In May I attended an event in London, where the Speakers Corner Quartet, in collaboration with Sonos, hosted an intimate preview launch of their recently released album 'Further Out Than the Edge' at Portico Studios.
Music is a powerful tool for amplifying our emotions - we all know that feeling when the hairs on our arms rise at a well-timed beat dropping or a sad song perfectly summing up our situationship. Scientifically known as “frisson” (more commonly known as “getting the chills”), this powerful emotional response triggers the release of dopamine in your brain that causes a wave of intensity washing over the body — an unfiltered moment of max emotion that leaves us feeling more. I love that feeling and I experienced it several times during the event in London.
At this event, the guests experienced a spatial audio journey, hitting all the different senses, first encountering an installation of the band’s homemade robots that played instruments live in the backyard, which then led to a really cool, curated exhibition that gave us an insight into Sonos’ new speaker, the Era 300, while complementing the history and relationship of the band.
Fun fact: did you know that the Era screws have “Sonos ❤” etched into them?
We had a fantastic opportunity to show off the power of Dolby Atmos with two different listening rooms (first for screening the music video with a home theatre set up of 1x Arc + 2x Era 300’s and the second area for audio playback on 2x Era 300’s) where people could to listen to the newly mixed tracks and experience them exclusively in an extra dimension to what they are generally used to.
Guests also enjoyed a demo of 4x audio tracks ( Acute Truth, On Grounds, Fix, and Can We Do This), including an exclusive screening of ‘Topanga’ all mixed in Dolby Atmos by the Sonos Sound Experience team, which brought home the meaning of immersive listening and spatial audio.
As they moved through Portico Studios (the band’s home from home), guests were greeted by a fragrance made by Deya (in collaboration with Speakers Corner Quartet), which revolves around Amyris, a fragrant wood from the Caribbean that speaks to a sense of journeying; imagining the growth of the tree from fresh sprouts to green shoots, to blossoming flowers, to traveling out to sea as "torchwood,” before returning to the soil and roots.
At Sonos we strive to create sound experiences that satisfy experiences that are intimate, human and true to the artist’s intent. We are driven and inspired by innovations that can transform the way we listen, helping us feel more from the content we love. That’s why we are introducing Era 300 - our next generation of smart speakers built for the future of immersive listening. Era ushers in a whole new chapter for Sonos, epitomising our commitment to sound innovation, responsible design and a deep connection to the creator community.
To close out the evening, guests were led into the main hall, where the band was already lit by warm light that felt like an invitation into their world, where you could fully experience an intimate and immersive performance (with special guests that included Kae Tempest, Confucius MC, LEILAH, and Joe Armon-Jones).
Do you listen to Speakers Corner Quartet? Is this your first time hearing about them? Let us know what you think. I had personally never heard about them but I have got to now admit they have been put on my playlist.
Check out the cool video that was recorded during the event