your platform?
Maybe I will go to Wetten dass…? (our comment: Well known German talk show with people betting on special abilities) and recognise coffee houses according to their sounds. We will see! Until then I will continue collecting coffee house sounds.

What does everyday poetry mean to you?
Like with background sounds it is usually the incidental things that are most delightful – the way the sullen waiter says “Bittteeesehr – bitteescheeeeen“ (comment of poetrycafe: “You are welcome” in a typical voice of an Viennese waiter or waitress) can in itself be poetic.

Thank you very much for the interview and we wish you much success with your coffee house sounds!

Links
Coffehouse Sounds-Blog (german)
Coffeehouse Sounds on Facebook (german)

Even an empty coffee house sounds like a coffee house. ”