Last March I had the pleasure of meeting Loretta Faveri, inventor of SOMO (SOund in MOtion) by SonicWear, a wearable device that turns the body into a musical instrument. When I last featured Loretta, SOMO was in prototyping stages – see the original feature here – and I was captivated. As a musician and dancer I am no stranger to both making music and moving to it, but SOMO presents a way to do both at the same time. And the SOMO story doesn’t stop at the device. Loretta and her team are producing a series of workshops that encourage people to experience SOMO firsthand and make music collaboratively. I was ecstatic when Loretta invited me to be part of her first round of SOMO workshop, which took place at Denise Mireau’s beautiful studio, The Studio For Movement, in downtown Toronto. Take a look at the video filmed that day (and check out my moves! haha).
SOMO SOund & MOvement Workshop from Loretta Faveri on Vimeo.
I had a great time at the SOMO Workshop. What I love about the SOMO experience is the device lets you play around in an invisible landscape – since the notes it plays are determined by position, you really get the feeling that you’re exploring the realm of sound. What I really enjoyed about the workshop was the collaborative aspect of it. At first I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t play with the SOMO on my own for an extended period of time, but once we got into pairs and began making music together, it clicked for me that, like in dance and music, the combined product of multiple independent components is what creates the depth and beauty.
This SOMO workshop was an awesome experience, and I will certainly be signing up once it goes public! I encourage you to give it a try too – maybe I’ll even see you there. :)
