The Future of Sound Design in Electric Vehicles: A Conversation with Johannes Luckemeier – Part 2
“What I did is also in the beginning with my prototypes, I did those science-fiction sounds. I watched all the science-fiction shows and I was like, yeah, let’s get those spaceships in there, I need to do spaceships. And it was fun, I’ll be honest. My wife hated it. When she was in the car with me, she was like, ‘Hey, everybody’s looking, please. No, no, everybody’s looking at us.’ But then when I really started releasing the product to the market, giving the first MVPs or prototypes to testers, to influencers, and had the first customers, paying customers, I got the feedback, like, all these futuristic alien noises, it’s all fun, but could we have some real car sounds?” – Johannes Luckemeier
This episode, “The Future of Sound Design in Electric Vehicles” is the second half of my interview with audio inventor and founder of Glydsphere Johannes Luckemeier as we discuss the process of creating custom vehicle sounds, how audio design helps set high-end vehicles apart, and whether a sound, all by itself, can be copyrighted.
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(0:00:00) – The Power of Audio Branding
As our discussion continues, Johannes tells us just how different each car company’s sonic branding can be, and how much more room electric vehicles have given them to make a distinctive impression. “For a Tesla, you only hear, like, white noise. You can barely, actually, you don’t hear it. If you don’t know about it, you don’t hear it, but it fulfills the law,” he explains. “But if you look at BMW, Mercedes, AMG, Porsche, they have, like, this sporty, sci-fi sound because they had the feeling this is the way to go.” We talk about his process for developing custom engine sounds that are inspired by everything from Star Wars to The Jetsons, and how he’s working to give drivers the tools to modify and even create their own vehicle sound profiles. “The idea, really, is to give the user, the customer, whatever you want to call it, the driver, freedom of choice,” he tells us, “freedom that he or she can have any sound he or she wants. And hey, if you want silence, you just turn it off. If it’s too loud, you turn the volume down. If you don’t like the spaceships, you use a different sound.”
(0:06:00) – The Psychology of Audio Branding
“Look at podcasts,” Johannes continues, “users making their own content, people recording, like we talked about before, people record their own records at home. The technology is there, so why can they not have their own engine sounds? That’s really the idea and what we’re also doing.” We discuss how he hopes Glydsphere will empower drivers to build their own automotive soundscapes and the design philosophy that sets high-end cars apart when it comes to custom audio. “If I have a car,” he notes, “especially a fast car or something which moves fast… I like to have some acoustic feedback, some sound which fits, because, again, it just makes the whole experience more interesting.”
(0:11:09) – Personalized Sound Experience for Car Enthusiasts
As our conversation comes to a close, Johannes tells us more about the Glydsphere’s latest prototype and equity crowdfunding. “Obviously we want to expand this,” he explains. “We want to expand the algorithm, the sound algorithm, all based on customer feedback. At the moment it’s an app which runs on your phone. We want to integrate this into the car, but still plug and play, still no installation or car alterations required.” He tells listeners how to find out more on his website and how to get in touch, and where he sees the future of automotive sound heading over the next few years. “I’ll be honest,” he adds, “I’m not saying this because it’s my company, but if you want to invest money investing into electric cars nowadays or anything related to electric cars, I think it’s a no-brainer.”
Episode Summary
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Audio branding’s role in shaping the distinctive soundscapes of electric vehicles.
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The process behind custom engine sounds and how copyrights apply to sound effects.
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Glydsphere’s latest prototype features and how to get in touch with Johannes.
Connect with the Guest
Website: https://glydsphere.com/
Glydsphere on MicroVentures: https://invest.microventures.com/offerings/glydsphere/
Connect with Johannes Luckemeier on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/johannes-luckemeier-48632195
Follow Johannes Luckemeier on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glydsphere/
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This interview episode was very skillfully made to sound beautiful by the talented Humberto Franco.
** Transcript available upon request
