Feel the Sound

On Thursday, our team took a short trip down the road to the Feel the Sound exhibition at the Barbican, and it was unlike any other exhibition I’d been to before. The immersive experience invites you to explore sound not just through hearing, but through movement, vibration, and emotion. At Truth, we’re always tuned in to what’s happening in art and culture – it’s essential to how we understand people and anticipate the future, but this felt particularly relevant coming off the back of a major piece we did on predicting the future of sound for one of our clients.

One of the highlights for me was an installation that measured our heart rate, skin response, and other biometrics to create a personal ‘inner symphony’ at different stages of the experience. The result was a moving shape on screen that visualised our emotional reactions—mine was definitely more anxious than I’d like to admit!

From discovering our ‘inner symphonies’, creating music based on memory, and dancing to beats in a transformed car park, each installation challenged how we perceive and interact with sound, reminding us that sound is a felt experience, not just an auditory one. We even created a melody to soundtrack our future using an AI-control music box based on past experiences and future visions.

One of the AI compositions made me think of the controversial AI band ‘the Velvet Sundown’ (see article here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8mjnn7eqno) and what technology might mean for the future of sound. There is a fine line between innovation and authenticity, and as tools like AI become more embedded in creative processes, how do we ensure that human emotion and intention aren’t lost? And what does this mean for modern-day artists?

The exhibition beautifully blends art, technology, and music to create a multi-dimensional experience and it certainly evoked many different emotions in us and sparked ideas about how we can bring these concepts into our work at Truth. It’s a powerful reminder for anyone working in brand, insight, or strategy that the future is tangible and sensory!

Although Feel the Sound has now ended, I highly recommend keeping an eye on what’s next at the Barbican. We certainly will be!

Written by Sara Vasic