There is a famous scene in High Fidelity (2000) in which John Cusack's character explains: "Making a good mixtape is a very subtle art". Anno 2021 Sonos breathes new life into this art ...
For decades, the mixtape - a selection of self-selected tracks put together on, say, a cassette tape - was an important way to discover and pass on music. The one for your big brother or best friend, or the one for the date you were trying to impress. In these modern times, Sonos laments the lost art of making a mixtape and its value. After all, many of the ready-made playlists we listen to now are nothing more than a result put together by a soulless algorithm.
With Sonos' own radio streaming service Sonos Radio, this is different: they allow curators (music connoisseurs, enthusiasts, DJs and artists, etc.) to put together their own mixtape, in the form of unique radio stations. From scratch. This creates special stations that, like the mixtape of old, are aimed at passing on and discovering personal music choices.
Sonos Radio
Sonos Radio is the premium radio experience available for free on Sonos. Created for and inspired by Sonos customers, it offers more than 60,000 radio stations from around the world, with its own original programming. Sonos Radio HD, its paid variant, offers a number of extras on top of that. Customers who upgrade to Sonos Radio HD (costs €7.99 per month) can enjoy an expanded catalogue of exclusive content in HD audio (i.e. lossless audio in CD quality, skip and repeat tracks) without ads. "Sonos Radio HD means even more choice and even better sound for Sonos users," explains Patrick Spence, CEO of Sonos. In just over a year, Sonos Radio has therefore become the third most-listened-to service on Sonos.
Brian Eno's unheard
The music on Sonos Radio (HD) feels slightly different; it is often surprising in its selection of tracks because they have been hand-picked based on passion for and knowledge of music. In this way, each station should form a mix where you get to hear something special. Like, for example, The Lighthouse, the Sonos Radio HD station curated by none other than music producer and legend Brian Eno.
"On Sonos Radio, we want to give artists a creative outlet," said Joe Dawson, Director of Content and Brand Platforms at Sonos. "We spent months working with Brian Eno to realise his creative vision for The Lighthouse and redefine the possibilities of a radio station."
Eno, who has been creating and innovating all his life, devised the format for a new type of radio station that, among other things, explores his vast archive of never-released work. In this way, The Lighthouse works as a kind of living collection, introducing Eno fans directly to both his old and new musical projects. Eno: "What you're going to hear is a random set of songs, selected by chance so that all sorts of strange, and I hope exciting, combinations emerge."
Sonos Radio and Sonos Radio (HD) are available via the Sonos app for all Sonos users in the Netherlands. For Sonos Radio HD, customers can subscribe at sonos.com after a free one-month trial. No Sonos but still want to know what it sounds like? Listen to free content from Sonos Radio in the Sound System Archive at Mixcloud.com.
Sonos painting
After the singing table lamp and somewhat less surprising bookshelf speaker, there is now the swinging painting, the latest addition to the Symfonisk collection, the partnership between Ikea and Sonos. A selection of 12 panels is available for this painting row list to offer something for everyone, but as far as we are concerned, there is still some room for creativity there. The ability to design your own panel would be a fine one. The beauty of the device is that you can hang a fine-sounding speaker on your wall 'unseen', one that takes up hardly any space and blends in completely with the interior. This speaker, you wouldn't expect otherwise, naturally integrates seamlessly into your existing Sonos network, you can upgrade it to a stereo system with a second painting and you control it via the Sonos app on your phone. Costs € 179 www.ikea.com
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