In Tokyo-ga, his 1985 documentary about Japan and the cinema of Yasujiro Ozu, German director Wim Wenders observes that, despite never having been there, he feels he knows Japan intimately through having watched so many Japanese films, including those of Ozu. I feel exactly the same, but nevertheless I still harbour a burning desire to go there, and in particular, I want to visit the ‘jazz kissas’, café-bars in which the owners play vinyl records from their extensive collections while serving coffee. 

In the meantime, Forty-Five Records, a tiny record shop that opened in Lancaster a couple of years ago, is doing something similar. It has a small café as well as a nicely curated selection of new and second-hand records, and it hosts parties and events, DJ sets and even concerts. Earlier this year they also began running ‘open decks’ sessions inviting people to come along and play a selection of their own records, so one Saturday afternoon this summer I was able to satisfy a long-held fantasy of being a DJ, spinning a selection of film soundtrack music from my own record collection. The owner, Martin, told me he is keen for the shop to function as a community hub, and these events are a perfect expression of this. And of course, while on the face of it a record shop in Lancashire may not appear to be as exotic or ‘cinematic’ as an espresso bar in a Tokyo basement, as an all-in-one cafe-bar/record shop/music venue/community centre it’s probably way cooler.

This is the hour-long set I played:

• Ennio Morricone: ‘My Name is Nobody’ – from My Name is Nobody (Tonino Valerii, 1973)
• Pink Floyd: ‘Obscured by Clouds’ – La Vallée (Barbet Schroeder, 1972)
• Ry Cooder: ‘She’s Leaving the Bank’ – Paris Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984)
• Philip Glass: ‘Osamu’s Theme: Kyoko’s House’ – Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (Paul Schrader, 1985)
• John Carpenter and Alan Howarth: ‘Main Title’ – Escape from New York (John Carpenter, 1981)
• Wendy Carlos: ‘March from A Clockwork Orange’ – A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
• Wim Mertens: ‘Birds for the Mind’ – The Belly of an Architect (Peter Greenaway, 1987)
• Ravi Shankar: ‘Improvisation on the Theme Music from Pather Panchali’ – Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray, 1955)
• Handel: ‘Sarabande / Main Title’ – Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)
• Tangerine Dream: ‘Beach Theme’ – Thief (Michael Mann, 1981)
• John Williams: ‘Cantina band’ – Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)
• Michael Nyman: ‘An Eye for Optical Theory’ – The Draughtsman’s Contract (Peter Greenaway, 1982)
• Lalo Schifrin: ‘Bullitt (Main Title)’ – Bullitt (Peter Yates, 1968)
• David Bowie and Giorgio Moroder: ‘Cat People (Putting out Fire)’ – Cat People (Paul Schrader, 1982)