Music has the power to transform our emotions, inspire us, and evoke powerful feelings of joy, sadness, and nostalgia. But what about those who can’t hear music? For the 5% of the world’s population who have disabling hearing loss, the joy of music is often out of reach. Until now.
Enter SOLE MUSIC, the next generation insole that puts the power of music at the hearing impaired community’s feet. Anghami, the leading music and entertainment streaming platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and independent agency ‿ and us, partnered together to launch SOLE MUSIC – a revolutionary technology that enables the deaf to feel the rhythm of the music through the soles of their feet, no matter where they are.
Think of SOLE MUSIC as headphones for your feet. The insoles are inserted into any shoe and connected via Bluetooth to a mobile music playlist. The technology translates music into tactile vibration, providing an immersive experience that reflects the sound wave patterns of each music genre, be it Dance, Classical, Jazz, or Rock. The result is a truly portable listening experience that offers an entirely new way of experiencing music.
The response to SOLE MUSIC has been overwhelmingly positive, with many people in the hearing impaired community describing it as a game-changer. Ramy Al Kadhi, Anghami’s Head of Commercial, said: “At Anghami, we’re dedicated to the principles of diversity and inclusivity for all. We knew that the hearing impaired community were enjoying music through vibrations via large speakers, often only in a limited number of venues where such a setup was possible. So when ‿ and us came to us with the idea of making a truly portable listening experience, we jumped at the chance. It’s the first step in democratizing the music listening experience which could empower millions of people in the hearing impaired community to have the kind of casual relationship with music the hearing community often takes for granted.”
Fadi Yaish, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of ‿ and us Agency, added: “SOLE MUSIC is what happens when the power of modern technology teams up with the unlimited potential of design. After two long years of development, we’re thrilled to see this project come to life.”
To celebrate the launch of SOLE MUSIC, Anghami created custom playlists optimized for the technology and released a short documentary by highly acclaimed Egyptian director Maged Nassar. The film tells the story of born deaf dancer Pierre Geagea trying SOLE MUSIC for the first time, and it has been viewed over 2.3 million times since its release on 6th February. On launch day, over twelve thousand SOLE MUSIC devices were pre-ordered via the website Sole-music.com.
SOLE MUSIC represents a powerful step forward in promoting diversity and inclusivity in music. As Fadi Yaish puts it, “Music has the power to move nations – they’re more than just songs, they’re a unifying narrative that transforms the way we think, work, and play. It’s a gift that should be shared with everyone, regardless of whether or not they can hear it in a conventional way.” With SOLE MUSIC, the hearing impaired can now experience the joy of music in a whole new way, opening up a world of possibilities.
This revolutionary invention is changing the way people experience music, and it’s just the beginning.
Music is for everyone.
