Scott Melker turns everyday traffic sounds into music as part of an initiative to rethink traffic

by: Amanda Mesa Feb 11, 2016

Internationally acclaimed DJ and music producer Scott Melker spent two days recording the sounds of traffic on local city streets, highways and freeways in the San Francisco Bay area, which is ranked second only to Los Angeles in terms of worst traffic congestion. He then created an original track using the sounds he’d collected, which included everything from police sirens and crosswalk audio commands, to seatbelt clicks and keys rustling (there’s a Chinese mandolin in there, too). Titled “Freedom To Go,” the track is part of a larger initiative introduced by carpooling startup Carma to encourage people to rethink traffic and the growing problem of congestion on our roadways.

“Most us accept traffic as unavoidable, but the truth is we have the ability to change it into a much better way of life,” said Josh Gotthelf, CMO, Carma. “The goal of this song was to illustrate how a different approach can turn something terrible into something good.”

“Until now, I had never attempted to make pleasant sounds out of such jarring samples,” said DJ and producer Scott Melker. “It was a fun challenge to create custom synths from the sounds of a rotating fan belt or drums from the sounds of slamming car doors and trunks. This project definitely stretched the limits of my production abilities.”

The release of “Freedom To Go” coincided with the launch of Carma’s redesigned site, www.GoCarma.com. Listeners can download and stream the track for free via SoundCloud.