Ford teamed up with electronic artist Matthew Dear to remix the sounds developed for its all-electric 2021 Mustang Mach-E into music. The song is called ‘New Breed’ and uses both Dear’s vocals and sounds specifically engineered to make the quiet electric car sound more like a car but from the future.
Engineers drew on sci-fi inspiration such as the film Blade Runner to come up with sounds for the Mach-E, according to Pitchfork. Ford also released this video detailing how sound designers Michael Sonnenberg and Marty Peters philosophy behind the Mach-E’s sounds and how Dear created ‘New Breed.’ In the video, the sound designers were insistent they didn’t want to recreate internal combustion engine sounds for the Mach-E. I think all of us who appreciate authentic engine sounds should send them a Thank You card for that. Instead, they came up with some funky and futuristic tones and buzzes that just happen to work well for mixing into electronic music:
If you’re going to have an electric car, why not use it to make some electronic music? Ford picked a hometown hero to head up the project. Dear has been a staple in the Detroit electronic music scene since 1999, when he started releasing music while still in college, according to the Metro Times. He came up in the industry just as electronic music was really taking off in the region. He is also co-founder of the music label Ghostly International and has six studio records and more than two dozen EPs under his collective four musical aliases. His first single ‘Hands Up For Detroit’ was heavily sampled by artist Fedde Le Grand for the track for ‘Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit.’ That is to say, in the last 20 years, Dear has made a name for himself as no slouch when it comes to creating electronic tunes in a city that practically invented the art form.
So, is the song any good? That I will leave up to you, dear readers. Detroit has a huge, billion-dollar music scene. You can hear anything and everything on a typical night. I came up more as a rock n’ roll type, so I am a poor judge of electronic music, but let me know in the comments!
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