Music’s power to connect and help people process complex situations is at the heart of Syn’s PLAYLIST-19 – a playlist that evolved over 100 days. While the world went through enormous challenges and changes, Syn’s team – along with an extended network of colleagues and friends – created a growing playlist that combined hope and a sense of kinship among people with music as a common thread that ties us together in difficult times. Give it a listen on Spotify or Apple Music.
Syn Co-Founder Simon Le Bon is the cornerstone of the playlist, contributing new tracks every day. Guests such as Marc Newson, Jony Ive, Eddie Jones (the legendary England Rugby Coach), Whit Friese (CNN), Sumire and many more also lent their musical perspectives to PLAYLIST-19. Takeovers paid tribute to Pride Month, Black Lives Matter, China (by Syn’s China-based team), Liverpool (Syn Co-Founder Nick Wood’s home city), The Philippines and more. Ultimately, the playlist was a cumulative effect by contributors from all over the world: from Tokyo to LA, Helsinki to Hong Kong, London to Oslo.
“In the last 100 days, we’ve had nearly 100 collaborators, with new music being added each day and people’s generosity in keeping this going has been really encouraging,” comments Syn Musical Director / Producer Benji Compston. “It’s been a pleasure sharing music with people all over the world and hearing feedback about the tracks we feature in this audio snapshot of a remarkable time.”
The PLAYLIST is varied, diverse and genre-spanning. As a company with teams in Japan, China, London and the US, Syn is inspired to hear music from locations around the world, either as a point of origin or as a reflection of pop culture consumption. As a comprehensive experience, PLAYLIST-19 is as diverse and complex as these last 100 days and the world we inhabit. It’s a record of a time, as described in song. Whether an escape or catharsis, Syn’s team hopes that it continues to inspire and uplift.
“Despite many of us having spent the last few months in a very restricted immediate setting, I think we are more globally connected than ever at the moment, and I think PLAYLIST-19 is evidence to that,” notes Syn Co-Founder /Creative Director Nick Wood. “If the playlist has spread some positivity to even one person during this crisis, then our mission has been achieved.”
Wood also shared how growing up in Liverpool impacted his choices for the playlist. "I was incredibly fortunate to grow up in Merseyside and studied music from 1981 – 1983 at Mabel Fletcher, Liverpool. My parents were very cool about me going out with my older friends to the most amazing club called 'Eric’s,' located on Mathew Street. Here was where I experienced live shows by many of bands on my playlist, I even played live there myself with an early line up of the late Colin Verncoe’s band 'Black,' alongside my best friend Dane Goulding."
