Every Object Can Sound: How Playtronica is Reimagining Music Creation

What if you could make music with anything around you? Fruit, water, human skin, or even the weight of objects on a kitchen scale? That's the question Playtronica has been answering for over a decade

This week on the podcast, Adam McHeffey sits down with co-founders Sasha Pas and Aglaya Nosova to explore how they built one of the most creative and community-driven companies in music technology today.

Playtronica makes accessible music instruments that turn everyday objects into musical interfaces, no music theory required. Their products, including Touchme, Biotron, Orbita, and their newest release Scales, have gone viral across social media for their playful, tactile approach to music making. But behind the viral moments is a deeply intentional philosophy: remove the barrier of "are you a musician?" and let curiosity do the rest.

In this conversation, we get into how Playtronica grew a loyal global community through creator partnerships and influencer strategy, what their installations with luxury brands like Hermès taught them about creativity and access, and why the form factor of an instrument matters far less than the feeling it creates. Sasha and Aglaya also share practical advice for music tech entrepreneurs looking to break through on social media and build communities that last.

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Episode Transcript

Machine transcribed

[00:00:00] Adam: All right. Hello and welcome. Welcome Sasha and Aglaya from Playtronica. So good to have you both on the show.

[00:00:10] Aglaya: Hi.

[00:00:10] Sasha: Hello.

[00:00:11] Adam: I do believe we have you guys, on the show maybe live from the NAMM show floor years and years ago with a different product, maybe with the launch of Orbita, which of course we'll talk about in a little bit.

Does that sound right? This isn't your first time on the show.

[00:00:26] Aglaya: It's my first time-

[00:00:27] Sasha: I think- ... actually,

[00:00:29] Aglaya: but Sasha's not.

[00:00:30] Adam: Okay.

[00:00:30] Sasha: I remember that show was a disaster for me. Nothing worked, and, uh, it was, big... I, I was hoping it will never go online, but I still, when I'm googling it, I'm seeing, uh, it's just because the product didn't work, and there was, very, uh, funny explanations of the product without it's working, actually.

[00:00:49] Adam: NAMM, the NAMM show went off the rails, or the Music Tectonics s- segment that you did while you were at the show?

[00:00:55] Sasha: No, no, it, it was online.

[00:00:57] Adam: Oh.

[00:00:58] Sasha: Um, maybe it

was during COVID time.

[00:00:59] Adam: Oh, the whole thing was... Oh, this was a COVID thing. I understand.

[00:01:02] Sasha: Yeah.

[00:01:03] Adam: Yeah. Got it. Okay. Well, listen, this is our second chance. We're gonna knock this one out of the park.

[00:01:08] Sasha: Okay.

[00:01:10] Adam: Okay, so For listeners who may not be familiar with Playtronica, just give us the overview. What is Playtronica, and what are some of the instruments that you have all created over the years?

[00:01:22] Sasha: Right. So, um, we usually say that Playtronica is creative technology company and community that makes accessible music instruments, and we involve play, touch, and curiosity.

 we build tools where people can turn any object they have around them into a musical interface or instrument. And it started, 15 years ago with an idea that, people like to play, but they don't like to learn music. Maybe the instruments are not good for that, so we decided to make playful instruments, but not only just for kids, for everyone.

And, uh, we started with, making an adaptation of Makey Makey board, and, uh, it was called Playtron, where you can connect fruits and vegetables and play on them. Then we did Touchme, where you can play on human skin. Then we did Biotron, where you can play with plants and water. Then we did Orbiter, where you can play, uh, with colors and, everything is in the circle.

And finally, we're building now Scales, which is, another instrument that turns any object into sound. So-

[00:02:32] Adam: Unbelievable. I have a feeling that some of the listeners out there were probably like, "Oh, that's the thing. Like, that's-- I know what he's t- I know what Sasha's talking about right now." Because so many of your instruments went viral.

They just did. They were, like, viral, like, they were, like, viral social media moments. I specifically remember, like, I had a dancer friend that reached out to me about the Touchme and was like, "Do you know these people? How can I get in touch with these people?"

[00:02:58] Sasha: Yeah.

