Stone Island Sound A Friendly Pressure during Milan Design Week

Stone Island Sound A Friendly Pressure during Milan Design Week. STONE ISLAND SOUND PRESENTS FRIENDLY PRESSURE: STUDIO ONE @ CAPSULE PLAZA. SOUND AS A FORM OF RESEARCH – EXPERIMENTS IN SONIC EXPLORATION

As part of its ongoing music initiative, Stone Island is proud to introduce Friendly Pressure: Studio One, the new project – first one of its kind – that be taking place during Milan Design Week 2025 at Capsule Plaza, presenting an immersive sonic experience in which the precise dimensions of the space will dictate the texture of the sound. The project will come alongside a week-long cultural program encompassing a series of live music sessions, DJ sets, and conversations, in collaboration with Friendly Pressure, bespoke sound system studio founded by Shivas Brown in London.

Friendly Pressure: Studio One is a direct link to the Stone Island LAB & LIFE philosophy, where LAB is the constant, scrutinising and boundless investigation into the transformation and enhancement of materials, and LIFE is the lived experience, the identity, the perceived status of anyone feeling part of the Stone Island community. Inspired by the moments of togetherness that spark musical creation, the collaboration between Stone Island and Friendly Pressure brings to life a free space where influence converges and sound and spatial design foster collaboration and conviviality.

LAB STONE ISLAND SOUND | FRIENDLY PRESSURE

Blending timeless design aesthetics with cutting-edge production techniques, at the intersection of material science and audio engineering, Friendly Pressure has exclusively designed and built a custom hi-fidelity audio system for Stone Island Sound, set to be unveiled at Milan Design Week 2025. The modular sound system harks back to the golden age of recorded music, treating it as both a sensory and physical experience. Friendly Pressure: Studio One features at its core a pair of in-house designed speakers integrated with unity horns and subwoofers engineered by Bosco Taylor. These unity horns are the result of years of testing, designed to conflate different sound frequencies into a single source, resulting in unparalleled audio reproduction that is both precise and emotive. The Stone Island Sound customised setup is completed with an adjustable console designed in collaboration with Fables Collective, a rack system by Mitre & Mondays, design stools by Andu Masebo, and modular couches by ANDA_BA for full immersion.

LIFE – STONE ISLAND SOUND PRESENTS_ FRIENDLY PRESSURE: STUDIO ONE @ CAPSULE PLAZA

Studio One will live in a dedicated space amidst the context of Capsule Plaza at Spazio Maiocchi, a hybrid space in between a fair and a collective exhibition. Seen from the outside the Stone Island Sound room presents a minimal appearance inspired by a work from architect and designer Carlo Scarpa. Occupying a 50 square meter space, the interior shows a soundproof ceiling by Soundwave Jasmine and a rug by CC-Tapis to maintain optimal sound dispersion. With a curated lineup of installations and public events, going on daily from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Capsule Plaza is a renowned international venue known for its deep connections to the design world, bringing together designers and companies from various creative fields.

The Stone Island Sound installation be unveiled on April 7, 2025, with an array of cultural sessions, happening daily at 12.00 PM, 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM. The journey begins with a series of investigations into sound and purpose, exploring why and how music takes form through conversations with record producers and loud system designers. Throughout the week, Errol Anderson and Shivas Brown’s collaborative experience, ‘A Loose Ting’, sets the tone for the early part of each day. This then builds into a performance program featuring The Vernon Spring, an explorative and meditative pianist.

Each evening culminates with a selection of enigmatic DJs, including Retromigration, NINAFTERDARK, and Lobo Sound, shaping the night’s energy. Lastly, the week peaking with two major cultural moments – a Victory Lap Radio cypher followed by a C2C Festival takeover to close out the experience on Sunday April 13th. Featuring some key figures of the C2C Festival universe, these sessions will highlight the projects the Festival has developed with Stone Island, inherently celebrating the legacy of the Festival’s founder and artistic director Sergio Ricciardone, who recently passed away. With its polyhedric nature, Studio One traces back to Stone Island’s deep cultural roots and its embrace of a community from all walks of life, while reaffirming its commitment to excellence across various design disciplines.