Tattoos you can hear

Permanent body art, never sounded better. Literally. Thanks to the growing trend of soundwave tattoos that are making waves. Launched in 2017 by an LA-based company, Skin Motion, it uses an app to convert audio files to soundwaves that you can get etched on to the skin and with the help of the app play it back. It can be your favourite music, voice/s of a loved one/s or anything that you care about.

Inventor Nate Siggard revealed that he already has a recording of his child’s infectious laughter on his leg. Another YouTube clip published by the company shows a tattoo artist who got her dog’s bark on her arm. The tattoo even adorns Canadian singer/songwriter sensation Shawn Mendes who got a guitar — his signature instrument — etched on his arm. The very top of the guitar is a soundwave of his parents voices saying ‘I love you’.

Celebrity tattoo artist Sunny Bhanushali explains, “Soundwaves are visual representation or a diagram of a voice or sound produced. These diagrams are inked on the skin and when you scan with a device you can hear the message behind the diagram.” He calls it a trending tattoo and people are picking to go for the voice of a loved one, or a line of their favourite song.

THINK BEFORE YOU INK
Even as the tattoos continue to make big noise, many claim that the clips don’t work as well as promised. But that’s not dampening their demand. Bhanushali says that he’s getting queries everyday regarding these audio tattoos. His advice: keep the audio short – maybe 3 to 5 words max, and get it at a safe spot (avoid wrist or neck). “These are very emotional tattoos. You can hear the voice of the person when you scan them. Spots like thighs or forearms are perfect for these tattoos. It’s definitely going to be popular with the millennials,” he predicts. Other tattoos that are doing well right now are armband and minimal tattoos.