[00:02:58] Adam: There was something about the way that you put your instruments out there, fact that they all either use the human body or water or fruit.

 people just share this stuff, like crazy. It, really was a moment. So I think some of our listeners are probably already connecting the dots just hearing you go through the instrument lineup.

[00:03:15] Aglaya: Yeah. Yeah, I think, uh, COVID, helped us a lot when people got stuck in, uh, small rooms, without, the chance to, uh, meet other people.

So, they started buying stuff online and, also, finding way how to become more creative, without special knowledge.

[00:03:33] Adam: Yeah, the-- you timed it absolutely perfectly. So Music Tectonics is all about the forces reshaping music, and Playtronica seems to sit at the intersection of instruments and education and art installations and interactive design.

Do you think you're building music products? Do you think you're building instruments or, you know, is-- are these brand new entry points into music making?

[00:04:01] Aglaya: I think we are creating new ways to engage with the creativity because, our customers, uh, they make up their own, rules of the game and, choose what they are most comfortable, uh, uh, to work with.

And, when, uh, you create your own rules, uh, you can't lose. there is no such a s- thing as a mistake, and it's engaging and relaxing. Uh, and when people feel safe, they are more-- like they, they feel more inspiration. and, this is actually our goal to create a safe, environment, for creativity.

[00:04:38] Adam: Yeah. And I think that's-- I mean, you see people really doing it. You see people beginning with curiosity and play. I think a lot of people see these things and they, don't think musical instrument right off the bat. I think they're-- sometimes they're probably saying to themselves, "Well, this is like a science project that I could get into.

This is a musical science project- ... and I'm, I'm gonna hop right in." How do ideas evolve from... Yeah, I'm sure you're experimenting with all sorts of things in your studio. Uh, you know, from an industrial design process, how do these things evolve for you? Do they start as creative experiments?

Do you know exactly the, products that you wanna make? How many Playtronica instruments have you designed that are not available for purchase out there? Is there, is there a closet full, is there a garage full of just stuff?

[00:05:25] Aglaya: Uh, there, there is a shelf, yeah. We actually have this, shelf with, prototypes that, are still waiting for their moment.

Uh, but, uh, usually, yes, before launching the product, we spent a lot of time with these prototypes. We invite, our friends, uh, engineers, artists. we do workshops with students, educators to, like understand the f- product's full, uh, potential. And, yeah, we invite also our particularly dedicated, uh, customers as, beta testers.

And, some of the products, they find their way, to the world. some of them, uh, we still, uh, There are also some boxes and, uh, shelves, uh, in the studio, secret shelves that, are not ready to be launched.

[00:06:11] Adam: Top secret.

[00:06:13] Aglaya: Yes.

[00:06:14] Adam: That's amazing. one day I hope to tour. This is all happening in Berlin, right?

This is the studios-

[00:06:18] Aglaya: Yeah

[00:06:18] Adam: ... and this-

[00:06:18] Aglaya: Yeah

[00:06:18] Adam: ... this workshop. Sasha, are you in the workshop right now? Some of this I see like, I don't even know what I see. It, it's a-

[00:06:24] Sasha: Yeah ...

[00:06:25] Adam: pa- rolls of paper and-

[00:06:27] Sasha: Mm-hmm. Well, probably you could see some p- blurred part of the acoustic instruments and-

[00:06:33] Adam: Yeah

[00:06:33] Sasha: ... some notation for the Orbiter and some-

[00:06:35] Adam: The Orbita

[00:06:36] Sasha: modifications of speakers. But yeah, it's, uh, it's our small studio, and we were very happy to find this place. But it's also a place where we do, events. We invite people. We have a small community here in Berlin, and we do events every month or so. And we, yeah, we use the space to talk to people and to share the experience together and to have their feedbacks.

I think this is very valuable for any product-

[00:07:05] Adam: Yeah

[00:07:05] Sasha: ... to have this kind of dialogue with your customer.

[00:07:08] Adam: And, and I feel like you're in the right city for that. The community is so vibrant, it's one of the reasons we're on the, podcast right now, is that we crossed paths at SuperBooth 2026, and I got to see something new.

