Bang & Olufsen has announced a limited-edition Beosound A9, in collaboration with Grammy Award-winning bassist and experimental musician MonoNeon, to celebrate the intrinsic relationship between art and sound.
Bang & Olufsen has worked alongside MonoNeon to reimagine the Beosound A9 home speaker, reflecting and celebrating his unique approach to music and art. Drawing a parallel to his signature outfits, often incorporating patchwork embroidery, the vivid colours and captivating patterns in the speaker come together to form an intricate and bold composition that pays homage to the artist’s distinctive vision. Above all, MonoNeon wanted the speaker to represent chords on a canvas.
“Whenever I see a painting, I can interpret it musically. For some people, it may be just a picture, but I look at it thinking: ‘I can play that’. I wanted the speaker to be able to play without playing. Bringing me inspiration and telling me a story just by looking at it”, says MonoNeon.
MonoNeon stands out as one of the most innovative electric bass players in jazz, with his funk-infused avant-garde playing and vibrant style, having collaborated with several renowned artists throughout his career, including Prince, Nas, Mavis Staples, George Clinton and Mac Miller, amongst others. In his collaboration with Bang & Olufsen, MonoNeon’s artistry has been imbued into the Beosound A9 canvas, reflecting a shared legacy with Bang & Olufsen of going beyond boundaries and challenging the status quo to create unique design and music experiences.
To commemorate the launch of this limited-edition Art of the A9, Bang & Olufsen will host a celebratory event in its store on New York’s Madison Avenue on 17 January, where MonoNeon will be performing.
MonoNeon and Bang & Olufsen’s paths have previously crossed during JammJam in Paris, a surprise concert hosted in March 2023 by Bang & Olufsen and Jammcard, a digital community of music professionals, where MonoNeon was one of the headlining performers.