Q&A: Listen & Learn at Wynwood’s Newest Listening Bar – Dante’s HiFi

Miami, FL – September 9-11, 2021 – Dante’s HiFi, Miami’s first listening bar, opened its doors in Wynwood on Saturday, September 18th. An intimate and soulful space for the discerning music enthusiast, Dante’s HiFi promises to bring a level of sophistication to the Miami music scene that the city hasn’t experienced before. Prior to the grand opening, partners Alan Drummond, Sven Vogtland, Arturo Nuñez, Rich Medina and Jourdan Binder celebrated with friends and family, treating attendees to memorable sets by Medina and friends.

WRE sat down with the partners for a first look at the space and got the lowdown on what guests will expect when they open their doors to the public this weekend. Read the full Q&A below.

WRE: How did you come up with the concept of Dante’s HiFi? How did this partnership between all of you come to be?

Sven Vogtland: Dante’s was inspired by my time in Tokyo pre-pandemic. I went to Fuji rock with my friends Khruangbin and quantic and we stopped in a few great vinyl listening rooms throughout the city. As soon as I got home, my partner Alan and I immediately started working on it. We have such a big love for vinyl and hospitality, we figured it was a match made in heaven. We brought in our partner Arturo who was the marketing Director for Apple and Nike and we decided to create something very unique and special together, and name it after Alan’s newborn son, Dante. We decided as a group to bring in a very good friend Rich Medina who is a legendary DJ, professor, author, and music historian and vinyl collector. Rich is the music director of Dante’s and we house a majority of his vinyl collection there. Upon opening, we knew we needed PR help from someone who shared the same vision and had a love for music. We immediately agreed that Jourdan Binder who helped us with the opening of Coyo Taco and 1-800 Lucky would be the perfect fit.

WRE: All of the partners have such interesting backgrounds. How did you all come together to make Dante’s HiFi happen?

Arturo Nuñez: I met Alan through a mutual friend and we became friends immediately. His hospitality and restaurant background had me frequenting his spots and I always loved the music they played there. Alan introduced me to Sven, who handles the music curation at their other venues like Coyo Taco, and we started conceptualizing Dante’s HiFi around 3 years ago.

Miami has too many bars and we didn’t want Dante’s HiFi to be just another bar. There’s an unexpected, speakeasy nature to the space, and what makes it special is the love of music we all share, and we think that experience shines through.

WRE: Listening bars are a relatively new concept in the states. What do you hope Dante’s HiFi will bring to Miami that doesn’t already exist?

Alan Drummond: At Dante’s HiFi, music is meant to enhance the experience, where you can sit and listen to great music while having a cultural experience where you’re actually learning something about what’s being played for you. We want people to enjoy a well-balanced cocktail and be able to have a conversation without having your head blown off by the sound system. We want Dante’s HiFi to be artists’ favorite place to play in Miami while giving them a platform to talk about the music they’re playing to a highly engaged crowd.

WRE: Can you tell us what people can expect for programming and upcoming talent that will be at Dante’s HiFi in the coming months?

SV: Dante’s HiFi isn’t just a bar with music; there’s a big emphasis on education and you’re always going to learn about what you’re listening to. Guests can expect world class DJs and artists, but they could also be someone you wouldn’t necessarily expect like a real estate developer who is an avid record collector – really anyone who has something to say and is passionate about music. A few of my personal favorites we have coming up are Quantic and Jarobi White from Tribe Called Quest.

WRE: Tell us about the sound system. What makes it special?

SV: The sound system at Dante’s HiFi took us a long time to build and will deliver what we believe will be one of the best auditory experiences in Miami. It’s an all analog sound system and we worked hard to source all of the crucial components including a vintage tube amplifier. We have a custom hand-made tube and valve mixer which was made in London and took us about a year to get that has great sound and cool design

Dante’s HiFi isn’t just a bar with music. There’s a big emphasis on education and you’re always going to learn about what you’re listening to.

Sven Vogtland

WRE: How did you decide on Wynwood as the location for Dante’s HiFi?

