Hitting rewind: The Evolving Soundscape

Written By
Harry Goldsmith



07 April 2026

On the studio’s 20th birthday, we talk to founders Archie Lee Coates IV and Jeff Franklin about trust, inflatables, and the power of staying playful.

The music industry has undergone seismic shifts in the past decade, from the resurgence of vinyl to the dominance of streaming platforms. At True Tone, we’ve been closely observing these changes, not just from an industry standpoint but as passionate audio enthusiasts dedicated to delivering premium sound experiences. As technology redefines how people consume music, the importance of high-fidelity audio remains paramount.




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Archie Lee Coates IV: We already passed it, technically. The 20-year mark would be 2003, which is when PlayLab really began. That’s when we met, moved in together, got an apartment, learned HTML, and launched playlab.org. We just started doing projects. By 2007, we’d moved to New York, got a studio and an apartment right away, and in 2009, we officially incorporated.

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We’ve built this thing over the years, and while the specifics have changed, the essence has stayed the same. One thing Jeff and I aren’t great at – among many – is stopping to celebrate. We just love to work. Now, we’re on a new trajectory, which is exciting. We’re looking back and looking forward, and just feeling a bit emo, you know?

EG: One thing I’ve always found interesting is how PlayLab’s work feels cohesive despite its variety. Your shared background in architecture seems to provide both a love for structure and the freedom to explore beyond it. How do you think about architecture as a discipline, and how does it fit into what PlayLab does?


ALC: When Jeff and I met in architecture school, we had no real idea what architecture actually was. We were thrown into a wealth of knowledge – studios, offices, designers – and quickly saw how flexible the discipline could be. More than anything, we learned a way of thinking: conceptual development, relationships between ideas, and the many forms they could take.

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Archie Lee Coates IV: We already passed it, technically. The 20-year mark would be 2003, which is when PlayLab really began. That’s when we met, moved in together, got an apartment, learned HTML, and launched playlab.org. We just started doing projects. By 2007, we’d moved to New York, got a studio and an apartment right away, and in 2009, we officially incorporated.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor?


We’ve built this thing over the years, and while the specifics have changed, the essence has stayed the same. One thing Jeff and I aren’t great at – among many – is stopping to celebrate. We just love to work. Now, we’re on a new trajectory, which is exciting. We’re looking back and looking forward, and just feeling a bit emo, you know?

EG: One thing I’ve always found interesting is how PlayLab’s work feels cohesive despite its variety. Your shared background in architecture seems to provide both a love for structure and the freedom to explore beyond it. How do you think about architecture as a discipline, and how does it fit into what PlayLab does?


ALC: When Jeff and I met in architecture school, we had no real idea what architecture actually was. We were thrown into a wealth of knowledge – studios, offices, designers – and quickly saw how flexible the discipline .

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor?


We’ve built this thing over the years, and while the specifics have changed, the essence has stayed the same. One thing Jeff and I aren’t great at – among many – is stopping to celebrate. We just love to work. Now, we’re on a new trajectory, which is exciting. We’re looking back and looking forward, and just feeling a bit emo, you know?

EG: One thing I’ve always found interesting is how PlayLab’s work feels cohesive despite its variety. Your shared background in architecture seems to provide both a love for structure and the freedom to explore beyond it. How do you think about architecture as a discipline, and how does it fit into what PlayLab does?


ALC: When Jeff and I met in architecture school, we had no real idea what architecture actually was. We were thrown into a wealth of knowledge – studios, offices, designers – and quickly saw how flexible the discipline .

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor?


Archie Lee Coates IV: We already passed it, technically. The 20-year mark would be 2003, which is when PlayLab really began. That’s when we met, moved in together, got an apartment, learned HTML, and launched playlab.org. We just started doing projects. By 2007, we’d moved to New York, got a studio and an apartment right away, and in 2009, we officially incorporated.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor?


We’ve built this thing over the years, and while the specifics have changed, the essence has stayed the same. One thing Jeff and I aren’t great at – among many – is stopping to celebrate. We just love to work. Now, we’re on a new trajectory, which is exciting. We’re looking back and looking forward, and just feeling a bit emo, you know?

EG: One thing I’ve always found interesting is how PlayLab’s work feels cohesive despite its variety. Your shared background in architecture seems to provide both a love for structure and the freedom to explore beyond it. How do you think about architecture as a discipline, and how does it fit into what PlayLab does?


ALC: When Jeff and I met in architecture school, we had no real idea what architecture actually was. We were thrown into a wealth of knowledge – studios, offices, designers – and quickly saw how flexible the discipline could be. More than anything, we learned a way of thinking: conceptual development, relationships between ideas, and the many forms they could take.



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About the author

Harry Goldsmith

Archie Lee Coates IV: We already passed it, technically. The 20-year mark would be 2003, which is when PlayLab really began. That’s when we met, moved in together, got an apartment, learned HTML, and launched playlab.org. We just started doing projects. By 2007, we’d moved to New York, got a studio and an apartment right away, and in 2009, we officially incorporated.