I got to see your newest product Scales. Actually, it was funny. It was, it was 10:00 or 11:00 PM, and you were setting up for the next day, so it was dark, and we were outside. We were in a tent out- outside, and you were, you were getting everything set up, and you had an extremely colorful new instrument with you, completely illuminated.

And I said, "What's that?" Which is k- kind of the, the whole point here. So let's talk about your newest release. Let's talk about Scales. What is Scales? What opportunity or challenge were you trying to address with this one? Explain what the product is a little bit and then where this idea came from.

[00:07:58] Sasha: All right.

So this is probably the most simple instrument we ever made. it started with, uh, me browsing through Amazon looking for just things, you know, to get inspired. And then I realized that if you check the kitchen scales, they are ridiculously cheap t- to get. And, um, I think we got some, and I asked, uh, my engineer if he could, hack it and make it just output MIDI so we can try if that works just out from the box.

And, uh, it was really fun to play. So, for those who don't know, MIDI is a language for computers to talk about music, sending notes and values. so you put any object which is below three kilograms on the scales, and you would hear a sound which is, interpretation of its weight in MIDI, in sound.

And so I decided we'll play just games. So we were playing, um, Jenga, where you're stacking objects on each other and hearing-

[00:09:04] Adam: Yeah

[00:09:04] Sasha: ... how the, uh, sound is changing. Then we played something else. So you're using objects to build your melodies and harmonies. You hear them. You can make arpeggios as well. And what is most important is that you see them.

You see them becoming vertical compositions of, sounds. It's still hard for me to explain it better, but I-

[00:09:27] Adam: We're gonna put...

[00:09:28] Sasha: I, I- Ultimately, every object can sound. That's, that's what Playtronica is about

[00:09:33] Adam: we have some footage from Super Booth that we're gonna intersperse-

[00:09:36] Sasha: True

[00:09:36] Adam: ... with all of this.

[00:09:37] Sasha: Yeah.

[00:09:37] Adam: So, so for those who are watching the video or watching on socials, you'll get a clearer idea. I can only imagine what it's like when you two just walk around the city, because it seems like you take every elemental object just in nature, water, fruit, the human body, weight, and you say, "Let's make an instrument out of that."

Is, is that how it feel... You're like, "Let's use gravity. let's use air." I mean, you must just, you have it, like, down to the core essentials there. I mean, you must just constantly be saying, "Let's turn that into an instrument. Let's turn that into an instrument." Is that how it feels inside your heads?

[00:10:08] Aglaya: Uh, I, I think it's how it feels in Sasha's head because, he really like it, it's sometimes exhausting. Like, he just can't have a normal conversation because he said, like, "Oh, we should do an instrument from this. Oh, we should do this and this." It's like a, a constant, like, how to say? Uh, the f- fabric or the machine that, uh, creates ideas, of, uh, what y- you can make instruments from.

[00:10:32] Adam: Mm-hmm.

[00:10:32] Aglaya: My, my brain works other way around. Uh, I'm more like, trying to find a way how, like, to make it look nice visually.

[00:10:41] Adam: Tell us just quickly about your partnership. who does what at the company, and i- is one person more on design versus marketing, or is it, split on everything? Tell us more about your working dynamic.

I think our listeners would be very interested to hear.

[00:10:54] Sasha: Yeah. So we're, we're actually about 10 or 12 people in the company. Uh, we, with Aglaya, we live in Berlin and, it's only two of us. Now there are three. Now we have our, product manager here with us, Sergei. I usually, as Aglaya said, I'm starting with idea or ideas, and usually it's in the museum context or in s- kind of a installation context.

And then, Aglaya works with visuals. She's art directing the product or the installation or the experience. Then I have another partner, Andrei, who is, uh, more into marketing and, more into product development. So he came first with an idea that we should make a product out of, uh, Playtron. For me, it was just a experience that I could, can do in the museum or in theater.

It was not-- I, I had, was not ambitious that much of making a scalable product. And then, um, I have, Olga, which is another partner, which is more into... She's, um, DJ and composer. She works on music. And with her we have a studio which is called Can't Touch This. she and Vincent, they live in Nantes in France, and we're in Berlin, so we are two couples, and this is a really nice, and very creative, uh, union of, four people.

