Listen to the city.

I love cities. I love walking through their crowded streets, stopping in front of every appealing show window, or simpliy seating in one of their numerous cafes to see the people going and coming. I like that contradictory feeling of loneliness while being surrounded by hundreds of people. You do not know them. They do not know you. It makes me feel independent and free.

However, a pleasant walk around the city becomes sometimes a true nightmare. There are days when it is hard to listen even to your own thoughts. The everyday din of the cities can block your mind, interrupting any thinking. I guess that is probably the reason why so many urbanites walk around with their ears covered with headphones, some of which certainly can be considered luxury items. 

This is the idea that underlies the new campaign of AIAIAI for the latest headphone-release of the brand, the Capital, specially designed for the on-the-go urbanite. The campaign, which is named 'Make the city sound better', is based on the development of an ambitious, design and sound project: The Sound Taxi. With the active collaboration of the London-based sound artist Yuri Suzuki, the brand has transformed one of the typical black taxies of London into a vehicle which is capable to turn the noise of the city into electronic music.

The Sound Taxi is equipped with a microphone that records its surrounding noise. A specially designed software analyses the captured frequencies of the noises and uses them to generate unique music in real time. The sounds change and evolve as you drive around the city, so the music generated matches the dynamics of the streets. Passerby can hear the music via the 67 speakers built into the entire care body and the big horns on the top of the taxi's roof. Additionally, the passengers of The Sound Taxi can tune-in to the converted sounds via headphones installed inside of the vehicle.

Source: Yorokobu.es

I find the project very interesting and creative. The bran is not only offering a promise to its target, they are giving people a chance to experience by themselves what the new headphones can do for them. The Capital headphones make the city sound better.


Keep reading on: 
Make the City Sound Better | Campaign
Make the City Sound Better | Tracks (soundcloud.com)
AIAIAI website | Capital Headphones
Yuri Suzuki website