Walking around downtown Rome‘s splendorous setting dotted with a sheer abundance of landmarks and treasures from ancient times, you’d almost overlook the fact that this historic city is also home to a young demographic with mundane interests, and consequently, a buzzing urban scene that reflects their evolving sensibilities. The bohemian Trastevere neighbourhood, which straddles along the westbank of the Tiber river, has long been a hotbed of subcultures, and as such, it’s much edgier than most Roman neighbourhoods. Well, it’s right here where music label Sounds Familiar was founded a decade ago by Ornella Cicchetti with the aim to build a kindred community of artists and promoters with the same creative vision. After having gained a sizeable following in the Roman club culture and music scene, in addition to establishing an eponymous clothing brand, the young entrepreneur has taken the company’s operations to the next level by setting up shop.
And no, it isn’t coincidental it’s happening on Sounds Familiar‘s tenth anniversary. Occupying 40 sqm. (431 sq.ft.) former car garage, Cicchetti tapped Tommaso Amato, Matteo Soddu and Valentina Paiola of local architecture and design practice STUDIOTAMAT to create a fitting setting. The objective was an aesthetic that would evoke a clubbing vibe, but also one the fanbase instantly sees as a brand extrapolation of the record label. The premises have been entirely gutted, revealing the building’s shell and its large wooden beams. While the latter have been retained, the walls have been newly plastered and dipped in a striking blue shade and playfully paired with fluffy Radici carpeting. Given the modest size, the lay-out of the Sounds Familiar store is open, allowing flexibility to transform the retail space into a listening room, meeting room, and even a mini club with a DJ booth.
Furnishings comprise custom-made shelving, displays, a table, and a counter crafted from metal by local blacksmiths and all covered in a bright pink. A number of the aforementioned pieces are paired with light and durable Paulownia wood, and so are a number of record boxes. Adding finesse to the configuration is a Roly Poly chair by Driade. In a central position, the flexible structure of the counter, which houses the register, serves as a hanger for sweaters and sweatshirts, transforms into a dressing room and becomes a console for live sessions. The new Sounds Familiar store stocks a wide range of accessories, publications and design objects, all obviously related to clubbing culture – mind you, that even includes some home items you didn’t expect – and products to keep your vinyl in top condition. As said, the store aims to become a meeting place for its client base, and as such, a rotation of in-store activities has already been planned.
Sounds Familar
Via di San Francesco a Ripa 5 (Trastevere)
00153 Rome
Daily 11.30am-7.30pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
