There’s a new Swedish supergroup in town...
New collaboration will help get your house party started – Scandinavia style
GOOD things tend to happen when good people work together – as the fruits of Ikea’s latest collaboration, revealed this week, prove.
Now, you’ll all know what Ikea is, but most people will be less familiar with new partners Teenage Engineering.
It’s an immaculately fashionable Stockholm-based design company, responsible for the making of immaculately fashionable speakers, synthesisers and sequencers.
Or, to put it another way, the collaboration is a bit like if Tove Lo signed up to write a few tunes with Benny and Bjorn. Imagine how spectacular that would be, a Swedish supergroup of epic proportions.
OK, so the Frekvens range of new products from this new collaboration, which will hit Ikea’s stores this month, might not be as exciting as that, but it is still worth our attention.
Carol McSeveney, sales leader for lighting and electronics at Ikea UK and Ireland, says: “From our home visits we know that music is an integral part of the home and unites people in a powerful way.”
While the range includes a load of kit that isn’t tech (like a shiny silver coat, and some Tiki-inspired cups!), the Teenage Engineering bits are what interest us.
You’re essentially looking at some funky modular smart speakers and lighting accessories which are aimed at being able to set up a party system with ease and within minutes.
As Jesper Kouthoofd, head of design and founder of Teenage Engineering, explains: “Frekvens introduces sound into the home in a new way. It is very simple, fun and playful – bringing a retro and unique aesthetic to Ikea not seen before.
“The range can help anyone become a home roadie, setting up your own sound system and light show with minimal effort.”
So, you have a couple of very cool looking speaker options – a smaller personal speaker with a belt clip plus a more powerful option that can be paired with an optional subwoofer or a light base. Then there are two light options – a spotlight and an LED cube.
All these can fit together in a modular system to create a light-rig and sound system perfect for parties.
A range of other optional accessories allow you to change the colours of the speakers and lights.
All the prices are not yet revealed, but those we do know about suggest they lean towards the Ikea end of the market (cheap) rather than the Teenage Engineering end (expensive).
For example, the spotlight will come in at £15, while the larger of the two speakers will cost £65.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, the Tiki-inspired mugs will be £7.50 each.
The Frekvens collection will be available in store and at ikea.com.