Let's start with silence. Silence is one of the most precious conditions for humans, because it allows us to feel the depth of our presence. This is one of the reasons why the advent of electric cars has generated lots of enthusiasm among people. For the first time, we could associate the concept of cars with the experience of silence. Cars can finally be quiet: peace in the streets, a silent revolution in the cities.
Tuanze na ukimya. Ukimya ni hali yenye thamani kwa wanadamu, kwa sababu inatufanya kuhisi kina cha uwepo wetu. Hii ni moja ya sababu kwanini ujio wa gari za umeme umetengeneza hamasa kubwa kwa watu. Kwa mara ya kwanza, tuliweza husisha muundo wa gari na mazoea ya ukimya. Magari hatimaye yanaweza kuwa kimya: amani katika mitaa, mapinduzi ya ukimya katika majiji.
(Hum)
(Hum)
But silence can also be a problem. The absence of sound, in fact, when it comes to cars, it can be quite dangerous. Think of blind people, who can't see a car which is approaching. And now, if it's electric, they can't even hear it. Or think of every one of us as we are walking around the city, we are absorbed in our thoughts, and we detach from the surroundings. In these situations, sound can become our precious companion.
Lakini unaweza pia kuwa tatizo. Ukosefu wa sauti, kwa hakika, unapokuja katika gari, inaweza kuwa hatari sana. Fikiria watu wasiiona, wasioweza kuona gari linalowasogelea. Na sasa, kama ni la umeme, hawawezi kabisa kulisikia. Au fikiria kuhusu kila mmoja wetu tunapotembea katika jiji, tumezama katika mawazo yetu, na tumeachana na mazingira. Katika hali hii, sauti inaweza kuwa mshiriki mwenye thamani.
Sound is one of the most wonderful gifts of our universe. Sound is emotion and sound is sublime, and when it comes to cars, sound is also information. In order to protect pedestrians and to give acoustic feedback to the drivers, governments around the world have introduced several regulations which prescribe the presence of a sound for electric vehicles. In particular, they require minimum sound levels at specific frequency bands up to the speed of 30 kilometers per hour. Besides this speed, the natural noise of the car is considered as sufficient.
Sauti ni moja ya zawadi murua katika ulimwengu. Sauti ni hisia na sauti ni utukufu, na inapokuja kwenye gari, sauti pia ni taarifa. Ili kuweza kuwalinda watembea kwa miguu na kutoa mrejesho wa sauti kwa madereva, serikali dunia kote wameunda namna baadhi za udhibiti ambazo zinawajibisha uwepo wa sauti katika magari ya umeme. Katika uhalisia, zinahitaji sauti kiasi kidogo katika mrudio wa mawimbu mahususi hadi kilomita 30 kwa saa. Ukiachana na kasi, sauti halisi ya gari huchukiliwa kama ya kutosha.
These regulations have generated different reactions among those who favor sounds and those who fear the presence of too much noise in the city. However, I don't see it as the noise of the car. I rather see it as the voice of the car. And this is one of my biggest challenges, and privileges, at the same time.
Sheria hizi zimetengeneza maoni tofauti kati ya wale ambao wanahitaji sauti na wale walio na hofu ya uwepo wa kelele nyingi katika jiji. Hata hivyo, Sioni kwamba ni kelele ya gari. Naona kwamba ni sauti ya gari. Na hii ndiyo changamoto yangu kubwa, na kipaumbele, kwa wakati mmoja.
I design the voice of electric cars. We all know how a combustion engine sounds like, and we do actually also know how an electric engine sounds like. Think of the electric tramway. As soon as it moves, it creates this ascending high-frequency pitch sound, which we called "whistling" sound. However, if we would just amplify this sound, we would still not be able to fulfill the legal requirements. That's also why we need to compose new sound.
Ninarasimu sauti ya gari za umeme. Tunaelewa namna gani injini za moto zinavyotoa mlio, na pia tunaelewa namna gani gari za umeme zinavyotoa mlio. Fikiria kuhusu mkokoteni wa umeme. Pale unapotembea, hutengeneza sauti inayopanda ambayo ni kali, ambayo tunaita sauti ya "filimbi". Hata hivyo, kama tutaweza kuongeza sauti hii, hatutaweza kufikia kanuni zilizowekwa. Ndiyo maana tunahitaji kutengeneza sauti mpya.
So how do we go after it? In many cities, the traffic is already very chaotic, and we don't need more chaos. But the streets of the 21st century are a great case study teeming with transience, cross purposes and disarray. And this landscape offers a great opportunity for developing new solutions on how to reduce this chaos.
Sasa tunafanyaje? Katika majiji mengi, msongamano wa magari una vurugu sana, na hatuhitaji vurugu nyingine. Lakini mitaa ya karne ya 21 hutupa somo zuri sana zikitiririka kutangatanga, na mvurugiko. Na uwanda huu unatoa nafasi nzuri ya kutengeneza fumbuzi mpya za namna ya kuondoa hizi vurugu.
