VENT

The cone speaker was left out of the brief

Almost any club takes the cone speaker for granted. At VENT, the brief was different: a flat-diaphragm sound reinforcement system, manufactured by Taguchi, with an aluminum honeycomb unit. The venue explains that this material is composed of more than 97% air and presents these speakers as the first flat SR units usable in a concert venue. Unlike the cone, whose curvature introduces phase and time differences, the flat diaphragm seeks a more coherent wave, fast-response bass, and a wide field that causes less fatigue.

Before finalizing the aesthetics, the position of the speakers and the materials and angles of the walls and ceiling were studied. The club's criteria invert the usual hierarchy: the speaker is only the minimum condition, and the room acoustics weigh more. Adjustment panels, oriented primarily to the 100 Hz range, cut the resonance that usually muddies a basement. The club promises a different resolution and a natural sound with this.

Under the Omotesando intersection

That system debuted with its own name on the night of August 26, 2016. Ata, linked to Robert Johnson, opened the floor alongside Toshiya Kawasaki, from Mule Musiq, DJ NOA, and Monkey Timers. The address has not changed: basement floor of the Festa Omotesando building, Minami-Aoyama 3-18-19, a one-minute walk from the Omotesando subway station. Origami was in that same basement from 2013 to the end of 2014, followed by Arc, which closed in 2016.

By day, the venue is rented out and presented as WALL&WALL. The ceiling reaches 4 meters and the total surface area is 233.5 square meters, with a main floor, a smaller room, indoor plants, and a minimalist design. At night, VENT programs those two rooms separately and keeps the bar away from the dance floor, so you can talk without competing with the system. Above lies the Aoyama boutique intersection.

House, techno, and occasional nights

The line was set on house and techno and remains there. In the first few months, François K, Jeff Mills, and Scuba passed through the booth, the latter on New Year's Eve. The club's own archive later gathers Dixon, Prins Thomas, Henrik Schwarz, Chris Liebing, Talaboman, Acid Pauli, Gerd Janson, Antal, and DJ Tennis. For the third anniversary, the club released mixes by Andrew Weatherall.

In August 2020, with dance floors closed, VENT curated the Japanese session of United We Stream Asia and broadcast Akiram En, DJ Dye, Black Boboi, Altz, and Sunga. The calendar is not that of a nightclub with fixed opening times: each night sets its own time. The October 2026 schedule included, among other dates, the return of John Talabot. Entry requires being 20 years of age or older and a photo ID. Sandals are not allowed.