But then we have a few people which do marketing and, uh, work with the community, with the bloggers and influencers. It's mainly one, two persons. Then we had one person, she lives in Kyiv, uh, even now, and she's managing the shop, which is, um, based on platform Shopify. It's where you can buy all of our products online.

And there are a few more people. Of course, there are engineers, uh, three of them. They're working in Finland, one in Germany, s- third one also in Finland. So they are behind all the programming and the hardware and prototypes and things like that. yeah. Maybe that's- That's- There's one more person who is doing, uh, all, all the advertisement and all the marketing campaigns, so he's, um, yeah.

But that's a, it's a big team for me.

[00:13:13] Adam: It is, yeah. it is a big team, but you also, you're, just there now as a company. You have that many products. You have that many audience members. We're gonna take a quick break, and when we come back, I'm gonna dig in a little bit further on some of these, marketing, insights 'cause y- you really have done a master class in, in how to run a company from a social perspective.

So let's take a quick break, and we'll be back in just a moment

And we are back with Sasha and Aglaya from Playtronica, one of the most innovative companies out there doing some amazical things with music instrument innovation.

Sasha, Aglaya, I wanna ask, you have probably, I think, I feel, introduced more non-musicians to music making than many of the traditional instrument companies. So I'm curious, what do you think the music industry still misunderstands about teaching the next generation of music creators?

[00:14:07] Sasha: All right. So, I think generally, what we're talking about is an experience and something like, a feeling that happens when you're playing.

So it is not about the packaging of the product. It's not about the, the perfect finishing of the products. As you probably could see, most of our products are just PCBs, which are printed circuit board, which is some people could name it as a part of the computer, or it's, for someone it doesn't feel like a product at all.

But we think, that the most valuable thing is what you're doing with them, your personal experience and what you're recreating and, how you're sharing it, uh, with others. While other, instrument builders and music companies, they just follow for us quite mainstream view that, there should be an important component finished before they release, on the market.

 could that be a packaging or a shiny and glossy adds, reel or, the instrument itself. So I think we just, skip this for-- and go directly to the, uh, experience, designing. And, uh-

[00:15:13] Adam: You just don't even worry about it.

Yeah, you just d-

[00:15:15] Sasha: And,

 and-

[00:15:15] Adam: You don't even worry about

it ...

[00:15:16] Sasha: we don't worry about.

And also the price. We're-- we, we don't ask for extra, mm. The costs are pretty low. So I think that's, that's something that distinguish us from other companies. And maybe we're speaking different languages in a way that's how we speak to our audience and how they do. And maybe they want to talk more about themselves, and maybe we want to talk less about themselves, but show more what other people can do with the product.

So, um,

I

guess that's-

[00:15:44] Adam: You

highlight,

[00:15:45] Sasha: yeah.

[00:15:46] Adam: Yeah ... you really-- you put them on a pedestal in a way. I see you doing that. Your customers, your-- the artists that you work with, all of that really have become a part of the community, uh, which is amazing to see.

[00:15:56] Sasha: And we don't distinguish really between good or bad because, when you try to learn music, maybe some teacher will tell you, "No, this is bad.

This is-- should be better. This is how it should be." So from the beginning, the approach of Playtronic is everything is good, so you don't have to worry, just, uh, play, just,

 uh, touch it, just do simple interaction and everything is already... Yes, it's simplified. Yes, it's, uh, maybe designed for you, but it creates a better feeling, a better feedback-

[00:16:28] Adam: Wow ...

[00:16:28] Sasha: that you, that you could do it. And this is not a pro tools, right? These are just, for people who want to step in into the world of, electronic music and sound designing.

So- It's good for the start, I think.

[00:16:42] Aglaya: Yeah. We, we don't force the users to meet, some certain, uh, requirements to start making music. Uh, you just really can do it with, anything that you will find around you. Uh, like you, you just need like device, something with a Chrome browser, and that's it.

and it's just, uh, then, your curiosity, uh, will, go further and, then next steps could be, uh, like buying some gear and synths. But first step should be very, very easy and simple. otherwise it, it scares people a lot.

[00:17:15] Adam: And let's expand on that because a, big part of this community, the way that you speak to your customers, the way that you say...

