Hey Martin,
Just touched down from Chicago, where I spent a couple of days at ILC’s Confab. While there, I was reminded of my first trip to Chicago years ago, covering Pitchfork Festival in a past life as a music journalist (story for another time). I remember biking south across most of the city with a friend and ending up at a house party where my mind was blown by some local Footwork DJs performing. Chicago is like that– a city that always pleasantly surprises.
ILC events are like that, too. The magic that the ILC team pulls off is in building and nurturing a vibrant community. At one panel, someone asked, “What does ‘authentic’ actually mean?” which reminded me of something else I read recently, that anyone who uses the descriptor “passionate” indicates they may have no clue what they’re passionate about.
Surrounded by hoteliers, designers, and creative minds who genuinely care about crafting meaningful experiences, it struck me that these people are busy walking the walk, focused on enthusiastically being themselves, assembled in one place as a community. It reminded me, too, how much our work at Bespoke Sound is about community building.
When we curate music for a space, we’re not just setting a mood – we’re inviting guests into a cultural conversation. We’re helping our clients foster a sense of belonging, that feeling of “I get this place, and this place gets me.” And, “This is my tribe, and I am welcome.” It’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly.
After all, there’s no culture without community.
New Vibe, Who Dis?
You might have noticed we’ve evolved our look a bit. Working with the brilliant Vasily Grogol and Bursa Studios on our branding, we felt it was time for a refresh that better represents where we’re headed. The goal was to maintain a bold, mood-inspiring aesthetic while communicating that we’re essentially a blank canvas – tons of perspective on music, but here to help our clients tell their stories, not ours. The new site captures this balance: All taste, no ego. Minimalism with intention. This feels like us. We hope you like.
Some Notable New Additions to the Family
We’ve been busy doing our actual work, too, setting up new clients with impressively relevant tailored music for their businesses. We have some exciting projects in the mix that are still hush-hush, but among those we can share are these select recent additions to the Bespoke family:
Goldener Hirsch (Park City) – This legendary Alpine-inspired retreat needed a sonic identity as rich and layered as its history. We’re weaving together everything from vintage alpine folk to contemporary European electronica, creating something that feels both timeless and unexpected.
Baker’s Place (Madison) – Excited to be working with the team at Neutral on this residential neighborhood gem celebrating wellness, sustainability, and local culture. Here we’re taking a modern lens to stylish, cosmopolitan tunes, filtered through a mid-west perspective.
Meadow (Los Angeles) – I’m currently writing this newsletter from Meadow, a community and work space in LA, where we’re happy to assist in curating inspiring and focus-encouraging music that creates space for reflection while staying rooted in LA’s creative energy.
Doubling Down on Quality
Along with the new visual identity and website, I just got some old-school letter-pressed business cards made by local shop Casual Letterpress. It is not the cheapest option by any means. But it is tangibly, noticeably, undeniably better and cooler. They’re just business cards, right? They’re actually a bit more than that.
These cards are so aesthetically satisfying – the kind of tactile experience that makes you pause and actually feel the craftsmanship. It becomes more than a piece of paper. It becomes a tool for inspiring connection.
