Friendly Pressure and Stone Island present: Studio One
Friendly Pressure and Stone Island present: Studio One
Capsule Plaza, Spazio Maiocchi, Milan, Italy.
Before the recording starts, the lights start blinking, and the machines start whirring, there is pure imagination, excited conversation, and maybe a little dance. The collaboration between Friendly Pressure and Stone Island was inspired by the moments of togetherness that precede musical creation. It imagined a free space where influence can come together, where sound and spatial design enable collaboration and conviviality.
Acknowledgements
Alessandro Marmai, Andu Masebo, Andrew Bambi, Armaan Bansal, Bosco Taylor, Capsule Global, Cristina Travaglini, Daniel Dutulescu, Fables Collective, Freya Bolton, Giulia Boeri, James Drakos, Joe Wigzell, Joseph Shanley-Jackson, Lawrence Daykin, Liam Sangmuah, Mitre and Mondays, Morell Maison, Oliver Cooke, Romeo Ruffini, Saul Blake, Stone Island, Somerset Team, Talv Bains, Toby Woodroffe, Tom Hagan.
Studio One FP-Unity System and subwoofer
Image space
SYSTEM
The Studio One FP-Unity System and subwoofer was designed in collaboration with Bosco Taylor, a South East London Loudspeaker designer and engineer who has worked across commercial projects and designed PA systems for raves and local London dances for years. Unlike traditional loudspeakers, the conical Unity Horn has the unique ability to combine its woofers in perfect phase and amplitude. The drive units were loaded within a quarter wave spacing at the crossover frequency conflating into a single source.
Years of development led Bosco to a driver combination that lent itself to musicality over shear output volume. Tonality and near-field listening were the key directives in this particular design, and together we crafted a system that was emotive and accurate even at high sound pressure levels.
Image space
CONSOLE
Moving away from the iconisation of the DJ behind their altar, we wanted to have the DJ setup with a console adjustable in height, but more than anything, sculptural and tactile. We worked with leading UK stage designers Fables Collective and London based design studio and workshop Mitre and Mondays to create the custom console top with adjustable legs. A custom studio rack was added to house the amplifiers and dub siren, as we wanted to achieve a unique patina to complement Stone Island’s industrial aesthetic. Aluminum speaker stands and corresponding stools by London designer Andu Masebo rounded out the console design.
FURNITURE
A modular seating system designed by anda_ba - initially inspired by paper experiments - was brought up to scale using natural cotton and patinated steel. The modular seating looked at traditional Indian low seating with a contemporary lens. The aim of the piece was to form a threshold for conversation and exchange.
