Synesthesia is a fascinating neurological phenomenon where stimulation of one sense triggers experiences in another. For example, someone with grapheme-color synesthesia might see the letter “A” as red or the number “3” as blue. Some might taste rubber when they hear an engine or chocolate when they hear a guitar. Sound-to-color synesthesia, where sounds evoke visual colors, is particularly common.
Many contemporary musicians have shared their experiences with synesthesia, viewing it as a gift and vital component of their creative process. Here are ten active musicians who harness their unique sensory perceptions to create their art.
Billie Eilish
Billie Eilish, a global pop icon and award-winning artist, leverages synesthesia in her creative process. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, she described experiencing multiple types of synesthesia. Days of the week have colors for her, some sounds have associated smells and colors.
She even associated Fallon with a vertical brown rectangle in her mind!
Eilish relies heavily on her synesthesia to guide her creative choices, influencing everything from album colors to stage lighting. [1]
Pharrell Williams
Pharrell Williams, a renowned musician and producer, experiences sound-to-color synesthesia. He explained in a 2013 NPR interview that this condition arises from connected nerve endings in the brain, which, for most people, differentiate into individual receptors.
For Pharrell, hearing sound evokes colors, informing his songwriting and producing. He uses colors to match pitch, knowing he’s in the right key when the colors align.
Despite its uniqueness, Williams considers it a normal part of his experience rather than a superpower. [2]
Patrick Stump
Fall Out Boy’s frontman, Patrick Stump, has grapheme-to-color synesthesia. Different letters and symbols are associated with specific colors. For him, the letter “W” feels blue, irrespective of its actual color.
In music, colors are triggered alongside lyrics. When he hears or reads song lyrics, his brain associates those words with a color, sometimes coloring the entire song. His song “Love From the Other Side” feels orange, inspiring merchandise and cover art ideas. [3]
Lorde
Lorde relies on her sound-to-color synesthesia when creating music; she sees colors when she hears music, describing them as gas-like hues and shapes filling the room.
She openly discusses how synesthesia influences her creative process. Colors help her determine if a song feels “right.”
Lorde shared on Tumblr: “If a song’s colors are too oppressive or ugly, sometimes I won’t want to work on it—when we first started “Tennis Court” we just had that pad playing the chords, and it was the worst textured tan colour…and the song changed to all these incredible greens overnight!” [4]
Billy Joel
Billy Joel experiences both sound-to-color and grapheme-to-color synesthesia, painting pictures with sounds, letters, and words.
In an interview with Maureen Seaberg, he shared that different sounds and musical styles evoke different colors. Ballads have shades of blue and green, while rock songs evoke reds and oranges. Vowels conjure blues and greens, while harder consonants evoke oranges, yellows, and reds.
Joel says his favorite color to work with is green. Listeners might try to “feel” the color the next time one of his songs plays. [5]
Kanye West
Kanye West, a controversial yet innovative artist, sees color with sound.
He stated, “Everything I sonically make is a painting. I see it. I see the importance and the value of everyone being able to experience a more beautiful life.” This declaration was part of a rant on Ellen in 2016, where he discussed his ambitions to improve humanity.
Regardless of his future endeavors, West’s artistry and innovation remain a cultural hallmark. [6]
Olivia Rodrigo
Olivia Rodrigo revealed she has “baby synesthesia” upon releasing her 2021 album, SOUR. She sees colors when she hears music. Most of the songs on the album, including “driver’s license” and “good 4 u,” are shades of purple.
This led her to make purple the dominant color for her album cover and tour, and she even wore purple at the Met Gala that year. [7]
Hans Zimmer
Hans Zimmer, known for his film scores in movies like Pirates of the Caribbean and Inception, sees color when he hears music.
Zimmer uses his color associations to reverse engineer his scores based on the colors in the film. When asked to score The Thin Red Line, he struggled because the film hadn’t been shot yet.
He stated, “I need to see how you light this scene. I need to see how green the grass is…On The Lion King, I had black-and-white drawings to work with, and I’m still kicking myself about one scene because I got the color in the music wrong.” [8]
Charli XCX
Charli XCX sees colors when she hears music, informing her creative choices. She even gave away the song “I Love It” because it wasn’t the right color for her.
Her favorite songs are shades of pinks, purples, and reds, while her least favorite are greens and yellows. If she doesn’t like a song’s color, she knows it’s not for her, and this system seems to work well. [9]
Dave Grohl
Dave Grohl has a unique experience with synesthesia; music takes on a visual LEGO-like form for him.
He understands the composition of songs by seeing how colorful blocks fit together in his mind based on the sounds he hears. It’s a colorful “tower” behind every Foo Fighters song. [10]
Synesthesia offers a unique lens through which these musicians create their art. By experiencing sound in vibrant colors and shapes, they craft music that resonates on multiple sensory levels. It showcases the diverse ways our brains can interpret and interact with the world, enriching both the artists’ creative processes and the listeners’ experiences.
What are your thoughts on synesthesia and music? Share your perspective in the comments below!
