By Jalaja Ramanunni
Can you think of anyone better to create a sound for Dubai?
Dubai Economy and Tourism (DET) has released a video campaign titled Sounds of Dubai in collaboration with multiple Academy Award winning composer and music producer Hans Zimmer. Zimmer is best known for composing music for Hollywood blockbusters such as The Lion King, Inception, Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean, Dune and The Da Vinci Code.
Campaign Middle East had a chat with Zimmer about creating a soundtrack that reflects the soul of Dubai with its people, culture and sounds.
At the heart of this track is collaboration that came from an unspoken language of music. Zimmer said, “The funny thing about musicians is we speak our own language; we speak music. We can get into a room and say things that other people just cannot say in words and a bond starts appearing between us. It goes beyond normal diplomacy and negotiations because the wonderful thing about being a musician is we listen to each other from a different place.”
In the video, you will find Zimmer take to the streets of Old Dubai, collaborate with musicians from the city and catch a few moments in the desert in true Dubai style. Zimmer took time to understand what makes Dubai a unique brand and added those elements to his track. He said, “What I found so impressive about Dubai is this jewel came out of rock and sand, out of nothing. You have the beautiful Gulf and at the same time, there is the desert. You have managed to create an enormously sophisticated place, which at the same time did not lose its heritage and its authenticity. If anything, it modernised the authenticity while never losing its accent, especially architecturally – it is a masterpiece.”
Marketers are beginning to realise the role of sound in storytelling or conveying emotions in advertising. As sound and music plays a larger role in advertising and marketing activities, Zimmer commented, “Music is 50 per cent of what you do. If it is good music, it’s great. But bad music makes you run miles from it. Good music introduces you to a world that wasn’t there before and it lets you experience things which you just cannot experience in any other way.”
We asked Zimmer if he could name a jingle that he looks up to. “Any of the Ridley Scott Chanel 5 commercials. I don’t think you can get go any better than what Ridley did with Chanel. The imagination was just extraordinary and elegant at the same time. It absolutely elevated a market that was already pretty high up.”
Catch Zimmer’s show at the Coca Cola Arena in Dubai tonight and tomorrow where he will be performing music from movies such as The Lion King, Inception, Gladiator, Pirates of the Caribbean and Dune.
