Choir by Teenage Engineering: A Deeper Design Portrait

Teenage Engineering’s Choir is more than a novelty speaker system. It is simultaneously an object, an instrument, and an experience. The project blends design, craft, technology, and sound in a way that provokes both wonder and critique. This article unpacks the aesthetics, the mechanics, and the meaning behind Choir, assessing what makes it compelling, where it risks faltering, and its place in the evolving intersection of home technology and art.

Origins and Inspiration

Choir traces its lineage to the Absolut Choir from 2007, one of Teenage Engineering’s early installation experiments. That work combined wooden dolls and collective singing as material-sonic art. Choir can be seen as a mature realisation of those ideas.

The design team drew on cultural archetypes such as Matryoshka dolls and storytelling traditions. Each unit has a name, voice type, and personality. This gives Choir a narrative texture and a sense of diversity.

Design and Materials

Each doll is handcrafted from solid beech wood and polished with hard wax oil. The tactile quality of the finish plays as much of a role in the experience as the sound.

The physical size of each doll relates to its voice range. Larger dolls tend to hold lower voices while smaller ones take higher parts. Carlo, the Italian baritone, is 130 × 130 × 272 mm. Olga, the Russian contralto, is 51 × 51 × 200 mm. This proportion reinforces the link between voice and body.

Inside each doll is a speaker module that contains the CPU and Bluetooth transmitter. The modules are rechargeable, with about four hours of performance time, and they can be removed for maintenance.

Interaction is built on touch and movement. Tapping the head or surface plays or pauses music. Tilting adjusts volume. A firm hit turns the doll off. The sensor system gives the dolls a reactive, almost animate quality.

Sound and Repertoire

Choir comes with a library of twenty-two classical and traditional pieces. These range from Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” to holiday songs such as “Deck the Halls.” The music is generated algorithmically using counterpoint techniques, allowing multiple independent voices to weave together.

Users can also compose their own arrangements by driving Choir with MIDI over Bluetooth. Teenage Engineering’s OP-1 Field, OP-Z, or any Bluetooth-enabled MIDI keyboard can control the dolls. Once one doll is connected, the entire ensemble follows.

Each doll has a defined vocal range. Leila, from Palestine, sings soprano from C♯4 to A5. Bogdan, the Cossack bass, sings from E2 to C4. The differences between members shape the ensemble texture.

Interaction and Behaviour

When more than one doll is in range, they communicate wirelessly and adjust their performance together. This creates the impression of a responsive choir rather than a simple multi-speaker playback.

The physical interactions encourage play. Choir is not just an audio object but something to engage with. This tactility emphasizes the embodied aspect of design.

Aesthetic and Emotional Dimensions

Choir sits between the human and the artificial. It uses the most familiar instrument, the human voice, but delivers it through synthetic sound. The dolls resemble folk art or children’s toys yet contain advanced electronics. This tension is part of their charm.

Each doll represents a place and identity. Italy, Palestine, Russia, Egypt, and other regions are referenced. While the cultural backstories are symbolic rather than literal, they give the set a sense of character and diversity.

Context and Comparisons

Choir sits at the intersection of sound art, object design, and high-end consumer electronics. It revives traditions of automata and folk instruments but reinterprets them with computation and wireless technology.

Compared to Bluetooth speakers, Choir wins on character and loses on power and value per watt. Compared to digital choral software, it adds physical presence, tactility, and spatial depth. Compared to art objects with electronics, it has stronger musicality and clearer identity.

Future Possibilities

The concept could grow through bundle pricing or starter sets that make the experience more accessible. Acoustic options such as external amplification would extend usability. Software updates could expand the sonic palette. Sustainability through material sourcing and serviceability could strengthen its long-term design value.

Conclusion

Choir is not just a speaker system but a carefully designed cultural object. It blends craftsmanship with computation, interactivity with tradition, and personality with technology. Its role is not to replace traditional music tools but to offer a new form of engagement: objects that sing, ensembles that emerge, and design that embodies both play and presence.

For NIWWRD, Choir stands as a case study in how product design can be experiential, narrative, and alive.