Listen to the Lyrics Three reasons why the Lyric Speaker will make you stop, look and listen
Upon first encounter with Cotodama’s Lyric speaker, you may wonder what it is? Is it a speaker, a music visualisation or art installation? Or all three? We asked Lane Crawford’s Director of Innovation, Andrew Massey, to share his insights.
The Lyric speaker enhances the experience of listening to music by incorporating sound and visuals, giving a deeper connection between the listener and music; as you listen to a song the lyrics appear on the screen. “The speaker helps the listener to interpret and understand the song further. There may be songs where you don’t really listen to the lyrics; this speaker changes that,” says Andrew Massey. Creating a new way to listen to music conveniently, the focus is on the audio but the Lyric Speaker simulates two senses simultaneously without conflicting one another. Masey adds “the lyrics are displayed in a very unintrusive way, it’s not distracting like having a music video playing in the background.”
The speaker detects the mood of the song, selecting the typography and animation of the lyrics to reflect the overall feeling, connecting with Japan’s largest lyric database, where over two million plus song are stored and analysed. If you’re playing a slow track, delicate font will be selected and the lyrics will gently drift across the screen; for a more upbeat song, the lyrics will be displayed in bolder typography and will dart across the screen at a faster pace.
The overall experience is mesmerising; giving the feeling of an art installation rather than speaker. Due to its uniqueness, the multimedia device is sure to be conversation starter, enticing others to interact with it and the music. However, if you just want to enjoy your favourite song independently, you can do that too. That’s the power of innovation, it will constantly surprise and delight.