Giorgio Moroder + the Future of Sound in Transportation
At CES, the iconic musician speaks about his collaboration with FPT Industrial
Within the rows and rows of consumer-facing products at CES, business-to-business innovations and releases work double-time to impress. For instance, John Deere delivered an entire R4038 self-propelled sprayer to the show floor. Towering over other booths, the tractor spotlighted the company’s commitment to furthering agricultural technology. Another exhibitor, FPT Industrial, transported attendees to a setting reminiscent of a listening party. Their booth, a bright red beacon contrasting the drab blues and whites of the Las Vegas Convention Center, featured their new Cursor X 4.0 Power Source Concept—a modular, modern powertrain with applications in agriculture, transportation, industrial, and marine vehicles and vessels—set at the center of a lavishly built-out recording studio. In the corner of the booth, situated behind a DJ stand, was famed producer, singer, songwriter, and “Father of Disco” Giorgio Moroder.
Across from him, framed plaques and posters of his most famous works were hung. Many tech-focused attendees meandered past, vaguely acknowledging the icon. For those privy to his presence (and performance), the rest of CES seemed to fade away.
On how the four-second sequence at the start of “PRELUDIO” came to be, Moroder tells us, “It’s kind of more difficult because [when] you’re dealing with a song you have four minutes. You can change; you have a lot of possibilities. With four seconds, it has to be there. There’s no other way: it is or it is not.” On the particular process, he says, “So I started with the most important thing: it’s to have a melody—don, don, don, don, don!,” he sings. “At the end, I probably have 30-40 different tracks mixed in.”
For fans of Moroder, “PRELUDIO” doesn’t repress the artist’s ability or his unique, synthesizer-ladened sound. Though more reminiscent of his work with Daft Punk or Limahl than his tracks with David Bowie and Irene Cara, “PRELUDIO” remains dotted with clever references to the artist’s past, further indicating that Moroder was, and remains, sonically far ahead of his time.
“It’s a new era. The world changes and it’s going to change even more now,” Moroder adds.
“Of course we are very, very lucky that Giorgio fell in love with this project,” Stupenengo tells CH. “It was not a given at the beginning because it was a challenge for him. We didn’t ask him to have one of his songs rented. We wanted something that would be the merger of his vision for the future of sound and our vision of the future of powertrains.”
Hero image courtesy of FPT Industrial
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