What do you listen to while you work?
We usually have something on while we are working, mainly the radio. We tend to listen to cheerful BBC Radio 2 on sunny days and sometimes BBC Radio 4 on grey-rainy days. I really love Kirsty Young’s Desert Island Discs.

How do you listen?
We have a small radio plugged in to our prototype “Cow Speaker” (below), and we also listen through our iMacs, sometimes with earphones if there is a difference in musical taste.

Do you have any favorite music websites/providers?
I often listen to music on YouTube, but also just recently found Soundcloud, which is quite cool for discovering new talent. Also, Spotify is great.

Does music influence your work?
When I listen to music while getting ready in the morning, it really helps me prepare for the day ahead and puts me in a good mood. If it’s miserable weather outside, which is a lot in England, it especially helps. Depending on what mood I am in, I love the “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World” medley by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole and also “New York” by Alicia Keys.

My good friend Bene Young has just written his first few songs (including one called “Loose Wheel“) and released them on Soundcloud. I find it really inspiring whenever someone is doing something creative that they’re passionate about. Releasing things out into the world for the first time is always a very exciting moment, whatever arena you are in.

Where do you find music recommendations? Who influences your musical taste?
I often discover songs I like from movie soundtracks and sometimes adverts on TV. More often than not I discover them through friends’ recommendations, when we are at someone’s house for a party or a meal. It is always interesting to check out other people’s music and discover new artists. I don’t really look for music, though; I just let it find me.

What song or artist best represents the work you create?
Most of my work is created in collaboration with my partner Brendan Young. I’m sure we would have very different opinions about what song or artist would represent our work. For me, it would be something different from the norm, unpredictable with a variety of influences, experimental, and a result of a team — maybe “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. It is a unique and quirky song unlike anything else. It moves in different directions; it’s got such different parts and somehow it’s serious yet still fun.

Ideal place to sit and listen to your playlist:
The Eames Molded Plastic Armchair with Rocker Base, in yellow. I love the rocking movement. It reminds me of the sea, and the bright yellow makes it feel like summer.

VANESSA’S PLAYLIST:

1. Shake It Out, Florence + the Machine
2. Let There Be Love, Nat King Cole
3. Here Comes the Sun, Nina Simone
4. The Lake, Antony and the Johnsons
5. Chan Chan, Buena Vista Social Club
6. Trois Gymnopédies, Erik Satie
7. Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down, Alicia Keys
8. What a Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong
9. Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want, The Smiths
10. Together in Electric Dreams, Lali Puna

Photos: Vanessa Battaglia

What do you listen to while you work? Depends on the task and the time of day. If I must really concentrate, or even study, then I need classical or jazz music, like Coltrane, Monk, or Miles. If it’s my regular day-to-day work routine, then anything goes. I will dance in my seat to Parliament Funkadelic, Queen, The Stuyvesant’s, and Bob Marley. If it’s been a really pleasant day and I‘ve received good news, or if a client gives me high praise, then I get up and take five-minute dance breaks.

How do you listen? If I’m in the kitchen, I usually hook my computer up to my stereo and listen through the house speakers; but, if it’s just regular work, I usually listen through the speakers on my computer. Sometimes I want to feel the music and hear every nuance, and that’s when I use my ear buds. I am dying to get the Beats by Dre or Bose headphones, but I fear I will never be able to go back to anything else after using them.

Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? I have 23 stations on Pandora.  I used to really love Live365.com, but I haven’t been on in a while. I’ve got to check out Spotify and see what all the fuss is about.

Does music influence your work? Music is one of the best modes of creativity, and it always informs my work.  I need music just to get work done. If I sit in silence and try to work, my mind will wander. With some songs, especially if I hear it for the first time, I can almost visualize them with colors, textures, and scenes. I create a lot by feeling and emotion. Music is a big part of that equation. I would love to design a hotel room based on Tom Brock’s “I Love You More and More” or a restaurant inspired by Shona Mbira Music.

Where do you find music recommendations? Who influences your musical taste? Everywhere and everyone! I hardly listen to the radio anymore so I depend on my best friends, NPR, people I know on Facebook, movie and television scores, Pandora suggestions, and Apple genius results to keep me in the loop. The Shazam app is one of the best creations on the planet, just grab and go. I also pay attention to my favorite music artists and find out what they listen to. I once heard Maxwell (whom I adore) talk about Radiohead’s “In Rainbows.” I play “Jigsaw Falling Into Place” every day now. Fantastic.