Alan Drummond: For us, Wynwood is the cultural hub of Miami. We feel that Wynwood speaks to the arts more than any other neighborhood and the vibe we’re creating inside wouldn’t make sense in other areas, but in Wynwood it falls right into place.

Although we chose Wynwood, we purposefully chose a less frequented area because we’re not necessarily looking for the walkup crowd that’s going to come in for a beer. We chose a nondescript entrance because we want Dante’s HiFi to be a destination that people are coming to. With a 50-person capacity, we’re not focusing on volume.

WRE: Tell us about the cocktail program. What can guests expect? Any signature cocktails?

AD: We’re really proud of the cocktail program we’ve curated with our mixologist Bryan Canales. He stepped outside of Miami’s comfort zone to create something unique and completely left-field for Miami with fastidious attention to detail, focus, and the highest quality ingredients.

Our highball section honors Japan’s cocktail culture. We sourced the best soda waters, chill the glass, and utilized the best whiskeys and ice. While highballs are simple in nature, it’s all about the execution and we think people will be shocked at just how well-balanced a highball can really be. Each cocktail is served in vintage glassware that we hand selected and curated from thrift shops all over Miami.

WRE: Tell us about the membership component. What can people expect and how do they apply?

Jourdan Binder: Members and guests can expect unique programming that’s conducive to the intimate nature of the space that is different from anything that currently exists in Miami. Because of the size of the room, the quality of the sound system and the talent we’ll have, members can expect a steady stream of one-of-a-kind moments. Ultimately, it’s about building a community of like-minded people that share a passion for music. Members will receive preferred seating, access to members-only events, and more. You can apply for one of our limited memberships at members@danteshifi.com

What makes Dante’s HiFi special is the love of music we all share and we think that experience shines through.

Arturo Nuñez

WRE: You chose Rich Medina to be the Music Director at Dante’s HiFi. Tell us about how that partnership came to fruition.

AN: I’m a New York kid and Rich has been a fixture on the Northeast Corridor and his talent and curation are unparalleled. We met in the 90s when I started going to his parties and really just loving the vibe he was creating. The vibe is more than the music, it’s the people that come together as a result – like minded and more importantly like-spirited people.

I knew Rich was already coming to Miami a lot for work and when we started thinking about who the right fit for the Music Director position would be, we thought – that’s the guy right there. He’s a professor of music, extensive personal collection and we wanted to educate people, so he was a natural fit for the role.

WRE: Dante’s HiFi has over 8,500 records from your personal collection. How did you go about selecting the assortment for Dante’s HiFi?

Rich Medina: I was ripping down the walls of my house for three months before I decided what to bring with me. I wanted to be thorough which involved a long and arduous process, resulting in selecting about 5,000 records more than we had space for. From there I edited it down quite a bit so I felt confident about the selections, splitting the ‘cream of the crop’ in half while allowing me to go into any of the boxes and pull out a sure shot killer. It was important not to phone it in and the selection I’ve curated for Dante’s HiFi represents about 40% of my personal collection which will expose our clientele to the depth of the stash while educating them along the way.

We want Dante’s HiFi to be more than a speakeasy – we want it to be an institution. And with that you have to have a collaborative spirit.

We want Dante’s HiFi to be more than a speakeasy – we want it to be an institution. And with that you have to have a collaborative spirit.

Rich Medina

WRE: What are you all listening to right now?

AD: Right now, I’m listening to a lot of Khruangbin. I’m also listening to a lot of 60s rock and roll and trying to inspire my son Dante (who we named Dante’s HiFi after) to go down the right musical path.

SV: I’m an avid Studio One and Blue Note Record collector. I’ve been listening to a lot of Sault.

JB: I’m Shazaming whatever Rich is playing at Dante’s HiFi.

RM: Right now it’s a lot of Hiatus Kaiyote and Sault.

AN: During COVID, Glitterbox released a bunch of DJ sets to keep people entertained in quarantine. There’s one iconic four-hour DJ set by Jellybean Benitez, which he recorded at Space in Miami (with no people there). I’ve been listening to that on repeat.