I have conceived a new approach that tries to reduce the chaos by introducing harmony. Since many people don't know how an electric car could sound like, I have to define, first of all, a new sound world, something that doesn't belong to our previous experience but creates a reference for the future. Together with a small team, we create lots of sonic textures that are able to transmit emotion. Just like a painter with colors, we are able to connect feelings and frequencies so that whenever one is approaching a car, we can feel an emotion which, besides fulfilling the legal requirements, speaks also about the character and the identity of the car.
Nimeunda namna mpya ya kujaribu kupunguza huu mvurugano kwa kuleta mlingano. Vile kwamba watu wengi hawafahamu namna ambavyo gari la umeme linatoa sauti, Natakiwa kufafanua, kwanza ya yote, dunia mpya ya sauti, jambo ambalo halipo katika mazoea ya nyuma lakini linatengeneza kumbukumbu ya kesho. Pamoja na timu ndogo, tunatengeneza sauti za kusikika na wanadamu ambazo zinaweza safirisha hisia. Kama vile mchoraji na rangi, tunaweza kuunganisha hisia na mrudio wa mawimbi ili kwamba pale mtu anaposogelea gari, tunaweza kujisikia hisia ambazo, ukiachalia kwamba zinafuata matakwa ya serikali, pia huongea kuhusu tabia na utambulisho wa gari.
I call this paradigm "sound genetics." With sound genetics, I define, first of all, an aesthetic space of sound, and at the same time, I search for new, innovative methods for generating soundscapes that we don't know, soundscapes that allow us to envision abstract worlds, to make them tangible and audible. Sound genetics is based on three steps. The first one is the definition of a sonic organism, the second one is a description of sonic variations, and the third one is the composition of sound genes. The description of a sonic organism is based on a cluster of properties that every sound that I compose should have.
Naita namna hii "jenetikia ya sauti." Na jenetikia ya sauti, naelezea, kwanza kuliko yote, nafasi ya sauti, na wakati huo huo, natafuta njia mpya za ufumbuzi za kutengeneza mazingira ya sauti ambayo hatufahamu, mazingira ya sauti yanayoturuhusu kuwaza dunia ya kufikirika, kuipa uhalisia na yenye kusikika. Jenetikia ya sauti inahusiana na hatua tatu. Ya kwanza ni kuelezea kiumbe anayesikia, cha pili ni kudadafua mabadiliko ya sauti, na ya tatu ni utengenezaji wa jeni za sauti. Maelezo ya kiumbe anayesikia yanatokana na muunganiko wa tabia za kila sauti ninayotengeneza inakua nayo.
[Sound is moving.]
[Sauti inasafiri]
I transfer to a small sound entity, such as the sound of a car, the power of the motion of music, so that sound can move so.
Nasafirisha katika sauti ndogo, kama vile sauti ya gari, nguvu ya mrindimo wa muziki, ili sauti inaweza safiri.
[Sound is acting.]
[Sauti inatenda.]
And just like a dancer on a stage, sound will project trajectories of sound in the air.
Na kama kwa mchezaji katika jukwaa, sauti itatengeneza njia katika hewa.
[Sound is memory.]
[Sauti ni kumbukumbu.]
And it's not just about the sound of a car. It's the memory of my father coming back home.
Na siyo tu kuhusu sauti ya gari. Ni kumbukumbu ya baba yangu akirudi nyumbani.
[Sound is hypnotizing.]
[Sauti inavutia.]
And sound has the power to create an unexpected sense of wonder, which hypnotizes. And ultimately,
Na sauti ina nguvu ya kutengeneza maajabu yasiyotegemewa, ambayo huvutia. Na kwa ujumla,
[Sound is superhuman.]
[sauti ni binadamu wa ajabu.]
sound goes beyond the human condition, because it allows us to transcend. As a second step, we define the sonic variations.
sauti huenda zaidi ya hali ya kibinadamu, kwa sababu inaturuhusu sisi kujongea. Katika hatua ya pili, tunaeleza mabadiliko ya sauti.
[Identity prism]
[Prizmu ya utambuzi]
Just like humans, where different bodies generate different voices, also different car shapes have a different acoustic behavior which depends on the geometry and the materials. So we have to know, first of all, how this car propagates the sound outside by means of acoustic measurements. And just like a single voice is able to produce different tones and timbres, at the same time, we produce different sonic variations within a space of eight words that I defined. And some of them are, to me, really important, such as the concept of "visionary," of "elegance," of "dynamic," of "embracing." And once we have defined these two aspects, we have what I call the identity prism, which is something like the sonic identity card of a car.
