From August through September 28, a special ‘Life Space UX’ exhibition was held at ‘Sony Square NYC,’ Sony’s New York showroom. Based on the concept of “Home Creators,” this exhibition was a collaboration between a diverse range of creatives, including potters, interior designers, and florists. We designed and built a minimalistic space that successfully expresses the perspectives of the selected creative artists, and then further enhanced the individuality and ambiance of the space by playing original music through a Glass Sound Speaker (LSPX-S1). Here, we present an interview with Seiho, the artist who created this original track, and who is active both in Japan and overseas as a musician, producer and composer.

The music, especially created for this exhibition, is a track of approximately ten minutes’ duration. Amidst the stillness, you can hear the intersection of various sounds that alter the song’s mood, including water, birds chirping, and bells.

Seiho explains the inspiration underlying the track, saying:

“There’s plenty of music around that you can listen to without having to think. So conversely, I created a track to listen to that was specifically ‘for thinking.’ I imagined a lake with a completely still surface, with no waves at all. All that can be seen are the mountains in the distance, while you sail in solitude on a boat. It’s the perfect environment in which to think in a dreamy way.

There’s so much noise in our daily lives – it frequently disrupts our thoughts. Over the last couple of years, a major theme of my composition has been to create music that can be listened to for the purpose of ‘resetting’ your feelings, such as when practicing meditation or Zen, to reevaluate what’s really important to you. I think that there are differences between what you can hear the first time and second time when you listen to this track. I hope that certain parts that people pick up from my music will inspire them to think about what it really is that they desire, what they truly want out of life.”

Seiho’s music draws out different emotions while bringing a sense of calmness to the mind. The same piece of music can inspire different emotions each time you hear it. This ability to generate varying emotions in it’s listeners is probably the reason why this single piece of music fits so well in this space created by a diverse range of creative people with strong individual characteristics.

The sound produced is designed to be three-dimensional, as though a physical object has been placed in the room.

“The fundamental structure of my tracks feels strongly like a sculpture. When I listen to the music of other artists, it feels like they’re painting sound onto a blank canvas. In my case, I like to create music that feels like an object has been placed in the middle of an empty black space, and that object is then illuminated by strategically positioning cameras and lighting. It gives a real sense of three-dimensional sound.”

We felt that this three-dimensional sound production is reminiscent of Sony’s Glass Sound Speaker, which emits sound in 360 degrees. We asked Seiho to try the speaker for himself and tell us his thoughts.

“Usually, I would position the instruments in a semicircle around the listener, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with the Glass Sound Speaker. I experimented with the speaker in several different ways. It is visually very appealing, so I didn’t expect it would be able to output much volume. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this wasn’t the case at all. In particular, the sound is emitted in 360 degrees, so rather than being limited to a single ‘sweet spot’, the sound can be heard at equal volume by everyone in the room, even when that space is quite large.”

One little tweak can enrich our lives. I want to create music that makes people realize this.

Seiho studied spatial design while at University, and already had an interest in ‘Life space UX,’ which creates new experiences by helping consumers change their space in engaging new ways. He discussed with us the conceptual projects using spaces that he would like to try his hand at in the future.

“I’d like to do something that changes the way that younger generations listen to music.

Our generation is said to be always looking at social media, always juggling multiple tasks. I would like to work on a conceptual project based on the idea of how people can use time with absolute extravagance in a space where this use of social media and juggling multiple tasks would be completely banned.”

“One little tweak can enrich our lives. If you use time luxuriously and realize even once that music can be enjoyed in a different way, then I think you will be able to enjoy a richer life. That is the kind of music that I want to be able to create.”

In this era when it is taken for granted that we will share so much of our lives with others, I think it is important to be able to be completely honest with ourselves about our emotions and enjoy some solitary time. When we have music close at hand, I think it becomes easier to create this ‘time to think.’

Seiho’s Profile

Seiho is a Japanese musician, composer, producer, DJ and the founder of “Day Tripper Records” whose specialty is Electronic Music influenced by Jazz, R&B, Bass Music and Progressive Rock etc. Seiho’s frantic approach to creating music has earned him plenty of attention from global media.

Numerous appearances at international music festivals and touring with internationally acclaimed artists such as Flying Lotus, Capital Cities, 2 Many DJ’s, Disclosure, SOPHIE, Matthew Herbert, Cashmere Cat and Toro Y Moi, Seiho has gained popularity in the electronic music scene.

https://www.instagram.com/seiho777/

http://www.seihooo.com/

Artist Takeovers: Seiho

https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWUrisXbmrlZu

Learn more about Sony's Glass Sound Speaker (LSPX-S1) at https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/37i9dQZF1DWUrisXbmrlZu