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08
Sept
‘Musical democracy is about free will’: Harrogate’s AAA is happy to shun binaries
Towards the top of Cold Bath Road, there’s a music revolution quietly taking place.
While Harrogate might seem an inauspicious location from which to make such a bold claim, according to Dave Swallow and Phil Argent, that’s all part of what they’re trying to achieve at AAA.
To try to neatly fit AAA (pronounced triple-A) into a definitive entity is nearly impossible; while ostensibly a coffee shop and bar at first glance, there’s a whole lot of ideas – and tech – going on behind the scenes.
Dave explained:
We get so many people coming in and asking ‘but what are you? Are you a coffee shop? Are you a bar? why do you sell merch as well? What do you mean I can play any song I want over the sound system?
We’re happy to live in that space – what people need to realise is, we can be whatever they want us to be. It’s about creating a community and that's what music is about too.
Music credentials
When it comes to music, both Dave and Phil share a combined knowledge that could be considered almost encyclopaedic. Introduced several years ago by mutual friends, it was something of a meeting of minds.
Alongside founding and running AAA, Dave works as a sound engineer, with a resumé that reads like a who’s who of musical icons; he’s previously worked with Amy Winehouse, Erasure, Basement Jaxx, Alison Moyet, A-ha and many more.
Phil has over 12 years’ service to the music retail industry, which includes managing Virgin Megastores across the globe.
The essence of these now-defunct stores, where people could wander in, browse the collection and enjoy the ‘physical experience’ of music, is a concept that has inspired AAA too.
(Image: supplied/AAA)
Both Dave and Phil lament the loss of this, whether it be through digital streaming services or the closure of hubs like Virgin Megastores.
Phil said:
The megastores were run by all types of people – you’ve got the guy with pink dreads who loves one type of music, and the girls who love punk rock, then the smartly dressed one who only wants to play Chopin.
That means the music played over the sound system could be anything, and everyone would listen to a whole range of genres. There’s something really cool about an environment like that.
Free will is one barcode away
Frequent visitors to AAA will be well-accustomed to the graffiti-style art and industrial décor. Those in the know will also be well aware that the innocuous-looking barcode on the end of every table - a common sight these days in the post-Covid hospitality sector – isn’t actually for ordering another round of drinks, as many often are.
Once scanned, you can enter your email and, using the search function suggest a song – any song – which will then be queued up and played over AAA’s sound system, affectionately known as Reggie.
Phil said:
It’s funny, when you ask people ‘what’s your favourite song?’ they freeze and go blank. Being faced with an infinite choice, it's liberating.
It brings people together. You’ll have a group of people come in on a Saturday night and put a song on, and another table will start chatting to them about the music.
The technology behind the barcode is original to AAA, entirely engineered by Dave, and is a closely guarded secret. In simple terms, TAYLOR is a jukebox, albeit one that has no limit on the music it plays.
Anyone who has entered their email then will receive song suggestions based on their choice, as well as a regular newsletter and reward points.
But there’s a lot more happening behind the digital curtain – a complex system of intelligent tech, that Dave and Phil hope will help them in their ambition to innovate the music industry and bring music firmly back into the physical realm.
It may seem ironic then, that in order to do this, they have to harness digital capabilities, but this contradiction is one they welcome, as a necessary part of evolving the industry from within.
Dave said:
The QR code is the gateway really. It hadn’t been built before, not in the same way. But this is an idea I’ve had for a long time, but the technology hadn’t caught up with the concept.
Standing in a field or at the back of a venue for the thousands of gigs I’ve done in my time, you have a completely different appreciation for music.
This is different from just a playlist – we’ve had people come in and ask about getting the technology, but I feel like they’ve fundamentally misunderstood what we’re doing.
AAA founder Dave Swallow (Image: supplied/AAA)
Phil added:
We have this term we’re calling musical democracy. It’s our way of explaining the DNA of this place.
Musical democracy is about free will – you have the ultimate choice, and that’s the kind of freedom that music offers.
We can use digital innovation to bring music back to a physical state. We want AAA to be that place, a hub to the community, where people can come and be immersed in it.
The aim with TAYLOR, in all its secretive form, is to help Dave and Phil create the ultimate music experience.
And while they're chosing to keep quiet about how technology can achieve this, they'll go as far as to explain: 'we're building an online business, but we activate and engage with our customers by providing a real experience'.
If Harrogate seems like an unlikely candidate the place in which the music revolution will begin, think again.
Why not Harrogate? Music is all about community, wherever that may be, and that's what this place is driven by.
We’re innovating with the local community – people may not know it, but everybody who comes in contributes. We need their input and support, and in turn, we're able to provide this experience.
We feel like we can really do something here, that benefits Cold Bath Road too.
'It's only music'
Next Saturday, September 13, marks quite the milestone for the team at AAA – it's estimated by that point, they’ll have reached 10,000 songs played on the digital jukebox.
Alongside throwing a listening party, they’re offering the person who adds the 10,000th tune to the playlist within a two-hour period £500 to spend in store on online.
To Dave and Phil, it’s not just an opportunity to get Harrogate residents and visitors together, to enjoy the diverse mix of music, picked by those in attendance. It’s also a celebration of what they've achieved so far - and a promise of what's to come.
Phil perhaps summarised it best of all, when he said:
It’s only music, isn't it? But it’s everything.
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