Kama vile wanadamu, ambapo miili hutengeneza sauti mbalimbali, na pia maumbo mbalimbali ya gari yana tabia mbalimbali za sauti ambazo hutegemea maombi na malighafi. Hivyo tunapaswa kujua, kwanza kabisa, jinsi gari hili husafirisha sauti nje namna ya vipimo vya sauti. Na kama vile sauti moja inaweza kutoa mirindimo ya sauti mbalimbali, na kwa wakati huohuo, tunatengeneza utofauti mbalimbali wa sauti katika nafasi ya maneno nane ambayo naelezea. Na baadhi yao, kwangu, ni muhimu sana, kama vile suala la "maono," ya "utashi," ya "mabadiliko," ya "kufumbata." Na pale tutapoweza kuelezea hizi namna mbili, tunakuwa tumepata ninaoita mche wa utambuzi, ambao ni kama kadi ya utambuzi wa sauti ya gari.
And as a third step, we enter the world of the sound design, where the sound genes are composed and a new archetype is conceived. Now let me show you another example of how I transform a sound field into a melody.
Na katika hatua ya tatu, tunaingia katika dunia ya utengenezaji wa sauti, ambapo jeni za sauti zinatengenezwa na muundo mpya unatengenezwa. Sasa ngoja nikuonyeshe mfano mwingine wa namna ya kubadili sauti kuwa mlio
Think that I am a violin player on stage. If I would start to play the violin, I would generate a sound field which would propagate in this hall, and at some point, the sound field would hit the side walls and would be scattered all over the place. And this is how it looked like. Some time ago, I captured several ways of sound to hit side walls. And last year, I was asked by the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra to compose ringtones that they were going to play. So one of them, I had the idea to start from this sound field. I took a section, I superimposed the section over the distribution of the musicians onstage, and then I followed the blooming of the sound field by means of three parameters: time, intensity and frequency. Then I wrote down all the gradients for each instrument, and as you can see, for instance, the piece will start with the string section playing very softly, and then it's going to have a crescendo as the brasses, the woods will jump in, and the melody will end with a harp and a piano playing on the highest range.
Fikiria kua mimi ni mpiga fidla jukwaani. Kama nitaanza kupiga fidla, Nitatengeneza sauti ambayo itatembea katika ukumbi huu, na kwa wakati huo huo, sauti itagonga kuta na itasambaa hapa kote. Na ndivyo itavyoonekana. Muda fulani uliopita, nilinasa namna baadhi ya sauti inavyogonga kuta. Na mwaka jana, niliombwa na bendi ya Bavarian Radio Symphony kutengeneza milio ambayo wangeipiga. Katika mmoja wao, niliwaza kuanza na mrindimo wa sauti. Nilichukua kipande, Nikakijumuisha katika mgawanyo wa wanamuziki wakiwa jukwaani, na kisha nikifata mrindimo wa sauti kwa namna ya vipimo vitatu: muda, kiasi na mrudio wa mawimbi. Kisha nikaandika ulalo wa kila kifaa, na unaweza kuona, kwa mfano, vipande vitaanza na kipande cha uzi kikipiga kwa umororo, na kisha kitaanza ongezeka pale shaba, mbao zitapoanza sikika, na mlio utaishia na kinubi na kinanda zikilia katika kiwango cha juu.
Let's listen how it sounded like.
Tusikilize inalia vipi.
(Ethereal music)
(Mziki wa mbinguni)
(Music ends)
(Muziki unaisha)
So this is the sound of my alarm clock, actually, in the morning.
Kwa hiyo huu ni mlio wa saa yangu inayoniamsha, kiukweli, asubuhi.
(Laughter)
(Kicheko)
And now let's go back to electric cars. And let's listen to the first example that I showed you.
Na sasa turudi katika gari za umeme. Na kisha tusikilize mfano wa kwanza ambao nimewaonyesha.
(Hum)
(Hum)
And now I would like to show you how a potential sound, based on the sound genetics for electric cars, could sound like.
Na sasa nitawaonyesha namna gani mlio muhimu, ambao unatokana na jini ya sauti kwa ajili ya gari za umeme, itasikika hivi.
(Ethereal music)
(Muziki wa mbinguni)
(Pitch rises with acceleration)
(Kiwango kinapanda na kuongezeka mwendo)
Cars are a metaphor of time, distance and journey, of setting out and returning, of anticipation and adventure, but, at the same time, of intelligence and complexity, of human intuition and accomplishment. And the sound has to glorify all that.
Gari ni mifano inayohusiana na muda, umbali na safari, ya kuondoka na kurudi, ya shauku na safari, lakini, kwa wakati huo huo, na utashi na utata, ya uelewa wa binadamu na mafanikio. Na sauti imetukuza hayo yote.
I see cars both as living creatures and as highly complex performative art installations. The sounds that we envision through sound genetics allow us not only to celebrate this complexity but also to make the world a more elegant and safe space.
Naona magari yote kama viumbe vinavyoishi na vifaa vilivyotengenezwa na sanaa tata sana. Sauti ambazo tunaziunda kupitia sauti za jenetikia sio tu zinaturuhusu kufurahia utata huu bali pia kufanya dunia iwe sehemu maridadi na yenye usalama.
Thank you.
Asante.
(Applause)
(Makofi)