Ford has announced that Detroit-area Techno artists Joshua Harrison, Keith Kemp and Tom Newman recently sampled sounds from the 2013 Ford Fusion – both natural noises like windows going up and down, and digital creations from the car’s sound bank like the welcome chimes – to make original electronic music
Ford has announced that Detroit-area Techno artists Joshua Harrison, Keith Kemp and Tom Newman recently sampled sounds from the 2013 Ford Fusion – both natural noises like windows going up and down, and digital creations from the car’s sound bank like the welcome chimes – to make original electronic music. They recorded everything from doors slamming to the soft back-and-forth of the windshield wipers.
Each artist then took the sounds they recorded and combined them with a sound bank of Fusion chimes and tones to create an original song. Each Fusion musician, provided by Paxahau – organizers of the Movement Electronic Music Festival – produced a unique song that transformed the everyday sounds of the car into a work of art. The trunk slam was looped to mimic the iconic kick-drum popular in Detroit Techno, the strong hum of the 2.0-liter hybrid engine is used as an overtone that wails with meditative resonance and the seat belt reminder plays as a melodic syncopation.
“This project worked so well because Techno music, by its nature, is very similar to the makeup of a car,” explains Joshua Harrison, contributing musician and a performer in the upcoming festival. “In both cases, there are lots of little pieces mechanically put together. Just like a car, a Techno song has many elements that serve their own small purpose, and the masters of the craft are those who can put it all together and make everything work as one solid piece.”
“I love that the musicians were so infatuated with the sound of the Fusion’s door slams,” says Ramita Chawla, Ford sound quality engineer. “It’s a testament to all the hard work that went into engineering a solid ‘thunk’ from the doors over the past few years.
“The level of detail that goes into developing sound quality in several of the vehicle components is often overlooked,” she adds, “though subconsciously, these sounds significantly influence customers’ perception of quality. I think it’s pretty cool to hear pleasant sounds from various parts of the car coming together harmoniously to create these musical tracks.”
You can listen to all three songs on Ford’s Facebook page.
