The Playlist: Product Designer Jonah Takagi

Because he spent several years touring and recording as a bass guitarist with indie rock bands, we’re giving Washington, D.C.-based product designer Jonah Takagi extra cred when it comes to creating an interesting work mix. Take a listen to what he’s put together for us in this week’s Playlist.

Above: Jonah Takagi’s Scaffold Shelving

What do you listen to while you work? I usually try and pick something that complements the task at hand. For example, if I am getting technical in CAD, something German usually feels right—like NEU! or Kraftwerk.

How do you listen? I have a fondness for 1970s stereo equipment, and as I write this, I am listening to The Small Faces on an old Pioneer receiver that I found at an estate sale. Back in the day, manufacturers didn’t have to pay licensing fees to Dolby or Apple, so the money was spent on the components. I think they sound better and are more interesting to look at. Usually I just plug my computer in; I have a lot of records, too.

Above: Takagi’s Porcelain Pendant

Do you have any favorite music websites/providers? You can’t go wrong with KEXP Seattle. Spotify is pretty great if not completely overwhelming.

Does music influence your work? It doesn’t blatantly influence my work; however, there is always music planning in my studio.

Where do you find music recommendations? Who influences your musical taste? My musical taste is influenced by my friends. I’ll take a friend’s recommendation over a critic’s any day.

If your work was a song or a musician, what or who would it be? My work is best represented by Phil Specter’s production style. Known as the “Wall of Sound,” it is the blending of many individual instruments so that the identity of each instrument is lost and a new “super” instrument is created. I feel that my work is similar in that it is the sum of everyone I have met, everywhere I have been, and everything I have seen.

JONAH’S PLAYLIST

So Young, Veronica

I Was Denied, Thee Oh Sees

Outdoor Miner, Wire

September Gurls, Big Star

Sway, The Rolling Stones

Mambo Sun, T. Rex

Did I Die, Oneida

Fast Canoe, Polvo

Neon Lights, Kraftwerk

Sacred Texts, Concentrik

Electric Band, Wild Flag

Sweet Little Lullaby, Blood Feathers

Images: Jonah Takagi

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