You know, I like what you said, Sasha, like everything is good. Like nothing is bad. We don't... a big part of your early marketing was creator and influencer partnerships. I saw you all doing this long before other brands took it seriously. We talk a lot about the creator economy on "Music Tectonics." I know that our listeners really follow it very closely.

So you two, have just always done such a fantastic job with it. Uh, it seems completely natural for the company, just the way that you engage with the community. so tell us, what did you learn early on, and how has your approach to working with artists, community influencers, how has it changed as the creator economy has changed and matured?

[00:18:09] Sasha: I think we at some point we realized we are the product for creators. We are what they need. It's not about even music maybe, it's just what they need to, to show in their next reel. That was a really interesting insight, from me and my partner. But, I don't know. From the beginning, I think, uh, we were making everything by ourselves as in any startup company, I think.

And, we were setting the level of, quality to some kind of, let's say more artistic rather than, uh, DIY. And, uh, we thought that, uh, we would be able to, to go on with that. But, at some point, it was just, yeah, we realized that we need more materials and it was just not enough only us doing that.

And, uh, we could not-- and we didn't really want to go, uh, in the direction where you have, um, some other, company that is, fixed on doing, uh, video materials for you. So we start, just, uh, exploring what other people are doing. And, uh, in the very beginning, they were just doing the same, like playing on the bananas.

"Okay, I'm playing on the bananas. Okay." And other people playing on the bananas. It's-- It was everywhere. And, um, we felt why those people they don't want to try other things, maybe play on, pineapples, And funny enough, we started a band called 16 Pineapples, and, uh, they toured around France and Europe, playing on 16 pineapples.

But, at least there was something that we brought, uh, the brand and show that, okay, you can create a whole band based on that idea. So, go on, be more creative than just-

[00:19:56] Adam: Yeah

[00:19:56] Sasha: ... playing on the bananas.

[00:19:58] Adam: That, that's- I remember that

[00:19:58] Sasha: And all of the experience we do also in museums and, um, festivals, we always try to come up with new ideas and always filmed it well.

So at some point, I think people start, being more creative, uh, with their content and-

[00:20:16] Adam: I-

[00:20:16] Sasha: ... being more selective about what they want to do and how they want to do it

[00:20:20] Adam: some of our listeners know this, some of them might not. While Playtronica was, getting off the ground, I was, I was running the show at, Artiphon, which made some similar s- you know, i- intuitive MIDI controllers, portable, fun things.

And what I learned on socials is that if you wanted to see creators and influencers and customers making content, you had to do it first yourself. Like, you had to make that exact video and then publish it, and then somehow just, you know, it would travel through the atmosphere, and then somebody else would do almost the exact same thing.

But you had to do it first. You had to make the first one. So if everybody's using bananas, you have to be the one to say, "Let's do it with a pineapple," and then suddenly there'll be more pineapples on the internet. And if there's a, probably some interesting social insights there in just the way that ideas travel and something about plagiarism in there as well.

But I noticed that and, that stuck with me and I, I s- I see that you guys sort of did the same thing there. And it really just takes, like, that level of initiative to get some of the stuff off the ground. Like, if you wanna see something in the world, you just have to go out and build it.

[00:21:25] Aglaya: Yeah. It's funny, it also- Yeah

it works the same with the kids when you do workshops with kids, and the task is, uh, for example, come up with the sounds for some planet. it never tell them what kind of sound it should be, otherwise, uh, they will just repeat the same sound. so it's, like, people like to repeat something that they like.

They want to be somehow involved in it, to like touch, uh, it and become a part of it.

[00:21:49] Adam: I love that idea of what, you know, What does Saturn sound like? What does Neptune sound like? And giving them absolutely nothing, because, I mean, I'm just thinking about my own children, like they would have very real answers for-

for both of, both of those. You-- Tell-- You have to tell us about some of the installations that you've done, specifically the one in New York City, which, you know, I think like goes down in history as one of the coolest activations for a music tech hardware startup. Do you know the one I'm referring to, and can you, can you talk about it a little bit?

[00:22:16] Sasha: which one actually? We had a few. Um-

[00:22:19] Adam: Well,

then

t- tell us about a few of them. Tell us your favorite one.

