BILLY DUVALLE

®2024

BILLY DUVALLE

®2024

Sound/Design with Soulection + USM

To unite design with the worlds of music and fashion, Basic.Space produced two cultural programs in Los Angeles: Sound/Design with Soulection and USM, reimagining audio as modular design, as well as Buddy’s Boutique, a curated retail experience tied to the LA rapper's upcoming album release.

Team

Basic.Space

DELIVERABLES

Activation Planning + Management, Talent/Partner Relations, Concept Development, Creative Production

Year

2024

Role

Talent Curation + End-to-End Event Production

The first, Sound/Design, was a special exhibition featuring the first-ever collaboration between renowned music collective Soulection and established Swiss manufacturer USM Modular Furniture. Inspired by the modular design language of iconic audio culture, the project served as a hybrid listening space and design object, celebrating music as both a functional and collectible form of design.

AS A CREATIVE COLLECTIVE, SOULECTION LIVES AT THE INTERSECTION OF SOUND CURATION AND SPIRITUAL RHYTHM — AND JOE KAY, ITS FOUNDER, IS AS MUCH A DESIGNER AS HE IS A SELECTOR. HIS AFFINITY FOR SPATIAL DESIGN IS WELL DOCUMENTED: IN HIS HOME, HE TREASURES A SCULPTURAL CHIARA LAMP BY MARIO BELLINI, A PIECE HE HAS DESCRIBED AS A SYMBOL OF HIS PERSONAL AND CREATIVE EVOLUTION. BEYOND THAT, HIS TRANQUIL, INTENTIONALLY DESIGNED RETREAT TIMELESS.LIVING REFLECTS THE ETHOS THAT SHAPED THIS COLLABORATION.

Partnering with Soulection wasn’t just about spotlighting sound; it was about amplifying a shared vision. The same way the Los Angeles-based music collective curates sound for artists, musicians, and fans around the world, they curate carefully designed spaces for communities to foster connection. In collaboration with USM, we translated that bond between sound and design into a physical form: a mobile DJ booth, limited to an edition of ten, designed by the Soulection founders to fit their performance needs at home or on tour.

Over the course of the weeklong pop-up (March 15–22), visitors entered a space that felt equal parts gallery and listening lounge.

Built from modular units of the brand’s iconic Haller system, the custom USM DJ booth served as both as the activation's centerpiece and a functional design object mirroring the precision and adaptability of high-fidelity audio equipment.

Additionally, a limited-edition USM Record Crate, also created in collaboration with Soulection, extended this modular approach into storage, offering a sculptural yet mobile system for vinyl display and circulation throughout the space.

Surrounding vintage design and hi-fi equipment curated by same old and basa, two of los angeles' leading vintage collectors, complemented the EXHIBITION, grounding it in a broader contemporary design context.

All items featured in the space were made available for purchase exclusively on Basic.Space, bridging experiential storytelling with commerce while driving product demand and customer retention beyond the event.

Over the course of the weeklong pop-up (March 15–22), visitors entered a space that felt equal parts gallery and listening lounge.

Built from modular units of the brand’s iconic Haller system, the custom USM DJ booth served as both as the activation's centerpiece and a functional design object mirroring the precision and adaptability of high-fidelity audio equipment.

Additionally, a limited-edition USM Record Crate, also created in collaboration with Soulection, extended this modular approach into storage, offering a sculptural yet mobile system for vinyl display and circulation throughout the space.

Surrounding vintage design and hi-fi equipment curated by same old and basa, two of los angeles' leading vintage collectors, complemented the EXHIBITION, grounding it in a broader contemporary design context.

All items featured in the space were made available for purchase exclusively on Basic.Space, bridging experiential storytelling with commerce while driving product demand and customer retention beyond the event.

Ultimately, The Shop at Design Miami and Memphis Miami highlighted Basic.Space's vision of design as a dynamic intersection of art, culture, and innovation, cementing our position as a leading force in the evolving landscape of design.

Together, these activations spoke to our expertise in curation of collectible design while melding online and offline components to push the boundaries of the traditional retail experience.

Perhaps most compelling was how the environment invited listeners not just to hear, but to inhabit sound.

During an invite-only opening night event, Soulection DJs Joe Kay, Andres Uribe, and Sahar Habibi set the tone for the evening, performing on the USM booth for the first time and demonstrating how the installation bridged music performance with designed objects in real time.

Their sets introduced the space as a participatory environment rather than a static INSTALLATION, SOLIDIFYING the EXPERIENCE as a conduit between sonic craft and CURATED DESIGN.


Ultimately, Sound/Design demonstrated how functional design objects can support cultural storytelling when activated by the communities they are built for. By pairing Soulection’s curatorial approach with USM’s modular design language, the exhibition offered a new blueprint for how music culture can live in physical space.

Together, we merged the worlds of music and design objects, presenting sound as a spatial medium and furniture as a participant in the listening environment. The result was an experience that connected form and function, listening and living, and design with the people who give it purpose, echoing Soulection’s ethos as a space where rhythm, community, and structure converge.

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