Description
A multi sensory experience featuring Audio-Technica's Hotaru limited edition turntable.
Venue: Studio 525
Address: 525 West 24th Street, New York, NY 10011
Date: August 22nd and 23rd, 2025
Composer: Yuma Koda
Artists: Will August Park and Chris Ryan Williams
Hotaru, the limited-edition turntable and second installment of Audio-Technica’s analog ~naturally program, debuted during Milan Design Week in March, 2025. It introduced a new way to experience analog music through the fusion of sound and light. Named after the Japanese word for “firefly,” Hotaru offers a captivating visual experience with its floating structure and creates a multisensory ambiance by converting sound into light.
To celebrate Hotaru’s second installment, Audio-Technica hosted a multisensory sound installation in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. The event invited attendees to experience analog in a completely new way—through immersive sound and light.
In this installation, Hotaru acted as a vessel connecting people, time, and sound. Audio-Technica microphones were strategically placed throughout the space to capture the natural sounds generated during the experience.
First, guests entered via a gravel path, symbolizing a journey into a Japanese garden. Microphones recorded each footstep. Next, sand streamed from a suspended container, representing the passage of time—like an hourglass—encouraging mindfulness and presence.
The journey continued with a gong-like sculpture emitting a low bell tone, followed by a pool that captured the sound of falling water droplets. Finally, guests arrived at a traditional Japanese tea room, where Hotaru transformed into a sonic vessel. An original composition by Yuma Koda played while New York-based artists Will August Park and trumpet player, Chris Ryan Williams, added complimentary musical tones.
These natural sounds and live performances were blended into a single ephemeral loop and sent to a recording station at the final stage of the installation. As the experience unfolded, all analog audio was recorded and cut into vinyl in real time, giving each guest a time-stamped, one-of-a-kind recording on vinyl — a trace of sound, space, and fleeting time.
Visit the Hotaru Landing Page: [https://technicahouse-nyc.com/products/hotaru]
Visit the event blog article: [https://www.audio-technica.com/en-us/blog/hotaru-a-new-analog-experience]