Japan - At FUL Kyoto, a restaurant, bar, and lounge in the Kawaramachi district, customers are surrounded by a collection of greenery from South and Central America and gentle sounds to create an appropriate ambiance.
FUL is a ‘sound forest’ where you can savour natural wines and cocktails while immersing yourself in music that flows like forest rain. FUL’s ‘sound forest’ concept was inspired by 1 Sound’s American-made loudspeakers.
Sound forest is the brainchild of multidisciplinary producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, better known as Fantastic Plastic Machine. As a DJ, he has performed at Coachella and the Reading & Leeds Festival in 1999. As a music producer, his songs are featured in an Austin Powers movie (1999), the British sitcom Spaced and recently, he earned acclaim as the music director for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
When Tanaka conceived the idea for this store, he consulted with Satoru 'Tocci' Tochibori, of Tokyo Sound System Laboratory, and came across 1 Sound. GizaGiza Inc., who is the official 1 Sound distributor in Japan, worked with Tomoyuki and TSSL to make custom loudspeakers that would fit into the physical aesthetic of the sound forest concept. They ended up with 10 custom wood finish loudspeakers, strategically installed in the ceilings by TSSL to bring his vision to life.
“The concept of ‘sound forest’ was born when the intelligent sound and craftsmanship of 1 Sound was combined with the lushly planted interior of the store. Without 1 Sound, this restaurant would not have been complete,” explained Tanaka.
The venue features various custom 1 Sound speakers, each with a special walnut stain and sandy beige grilles.
First, the C5i, a 5” Cannon coaxial that utilises a low frequency driver with a 1” silk dome high frequency driver. The speaker enables high sound pressure levels, with improved sound quality, as well as consistency and durability over time. The enclosure also incorporates a rear-facing passive radiator for extended bass frequency response.
Next, the C8i, a full-range, high-fidelity coaxial loudspeaker. This model utilises an 8” driver with a proprietary high frequency element. It includes a 7” rear-facing passive radiator for extended low frequency.
Finally, the WSUB45i, incorporated for the low frequency, was discreetly mounted to the ceiling using C-Clamps. This speaker is an ultra compact, outdoor rated, slim and a powerful lightweight subwoofer.