[00:22:21] Sasha: Yeah. So, and that's where we started with the Can't Touch This studio that, uh, we, um, somehow reached, the focus of the brands, like the fashion brands in France. And they, they saw us as someone who could be creative with their products, but, with making music with them.

And that was-- that happened with the brand Hermès and with their, bags, scarves, and other stuff. And, we just applied Playtronica to their products just as exactly the same as we do with bananas. Maybe the sounds were slightly different, but, it was still the same, uh, idea. You're touching the object, you hear the sound.

That's it. And then you're making a sound composition. And, um, they brought us to, uh, different locations with the opening of their boutiques, but the most interesting one was in New York, just a year when COVID started. That was the last thing, we saw, that year outdoor. And, that was the opening of the shop at the Madison Avenue.

There was three store building, and we had, six stations of Playtronica with different objects. And, uh, they did a pretty well set design, so everything was just like in cinema. You had a, like a laboratory made of, wood and, um, different, sheets of paper and their products, and everything was very well designed.

But we had, um, one hour, I think, music performance with our instruments and with our team. So that was, that was amazing time because, I can't imagine any other brand that easily letting, us step in and play on their products with the very, um, minimalistic, approach to electronic music like we do, but also very playful, not childish.

And, uh, but that's also because they are, mm- that popular and have a specific level of creativity in, in the way how they work with artists. It's a very-- You should check their Instagram. They always invite other artists to make reels for them, and the creativity level is, uh, very, very, high there.

So, um, that's why other brands start also asking our agency to do something with their products and, uh-

[00:24:42] Adam: Yeah

[00:24:42] Sasha: ... that's how it happened, and still the studio, works pretty well. Sometimes we have really interesting projects, with different brands, but in most of the cases it's the same idea that your product can become a musical interface and your customers can play on it during the activation or maybe in the museum or maybe for, for an event.

[00:25:06] Adam: that is probably a dream come true for some of the instrument companies that are just getting started. The instrument companies that are gearing up for a Kickstarter six months from now, or the, you know, the innovators that have an idea, they're probably looking at an installation like that, you know, in a bou-boutiquey Soho design store.

Mm. And they're probably saying, "Oh, if we could only do that." and you guys have done it. so I'm curious to know if you have one or two pieces of advice for that entrepreneur, for that music inventor, that musical instrument inventor who's thinking about getting into it, who, who wants to follow in Playtronica's footsteps.

 what advice might you give them?

[00:25:45] Sasha: yeah, I mean, it's, um,

Probably you should always listen to, to yourself, right? So what, what is more important f- for you? Um, when I saw you on Artiphon, I thought, you're a nice guy. You're doing such nice videos and, uh, the product and then there is another product. But now, now you're here, so you're doing another thing which is more about getting all the music tech people in some kind of umbrella.

So you probably see something more important not just by doing a product, but getting the community together or delivering different kind of products. So I think that's, uh, that's the way how we are developing. We're choosing when we have the opportunity if we want to go there or not. And, in Playtronica we had different opportunities, to go different ways.

And as I said, to make the product was not the main goal, the main idea was something else, and I think this is what still keep us doing what we're doing without, other opportunities that are there on the market. Like, "Oh, maybe we can do this or we can do this." So, uh, I think if you're stuck to some i- idea, then you're, you're more kind of selective with, uh-

[00:27:01] Adam: Mm

[00:27:02] Sasha: how you wanna go next. I don't know if that's kind of clear, but, uh-

[00:27:07] Adam: I think it's, I think it's great. Aglaya, do you have any- Yeah, it was- Do you, I'm curious to hear from you

Aglaya,

if you have any-

[00:27:13] Aglaya: It's actually about the community. It is, actually funny because when I applied to, for German visa, I wrote a letter like why I want to get this visa, and I wrote a special like, text that, uh, how, how I want to build community around, music tech.

Actually, that's what happened, uh, with that, with Playtronica's, Berlin, studio. But I would also recommend, uh, if, the, inventor who, builds instrument wants to work with the bloggers, maybe not to try to reach the, the most, uh, popular ones, that, uh, have millions of, followers, because it's, usually very expensive.

