Devon Turnbull on Elevating the Beauty of Sound

To be in a room with one of the artist and audiophile Devon Turnbull’s texture-rich Ojas hi-fi audio systems may be the closest one can get to being in the studio with the musicians themselves. It’s not a stretch to call what he creates “sound sculptures”: Over the past two decades, Turnbull has built up his company Ojas through experimentation, engineering, and deep exploration, and in recent years, his work has been presented at SFMOMA, as well as at Lisson Gallery, both in New York and London. Currently at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (through July 19), as part of its “Art of Noise” exhibition, he’s showcasing his large-scale “HiFi Pursuit Listening Room Dream No. 3,” with listening sessions on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. 

On this episode of Time Sensitive, Turnbull discusses why, while there’s a certain spiritual factor to his practice, he wants to “at all costs, avoid the guru complex”; the role of Japan in shaping his understanding of sonic purity; and the synergistic relationship between D.I.Y. culture and his systems.

Special thanks to our Season 13 presenting partner, Van Cleef & Arpels.

Show notes:

Devon Turnbull

[01:34] “Art of Noise”

[12:21] Hamfests

[15:20] Isamu Asano

[16:43] Wabi-sabi

[16:43] Kanso

[16:43] Shibui

[16:43] Mingei movement

[16:43] Theaster Gates

[18:41] Tube Kingdom

[18:41] Stereo Sound

[19:09] Tamura Transformer Company

[23:53] Sound Practices

[25:43] Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974)

[26:29] Nils Frahm

[29:05] Alex Calderwood

[29:05] Sarah Andelman

[29:05] Virgil Abloh

[29:05] James Jebbia

[35:27] Toccata and Fugue in D minor

[39:19] Karimoku

[41:15] Kunichi Nomura

[54:32] Arne Jacobsen

[54:32] Poul Kjærholm

[56:15] New Sounds

[58:36] Fred Again