In amongst the hustle and bustle of Stoke Newington High Street is a little-known musical oasis.
Walking past, you might not immediately notice Harmonize Café. But those in the know might be able to pluck out the tune of Frank Sinatra’s My Way playing on the speaker, or sniff out the inviting smells of the eatery’s freshly-made vegan food wafting through the door, left ajar to welcome visitors.
Terry is a regular at the café. Diagnosed with vasculitis - an inflammation of the blood vessels - and hospitalised in 2017, the 68-year-old wanted to find ways to make the most of life as part of his recovery. It was then that he decided to pursue his lifelong passion for music.
He was referred for singing lessons with composer and musician Romain Malan, who is also the café’s founder.
“It’s been one of the best things that’s happened to me,” Terry told the Citizen. “When I was referred to Romain, I found my voice.”
He added: “It’s very tempting to just withdraw and [become] kind of focused on symptoms and medications and hospital visits and things like that. But coming here, it opens my life up.”
Now, Terry makes the hour-long journey from his home in St John’s Wood every week to join the Harmonize choir. It’s not a choir in the organised sense. It feels more relaxed, like a casual meeting of friends. Each member finds a spot on a sofa or chair and joins in as Malan plays the piano.
Harmonize is a café unlike most. The social enterprise aims to alleviate the challenges of the cost of living crisis, all while building community through food and music.
Lessons, live events and a menu of vegan food and drink are all offered on a sliding price scale. Customers decide what they will pay based on what they are able to give. Some don’t have to pay at all.
Malan said he wanted Harmonize “to have a true connection with the local community, not just music but community, drinks, food.”
The soft-spoken 39-year-old said he wants the café to provide respite for those struggling with homelessness and mental health challenges. He hopes those who need it will find the café welcoming this winter.
Harmonize, which opened in February, is the latest iteration of the community arts work Malan has dedicated himself to for the last decade.
Trained at the Royal College of Music, Malan founded the World Harmony Orchestra in 2016 after working with community support charities like Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants and Core Arts.
Malan said: “I wanted to do something a bit more meaningful than just playing for the sake of playing the right notes.
“The idea was to perform and raise money for different charities and support important humanitarian causes.”
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Malan organised Cuppa Concerts, a series of socially distanced music performances to isolated people across the UK. He said: “It was much more than just bringing a music performance because there was the idea of keeping those people connected to society somehow.”
Harmonize, Malan hopes, will bring together his many passions while offering patrons respite from the ongoing cost of living crisis. Choosing a sliding scale menu was a response to the current economic climate and skyrocketing prices in the area, where a coffee can sometimes cost upwards of £5.
Malan said: “You see all the other businesses with their prices rising and being more disconnected from the many people who think it’s just not affordable any more.”
More than just the food and drink on offer, Malan hopes the programme of live music and community events held throughout the week will build Harmonize’s reputation as a local hub.
Harmonize can be found at 214 Stoke Newington High Street, N16 7HU.