They never have time. they rarely answering. And there are so many, uh, really talented bloggers who just can't, get so many, uh, followers, but they're still very talented, and they want to, research and, try new instruments. So I would recommend to, work with them, to get in contact and, um, it, it will be like win-win situation

[00:28:11] Adam: I think that's really good advice.

That's extremely practical, useful, advice know, and, and just to agree with you further, It is so crazy how engagement has shifted on the social platforms. I'm thinking specifically about Instagram right now. You'll see a brand new account with, uh, 100 followers. Literally, I'm thinking about one in my head right now, 100 followers, that has tens of thousands of views on its reels, and then you'll have a brand with 20,000, 30,000 followers and you know, they can't get four comments.

So it's shifted quickly and it really doesn't matter how new an account is anymore. And then you're also saying like s- you know, once they get to a certain level, 200,000 followers, 300,000 followers, they're gonna charge a certain amount, they're going to be busy, and it's probably going to be a bit more rote, meaning it's gonna be in their, in their style and their template.

But if you find somebody who's just getting into this and they're really hungry for it, sometimes they surprise you. And then they might turn into one of those people with half a million followers. I've seen that happen as well. You, Picking them early before they hockey stick up is, is sort of part of the game that you can start to play as you, as you invest in creators for your own brand and it definitely takes time.

You have to be on the internet a lot to do it, but it can be really fun and really rewarding for, for everybody involved.

[00:29:34] Aglaya: Yep.

[00:29:35] Sasha: Yeah, I, I remember now one of the latest videos with Orbita, which I think have, it has the maximum views, like 10 millions or something. So it, it started with, uh, one musician asked me if he can, uh, make a video and I said, "Yeah, of course."

I send the device to him and, um, before making a video he gave it to his kid and then his kid played and then he filmed it just like from randomly and he put this video and then it become-- And he even have not done the video because that was the video. And, uh, what we expecting sometimes to be a good video doesn't mean it will be good in the socials and one of the most seen video of Playtronica is just two people touching each other and kissing and laughing and it's, it's pure emotions but there is nothing which is, uh, preset there.

 it's very like, I don't know. You cannot do this in theater. It's, it's real life.

[00:30:35] Adam: Yeah.

[00:30:35] Sasha: So I, I think this is the valuable now. These things you can't get, can't get with AI at least that easy and I think this is the life experiences, and the feelings that they express This is important and people like that.

I'm guessing. I still don't know. It's changing so rapidly, so, um, things that worked last year, they, they don't work this year already-

[00:31:01] Adam: Yeah

[00:31:01] Sasha: ... so we have to shape it differently, even with the scales. Those people with whom we worked now became bigger. They asked for-

[00:31:11] Adam: Yeah ...

[00:31:12] Sasha: bigger fees, so we have to dig more.

But yeah, if you go the way of, um, working with the influencers, bloggers, just make it, um, a really proper task to find as much as possible monthly and send as much devices as possible monthly and, um, that would bring-- You would have a big, number of them, and then something would happen there.

[00:31:38] Adam: Great advice.

I appreciate that. you said, you know, things are changing. We're not, we're not sure where it's gonna land. I'm curious, like, industry-wide, the trends are always changing. Like, what are-- For the future of the music innovation, what are you two excited about, whether it's AI or education or interactive experience or more creator tools or something else entirely?

Like, where do you think the biggest opportunities are in music innovation for the next five years?

[00:32:08] Sasha: Uh, well, I would say everything becomes more and more accessible. That's a good thing. So technology which was before only for, specific kind of people, you need education, now it's more accessible. You could the prototype stage at least easily yourself. but that's not the game changer.

I think it's not changing the situation generally, because you still need to have a f- place, an experience, something, uh, real where you could, try things. So I also believe in new technology in terms of new sensors that will, as Aglaya mentioned, bring us to new instruments. if we could get music from other senses, with, um, radar or with some kind of a scanning thing.

I don't know, but these kind of a newer senses that technology gives to us, extending our cognition, so to say. So this I like. These scenarios, I like. and, um, yeah, what do you think, Aglaya?

[00:33:08] Aglaya: I'm still waiting for the instrument, when the dogs can play music. not like, accidentally, but, um, like, when, uh, they want to play and they play.

