It’s the year 2000, you’ve saved up enough pocket money to purchase Hybrid Theory. You unwrap the CD and place it in your “Jog-Proof” Sony Walkman. As you find a seat on the bus home, you press play; “Papercut” starts playing, and you open the CD booklet to an almost monochromatic portfolio of graffiti and song lyrics, “Why does it feel like night today? Something in here’s not right today.” Over the next month, you listen to nothing but Linkin Park’s debut studio album, reading the album booklet like a bible: memorizing, uncovering, connecting with the late Chester Bennington’s troubled childhood — gone were the days.
Today, with the ease and accessibility of music streaming, it’s rare to find the same connection with music, where artists’ top hits come and go like clouds, non-released tracks get lost in a music graveyard we boast as infinite streaming libraries, and the stories woven into lyrics are never heard. But what if we could save some of that? What if there was a way to blend a culture now lost into our daily lives? If our unconscious could be encouraged to listen to music like we would when reading a book or watching a movie: to pause, focus, and get lost in the song.
Now imagine a world where your favorite song doesn’t just fill the air, but also paints a picture right before your eyes. A world where the devices in your home aren’t just gadgets, but living pieces of art that respond to your mood and your music. Such is the innovative spirit of Cotodama, whose name is made up of “koto” (words) and “dama” (spirit), a Japanese belief that words possess a kind of spiritual power. They are a small, aspirational Tokyo-based creative tech company that literally makes music visible, blurring the lines between art, design and their cutting-edge “Lyric Sync Technology,” where lyrics float and dance in a box, perfectly in sync with the beat of a song.
Cotodama’s speakers are equipped with a world-first advanced engine that “automatically estimates the impression space based on the lyrics” and then displays them with “optimum motion graphics and fonts.” So, if the lyrics are calming, they’ll appear in soothing motion. If the melody is uplifting, the visuals will be dynamic. This technology translates the emotional core of music into a visual language, and transforms passive listening into an active, multi-sensory journey. And at the heart of this new frontier stands a collaboration that simply makes sense, with the untamed artistry of Pauly Bonomelli.
Pauly, also known as “himumimdead,” is an Australian-born free spirit who truly seeks to live life to the fullest — and his autobiographical art is a by-product of that philosophy. Having recently somewhat left the material world behind and moved his homebase to Brazil, Pauly walks the walk, just as much as he talks the talk. His art is raw and honest, it embraces imperfection, and is rooted in stories for days.
“I was working for Ksubi in Australia when A$AP Rocky walked into my workshop space — I didn’t know it was him at the time — and we just bonded right then and there,” recalls Pauly. “After which I met Bari, and when they launched VLONE, they invited me to help with the brand’s activations and murals. Years later I went on to meet Rihanna as well, and it’s crazy seeing Rocky then and now, where he’s fully into responsible dad-mode. It’s beautiful.”
Often misunderstood, Pauly, while chronically enigmatic and often perceived as snooty and rebellious on social media, is in actuality the most down-to-earth, good-hearted human being whose impact is anything but chaotic, albeit not always the easiest to lock down — “I will always be there for a friend, if you can catch me, that is,” says the nomadic, self-proclaimed tech illiterate.
It’s also probably his moniker “himumimdead” that is so detached from the actual person. “In all honesty nicknames like that were the trend when the internet was just starting out. One of those crazy decisions I made for my handle, which could just as easily have been something like “pauly6969.” I would change it if I could, but more so because people always associate it with its morbid meaning, when in fact it was just something I used to say to my mum to exaggerate how burned out I was working in Sydney, ‘Hi mum, I’m dead.’”
Back then, Pauly spent years immersed in the fashion industry, but his true passion was in art, which he always did “for fun” until he eventually found a way to bring both worlds together. His portfolio is diverse: from traditional canvases and paper to massive murals, patchwork denim and T-shirts, and even immersive installations that have popped up everywhere from Australia to Europe, China, and the US. Not to mention celebrity endorsements from the likes of the A$AP crew and Kanye West (before he changed his name to Ye), whose recognition of his intrepid and progressive art perfectly aligns with a tech product that aims to be more than just a device.
Cotodama speakers are not your typical polished, high-end device. While they do embrace a minimalist design, it is only to act as a canvas for the music and the art. For Pauly x Cotodama, three distinct modes best illustrate this: First, there’s the “Pauly Font” mode, which is literally Pauly’s own handwriting that has been adapted into lyrics on the digital display. Second is the “Instrumental Mode,” when there are no lyrics, that’s when Pauly’s psychedelic artwork is visualized in response to the song. And lastly, there’s the “Standby Mode,” which similarly displays his art in an ambient way where “the performance is designed to provide catharsis,” suggesting an immersive and evocative experience.
This collaboration is far from an artist just slapping their name on a product. It is the symbiotic relationship that is Cotodama and Pauly, two disruptors that evoke memory and emotion through their respective mediums. It is Cotodama personalizing the music listening experience, transforming their speaker into a conduit for introspection and storytelling. And it is Pauly taking that moldable canvas to share excerpts of his life’s journey, transforming one’s listening into a dynamic, visual performance.
The Pauly x Cotodama speaker comes in a limited edition run of 40 unique units, where all units make up Pauly’s full artwork for this collaboration, and each speaker will set you back a cool $2,200 USD before tax. Available now on Cotodama’s website.
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