Bentley teams up with Steve Mazzaro for its Naim in-car audio system
Published on Apr 03, 2022 at 7:22 AM (UTC+4)
by Robert Percy
Last updated on Apr 01, 2022 at 2:21 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
For many of us, music is an important part of how we interact with a car.
For me at least, one of the biggest pleasures I get from driving is putting a really awesome song on and feeling the vibe (and sometimes sing along with, too!).
Bentley clearly recognises this, and to show off its Naim-developed in-car audio system it commissioned Hollywood composer Steve Mazzaro to write a bespoke soundtrack specifically to show the system off.
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The near 10-minute long piece is arranged into three “chapters” arranged around the same musical motif, intended to take the listener on a journey through three different musical styles.
It also demonstrates the power and technical prowess of the Naim audio system.
Mazzaro’s work has appeared in Army of Thieves, No Time to Die, Dune, Wonder Woman 1984 and the live-action remake of The Lion King.
He assembled a crack team of musicians to help him bring his composition to life.
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Who is involved?
- Cellist Tina Guo (who previously worked with Bentley in 2018 to create a soundtrack for the company’s first hybrid model and has worked with a huge range of artists across multiple genres)
- Violinist Molly Rogers (who has worked with everyone from Andrea Bocelli to Tenacious D!)
- Drummer Satnam Ramgotra (who worked with Hans Zimmer on the soundtrack for The Dark Knight)
- Guitarist Guthrie Govan (a former member of progressive rock groups The Aristocrats and Asia, as well as being a previous collaborator with Hans Zimmer and Steven Wilson)
- Flamenco guitar specialist Amir John Haddad (also known as El Amir)
- Percussionist Holly Madge (who utilised a variety of different percussion instruments from all over the world, including a Peruvian Cajon and an Egyptian Darbuka)
- Bassist Juan Garcia-Herreros (also known as Snow Owl, who recorded his parts using a custom-made six-string bass).
Each musician recorded their parts in different locations all over the world, including some who recorded their parts in their own home studios.
“To me, Bentley represents elegance and class but also power, speed and mechanical complexity,” said Mazzaro when talking about how he composed the score.
“So for this piece I used guitars, plus powerful, heavy low synths and very technical drums combined with intricate hand percussion.”s
“As with the workings of a car, you don’t see them, but you know they’re there, working in the background.”
“I wanted to take the listener on a journey, with the essence of a film to be in a listener’s subconscious mind, so there’s flow to this piece – starting a specific way and then leading the person somewhere.”
“For the opening, I wanted everything to be done with smaller instruments, but be powerful, organic and kinetic,” Mazzaro elaborated further.
“I then introduce this big, cinematic orchestra, before ending with an orchestral, electronic, explosive culmination.”
“I really wanted to push the power of the Naim audio system and see what it was capable of, so this also became more of a technical endeavour.”
“There are so many speakers, I wanted to try lots of panning effects, bouncing the sound from left to right. This is a score for the driver’s seat.”
“We know that music is a passion of many of our customers – indeed, the Bentley x Naim sound system is specified on almost 40 per cent of customer orders,” said Alain Favey, Bentley’s Member of the Board for Sales, Marketing and Aftersales.
“It’s been a great pleasure to work with Steve Mazzaro to craft a piece of music to really demonstrate the prowess of the system.
“His talent, experience and incredible artistry have been inspirational to us.
“While the finished piece sounds amazing however you hear it, to truly appreciate every element of it you have to hear it in a Naim-equipped Bentley, where it’s unlike any in-car music experience I’ve ever had.”
You can listen to the piece Mazzaro composed for Bentley here:
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I'm a freelance writer and journalist originally from London, but currently living in Swansea in South Wales. I've had a huge passion for cars, music and aviation since I was very young. More recently, I've also developed a passion for motorsports, pro wrestling, investing and real estate.