Like, not only dogs, animals.

[00:33:23] Adam: I love that. That's a good answer. All right, one last question for each of you. What other companies should our listeners know about in the space of music innovation?

[00:33:32] Aglaya: Hmm.

[00:33:33] Sasha: Um, companies like ours or just companies like Lego or-

[00:33:36] Adam: Yeah. Let's, uh, let's, I am-- I love instruments.

What's another company that you feel like is innovating at a high caliber right now in the music instrument space?

[00:33:46] Sasha: Well, you've been at SuperBooth. You can, uh, name them. They all are been there probably.

[00:33:52] Adam: Yeah.

[00:33:53] Sasha: Uh, even in our tent, we had Eternal Research, our friends- Yeah ... um,

[00:33:58] Adam: from Los Angeles Got

[00:33:58] Sasha: the demo box

[00:33:59] Adam: right, right behind me.

[00:34:00] Sasha: Yeah. Exactly. Yeah, I have it too behind me. Um-

[00:34:06] Aglaya: I would say Dato. Dato guys from Netherlands, uh-

[00:34:09] Adam: Dato, I don't have one here.

I wish I did. The Dato guys, unbelievable.

From Utrecht.

[00:34:13] Sasha: Utrecht. Yeah.

[00:34:15] Adam: Yeah. I'm gonna try to get them on the show next.

[00:34:17] Sasha: Yeah, they would love to. then, Data Machines, an amazing instrument that, uh, that brings all this physicality into the real world, like, um... And it-- I like that many professional musicians using it on stage, so it, means you can trust this instrument.

It is, um... Mm. what else?

[00:34:37] Adam: That's a great list

[00:34:37] Sasha: Like some companies, unfortunately they just passed away, uh- Yeah ... after all the, the turbulent times, um- That ha- that

[00:34:45] Adam: happens as well, for sure.

[00:34:46] Sasha: Yeah. Technology Will Save Us was, uh, the one of the best examples for me, and instruments that Yuri Suzuki was doing as well.

Uh, he was, yeah. Mm,

[00:35:00] Aglaya: yeah. Air Conduct, uh, uh, are they still, uh-

[00:35:04] Sasha: Not anymore, no. Bare Conductive Touch Board was a very good tool, um- It,

[00:35:10] Aglaya: it's supposed to be a good part where we recommend, companies, but we spoke negative

[00:35:14] Adam: No, I think it's g- I think it's

[00:35:16] Sasha: a great- No, I like, okay, I like 1010 Music. I think they are really smart.

They're really small. They're really, if you're into it, they can give you anything, and you could just put it into the pocket. It's the smallest, uh-

[00:35:29] Adam: Very

[00:35:30] Sasha: good ... uh, powerful, uh, instrument, and we use it a lot with our MIDI controllers,

[00:35:35] Adam: the race to see who can get it smallest and most portable is, is a fun one to watch.

[00:35:40] Sasha: Yeah. Yeah. Well,

[00:35:43] Adam: that is- Yeah ... Sasha, Aglaya, that is all the time we have for this week's episode, but I thank you so much for joining. I'm just curious, you know, one, one last thing, where can our listeners follow along with the Playtronica story? Instagram, website? Uh-

[00:36:00] Sasha: We are mostly on, in Instagram. It's, uh, Playtronica, or you can check Playtronica Berlin, or you can check Can't Touch This, or you can check Orbita Playtronica.

So there are, different ways to do this, but, mainly on Instagram. I think that's the, one of the channels we update most frequently.

[00:36:21] Adam: All right, well, thank you both, and thank you to all of our listeners for listening in. Thank you. Today's guests were Sasha and Aglaya from Playtronica. Thank you, guys.

[00:36:28] Aglaya: Thank

[00:36:29] Sasha: you, Adam. Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you for inviting us and, um, having this time to chat. It was amazing.

[00:36:36] Aglaya: Yeah.

Let us know what you think! Find us on LinkedIn, and Instagram, or connect with podcast host Dmitri Vietze on LinkedIn.

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Weekly episodes include interviews with music tech movers & shakers, deep dives into seismic shifts, and more.