What song or artist best represents the work you create? I can only hope to one day be like Sade. Her work is just as ethereal as it was almost 30 years ago. Somehow she knows how to be timeless and fiercely contemporary. I saw her in concert last year. Man — I would love to do set design like that. I believe she works with Sophie Muller, whom I believe is a genius. The best artists create work that endures, and that is a principle I am willing to devote my energy to.

Ideal place to sit and listen to your playlist: The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman with the Black Leather and Santos Palisander Veneer, while someone else is sitting next to them on the Ottoman. The craftsmanship of the lounge chair is amazing with materials that are great to the touch. I would hope my playlist is good enough to go from the office on Friday afternoon, to being played at a hot house party toward the end of the night.

AISHA’S PLAYLIST:

1. Exactly Like You, Nina Simone
2. Jigsaw Falling Into Place, Radiohead
3. Flying Overseas, Theophilus London
4. Never Stop, The Brand New Heavies
5. Time’s a Wastin’, Erykah Badu
6. Limit to Your Love, James Blake
7. Come Undone, Duran Duran
8. Space Rider, Shaun Escoffery
9. Phoenix Rise, Maxwell
10. Didjital Vibrations, Jamiroquai
11. You Will Rise, Sweetback
12. Aisha, John Coltrane

Photos: Aisha Densmore-Bey except top, Ben Gebo Photography.

What do you listen to while you work? I listen to a wide range of music — anything from Sigur Rós to Rammstein to Lana Del Rey. I guess what really matters is what I am working on or if I am “working” at all. I usually just leave it on shuffle, it is a good way to weed out the “how did that get there?” songs. Lately I have been on a remix kick; there is a lot to sift through to find the good remixes, but they are out there.

How do you listen? When I’m at home, I use headphones plugged into my Mac to block out all of the distractions and so that I don’t become a distraction to the rest of my family. (I still need to put a door on my den). At my daytime gig, I listen through a set of old Labtec speakers that still sound pretty good. There are four of us in our office and we all share the “DJ” responsibilities.

Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? My favorite places to find music are blogs and Tumblr sites. (Recently, I have been finding some really nice remixes by just searching the keyword “remix” from my Tumblr dashboard.) SoundCloud also has some pretty nice tracks. Friends and coworkers are always sharing their music finds as well.

Does music influence your work? I don’t think music directly influences my work, but I am willing to bet that subliminally it plays some role. I really can’t dive into a project without it. When I am working on something that is repetitive or doesn’t require a whole lot of thought — populating a website, for example — I like to listen to something that has a pretty good repetitive beat and seems to keep me on task. On the other hand, if I am creating something new (branding, for example), I like to listen to music that has more of an epic or dramatic feel.

Where do you find music recommendations? Who influences your musical taste? I usually find recommendations through friends’ blogs or Facebook pages. I really don’t find myself actively seeking new music; it just happens to be wherever I am looking for inspiration in one form or another. It is hard to say who influences my musical tastes; as of late, it has been my kids. I have a 10-year-old, a 7-year-old, and one coming in June. They are really starting to get into music and I often find myself asking, “Would my kids listen to that or is that suitable for my kids to listen to?” I also think that what influences me changes — it comes and goes with what is happening in my life.

What song or artist best represents the work you create? That is tough question. I think that could change from time to time as well. It would need to be a creator, someone who can take ideas and thoughts and make a great piece with them. Lately I have really liked the work of Pogo. He takes bits and pieces and assembles them to make a great song — complex yet simple.

Ideal place to sit and listen to your playlist: I have always loved the Eames Soft Pad Lounge Chair and Ottoman (tilt swivel, four cushions, arms, white base and frame with black leather). It has a tech feel while being a comfortable lounge chair — epic.

TYLER’S PLAYLIST:

1. Dead Hearts, Stars
2. Juke Joint Jezebel, KMFDM
3. Fostercare, Burial
4. Glosoli, Sigur Rós (Tyler says, “this video is epic.”)
5. Expialidocious, Pogo
6. My People, The Presets
7. Young Blood, The Naked and Famous
8. Kings and Queens, 30 Seconds to Mars
9. Waiting for the End, Linkin Park
10. Comeback Kid, Sleigh Bells

Photos: Johnny Trevino, except first and last, Kim Fetrow

P.S. Check out Tyler’s post on restoring these vintage Herman Miller Eames Shell Chairs.