The Ultimate NYC Audio Diary

Roman Grandinetti, AKA DJ Manero, mixes audio fragments from advertising legend George Lois, restaurateur Serge Becker, musician Pharrell Williams and a host of others into a sonic collage of New York City life. CNNCTD+, the creative agency Grandinetti runs with his partner Bibi Cornejo Borthwick (daughter of fashion designer Maria Cornejo and photographer Mark Borthwick), invited 100 of their personal heroes to record snippets of their daily activities on a Playbutton—a wearable pin that doubles as an MP3 player—for a special project highlighting the multidisciplinary connection within contemporary culture. Explains Grandinetti: “We wanted a new generation in the same room as the generation that’s done it already, each shining a light on the other.” The venture, entitled CNNCTD+100, includes recordings of 80s tastemaker Maripol singing, cooking instructions from Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow of The Meatball Shop, and André Saraiva reciting French poetry on his girlfriend Annabelle Dexter Jones’s voicemail. Launched at the New Museum last night, CNNCTD+100 will be on display for three weeks before traveling to London, Tokyo and Paris, adding recordings from local artists in each city. Borthwick’s favorite contribution is that of nightlife impresario and La Esquina owner Becker, which features the NYC taxi firm Delancey Car Services' hold music. Borthwick recounts: “Becker said, ‘Bibi, I need you to come here, I keep calling the car service but because I’m a guy they are not paying attention to me.’”

Photo by Bibi Cornejo Borthwick.