Sonos Studio is an
art gallery and
studio in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, United States, established on May 9, 2012, and owned by American
consumer electronics
Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...
company
Sonos
Sonos, Inc. is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. The company was founded in 2002 by John MacFarlane, Craig Shelburne, Tom Cullen, and Trung Mai.
Sonos has partnered with over 100 companies th ...
. The studio has also had temporary
pop-up locations in New York City, London, and
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
.
In 2016, the Los Angeles studio permanently closed its event space to the public. Today, the space operates as a production studio and private showroom.
Overview
The original gallery combined collections of Sonos
wireless speakers, art, and technology, but also hosted musicians in certain events where a band or
solo artist performed at the location. The admission, as well as other supplies, were free of charge.
The building is
acoustically tuned and refined to house the products and improve experience within initiation of the exhibit.
History
After the creation of
Sonos
Sonos, Inc. is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. The company was founded in 2002 by John MacFarlane, Craig Shelburne, Tom Cullen, and Trung Mai.
Sonos has partnered with over 100 companies th ...
in 2002 and its corporate growth and increasing popularity, the Sonos Studio was established on May 9, 2012, in Los Angeles, which was inaugurated with ''Center of Attention'', an interactive exhibit and show by Luke Fishbeck.
The xx constructed an installation called ''Missing'' to promote ''
Coexist'' in November. In February 2013,
Beck
Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...
held an event at the gallery to promote ''
Song Reader'', complete with
modular synthesizer
Modular synthesizers are synthesizers composed of separate modules for different functions. The modules can be connected together by the user to create a patch. The outputs from the modules may include audio signals, analog control voltages, ...
s and other instruments to play the songs listed in the book. In July, Sonos collaborated with
Softlab to create their "Light House" concept from July 25 to August 25, which was powered by Sonos
Play:3,
Play:5 and Sub
smart speaker
A smart speaker is a type of loudspeaker and voice command device with an integrated virtual assistant (artificial intelligence), virtual assistant that offers interactive actions and Hands-free computing, hands-free activation with the help of o ...
s and was hosted by
The Crystal Method
The Crystal Method is an American electronic music act formed in Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas, Nevada, by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland in 1993. They were pioneers of the big beat genre and their music has appeared in numerous TV shows, films, v ...
initially. Sonos also debuted at the 2013
Amsterdam Dance Event in October for five days.
In February 2014,
Schoolboy Q
Quincy Matthew Hanley (born October 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Schoolboy Q (stylized as ScHoolboy Q), is an American rapper. He began recording in 2007, and released his first two mixtapes, ''ScHoolboy Turned Hustla'' (2008) and '' ...
hosted a listening party at Sonos Studio for his
''Oxymoron'' release.
Charli XCX
Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...
also hosted an event in June. In September,
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it deriv ...
had a
pop-up store in the gallery with partnership with
Amoeba Music. From September 30 to October 5, Sonos Studio was set up and configured in New York City It hosted events such as ''An Evening with Danny Brown'', hosted by
Danny Brown
Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known as Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He was described by MTV in 2011 as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory".
After amassing ...
and presented by Sonos and
Pandora, an interactive map of New York City made out of 300
Play:1 speakers and four Sub, in which 180 of the speakers were reconfigured to hold
LED lighting, custom-made speakers using
Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that provides software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquarte ...
products and Sonos components and an installation called ''Ancient Chaos'', built by
Dev Hynes and The Principals.
In January 2015, Sonos created an exhibition called ''Sound Affects: Music and Mood'', an interactive experience in which to study a person's intersection with music. In July,
Miguel promoted ''
Wildheart'' at the gallery, while also teasing a new song albeit not performing it. In October, Sonos Studio also opened for three days at the 2015 Amsterdam Dance Event and officially opened the Studio in London at the same month. In January 2016, the Studio in Los Angeles hosted its last public event with a performance by
The Gaslamp Killer.
References
{{Reflist, 2
Art museums and galleries established in 2012
Art museums and galleries in Los Angeles
Defunct contemporary art galleries in London
Contemporary art galleries in the United States
Sonos
2012 establishments in California
2015 establishments in England
Artists' studios in London
Artists' studios in the United States