As the features of the new Genesis–Hyundai Motor Company’s luxury car–appear on screen, the images mesh with the vehicle’s sounds in a way that lends a certain dimensionality to this commercial. The soundtrack seemingly emerges from the car as the genesis of the Genesis score–done by SOUTH Music and Sound–takes hold.
SOUTH went the direction of using literal car sound effects to create a modern hip hop song in this “Feel Every Detail” spot–with the “feel” coming from both the visual and audio worlds. Vania & Muggia directed the spot via production house Iconoclast for ad agency Innocean. And the hip hop creation turned out to a chart topper–not of the Billboard variety but rather SHOOT’s Top Ten Tracks Chart for the first quarter of 2024.
Ann Haugen, partner/head of production at SOUTH Music and Sound, recalled, “From the beginning, the creatives on the project wanted to incorporate the car sounds into the music as an additional instrument. This concept was intriguing because SFX are usually considered an afterthought. With this in mind, we were able to capture the car sounds on set, manipulate them into the track, using certain rhythmic qualities to blend them in seamlessly. Not only did it allow the track to have some additional instrumentation, it also gave it a magical connection to the visuals.”
Haugen continued, “The only real challenge in this type of concept is making sure we had access to the car before we started scoring so that we could capture all the sounds. Of course it was also crucial that we collaborated with a collection of hip hop artists who spend more of their time creating records than commercials. This ensured that this high-concept spot still provided the musical authenticity that Genesis has made such a huge part of their recent work. The agency was super open-minded to our process and point of view, and we couldn’t be happier with how it all turned out.”
The SOUTH team included Haugen, creative directors Matt Drenik and Dan Pritikin, composers Mike Mac and Jon Darling, and associate producer Alina Fox.
The sound design and mixing team came from Lime Studios with Michael Anastasi serving as sound designer and Dave Wagg as audio post mixer. They were backed by sound design assistant Michael Baran, audio assistant Matthew Conzelmann, producer Cassie Underwood and executive producer Susie Boyajan.
Paul Meyers served as cinematographer. Editor was Leo Scott of Cartel.
Click here to view the full Top Ten Music Tracks Chart for the first quarter of 2024.
