James Murphy's new cafe Daymoves -- which neighbors his established dining endeavor, the Four Horseman restaurant -- has optimism infused into its concept. The man who spent a good portion of LCD Soundsystem’s comeback album American Dream examining death sounds almost quixotic when explaining his expectations for the new spot.
“Hopefully, thoughtful service, good light, and peace,” Murphy tells Billboard by email. “[We want] guests who come to feel like they’re breathing and resting up for their day -- getting stronger -- in that way which is often unique to a beautiful lobby cafe in a great, small hotel in some city you’ve traveled a long way to experience.”
Daymoves is meant to disrupt the prototypical New York cafe, the ones filled with glowing Apple logos and business talk. They’re places to do things, and Daymoves is not; the idea here is more of a “daytime sanctuary and a community center,” as Amanda Spina, general manager of Four Horsemen and Daymoves, puts it. The community-over-productivity ethos is built into the space: There is no public Wi-Fi; couches are placed claustrophobically and in right angles, as if to encourage human interaction; and the entire spot is a fresh nook behind a corridor. As the naked oriental strand boards that line the short tunnel suggest, Daymoves is still a work in progress.