Music inspired by MSCTY and its architecture

Here’s a confounding koan: “What does a building that hasn’t been built sound like?” Creative Director of MSCTY and Tokyo-based sound and architecture studio (pronounced “mu gee c tee”). For Nick Luscombe and writer/curator Claire Farrow, the answer can be found in their latest Sonic. business, MSCTY_Expo [Zone 001] unknown fun – An intriguing collection of music and sounds ranging from 5-minute electronic tracks, ambient and spoken word pieces to full-blown musical suites.

MSCTY and Unknown Pleasures

“We were interested in how musicians and sound artists would react to places that weren’t actually built, and whether we could create new ways for architects and musicians to engage through new dialogue,” says Luscombe. says. Farrow and his OPPO debuted Kengo Kuma’s specially commissioned soundtrack. bamboo ring Installation at Milan Design Week 2021.

1 year in production, unknown fun We paired nine musicians, including Bill Fontana, with nine architects. Bill Fontana collaborated with Nieto Sovegiano Architectos to build the unrealized New National Center for Contemporary Arts in Moscow. Lorraine James on Abu Rogers’ painting of cocoon structures. Yuri Suzuki created an acoustic simulation of Richard Rodgers’ Zip-Up House.Yuval Abital composes a 12-movement homage to Daniel Libeskind Mundi Theateritself consists of 12 abstract works using paper, collage and paint, imagining a futuristic city ravaged by an unknown infectious disease.

Luscombe and Farrow were careful to keep the brief open-ended. “How the track was developed was up to the musician” – the musician had her Zoom call with the pair’s architect and was given access to the drawings, the client he pitches, the concept his notes But. , each piece takes about two months to complete.

“Each musician put their heart and soul into this project,” says Luscombe.

unknown fun It will be released in cassette tape format in February in a limited edition of 100 boxsets (“for those who want a more tactile experience of music,” explains Luscombe), but will also be available on MSCTY’s website and streaming platform, Spotify. You can and Apple Music. As of now, there are no plans for his live performance, with Luscombe saying only that they are “discussing.”

I’m working on unknown fun, he adds, is very inspiring, especially because it created a new design dialogue by bringing together two very different disciplines. “My background is very audio focused, but I always felt that sound design was seen as an unfairly inferior partner compared to visual design. , feels like the two disciplines merged in a very organic way.