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The Beat Boxed: Little Dragon

When it comes to music I am by no means an expert! As a designer, or shall I say as a person, I am so inspired by music. I know what I like, but when you ask me why I just might not be able to but my finger on it. I can be in a rut and you turn the music on and it takes my thoughts to new levels. My mind travels with the beats and the rhythm moves my thoughts until they dance around like a pencil in my mind, sketching images on autopilot.

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I often times have clients that use music and albums to describe their visions for design. What they are doing is trying to describe a mood they wish for their space to evoke. I am then faced with the challenge to translate this into design. I’ve had the Machine Dreams album by Little Dragon on my playlist for the past couple weeks and I am so intrigued by it. Just how do these textured melodies so smoothly drift into the voids of the stuttered beat to create a sound that is so close to what you know, but also manages to be so far beyond? As Pitchfork describes their sound, “Since the tracks mainly evoke a state of emotional confusion, the ambiguity may be part of the point.”

As this translates into design you must see these voids the same way. When that beat skips, fill it with the unexpected. This design remains dynamic through the use of materials and soulfully organic in the composition and forms of each piece. However when combined with the next they create a new and interesting “sound” and as a whole they take you on a blissful journey into the future! Are you confused yet?

Listen to “Blinking Pigs” by Little Dragon (right-click to download).

In this new column, we’ll explore the relationship between music and our personal sense of style, or how we “box” or enclose the beat within our own homes. Check out my take on the sounds of Little Dragon:

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1. Pigeon Lamp 2. Lucas + Treiach’s Modern Chandelier 3. Michael Thonet Café Daum Coat Stand 4. Flavor Paper Ziggy Diamond 5. Baude Sofa by Matthew Hilton 6. Prince Chair by Louise Campbell 7. Mountain Peak Cushion by Donna Wilson 8. Marks + Spencer Leather Cushions 9. Miss K Table Lamp 10. Orgone Table by Marc Newson 11. Motley Footstool by Donna Wilson 12. Woody Printed Cotton Rug by Urban Outfitters

Now this is my take on the sounds of Little Dragon. If you have a song or album that inspires you let’s turn it into your favorite room. Please send it in to info[at]design-milk.com and let’s see where it takes us!