iPhone apps are pretty much a dime a dozen. But what really makes a quality iPhone app? In the case of www.i5labs.com and their new sound box app, www.i5labs.com/zing, it’s a flash of brilliance, a lot of hard work, and a little help from one of the best-known Asian American musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Jason Wong, CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based i5labs, woke up one morning with a silly idea: create an app for “situation-(in)appropriate” sound effects available to iPhone users at the touch of a button. True to form, Wong didn’t let the idea stop there. Over the course of 8 weeks, Wong and his team developed the app from a single tension-building “dun-dun-duhhhhn!” into a series of 27 classic sound effects.
The sounds are packaged into an interactive app with a sleek, foolproof interface. [See screenshot] Clearly, the potential for this app’s use are plenty: someone tells a lame joke, and nothing says it fell flat on its face like the sound of “crickets.” Someone tells a dumb joke — use the “ba dum bum” drum sound, just like they do on TV. Someone plots evil, and only an appropriately sinister “muahahaha” in successively louder repetitions will suffice. You get the picture – or rather, the sound…ba dum bum!
Although each sound effect was carefully crafted, one in particular showcases i5labs’ production standards and sets the app apart from the 75,000 other iPhone apps floating around the iTunes App Store: the infamous “bow chicka bow wow.” Of their marquee track, Wong says, “We scoured the web high and low, but finally realized we had to build it ourselves.” He turned to his friend and Bay Area musical genius, Goh Nakamura, for the signature riff.
Nakamura’s videos have garnered over a million views on YouTube and he’s quickly gaining notoriety throughout the Bay Area for creative improvised shows with live looping, and incredibly agile fingerstyle. Recalling his contribution to zing!, Nakamura laughed, “Jason called me up, and asked if I could play ‘bow chicka bow wow’ on my guitar for zing!. Strange request, but I was happy to, and loved what came out of that session. He said he’d send me on tour if he sold a million of these things, so get your copy today.”
“Working with Goh was a blast. He did an incredible job, and I’m really proud of what we’ve done,” says Wong. “Everyone who’s gotten their hands on the app can’t get enough of it. If we get momentum, we can add more effects and look at building other apps. For now, I’d love to see more people use zing! and let us know how we can make it even better. Oh yeah, I’d also like to send Goh on tour.”
Add a soundtrack to your life — add zing!
