Ferrari team up with JBL to create new 'Journey of Sounds' experience

This week at the Cavern Club in Liverpool a unique musical experience began, driven by some of the biggest names in the music business and inspired by the places which gave life to the Beatles.

The experience journeys from the Beatles’ birthplace to the city that hosted the Fab Four’s early performances in Europe, stopping along the way for a lunch in Warwickshire and a visit to Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason’s Rendcomb garage to view his legendary Ferrari collection.

The “Journey of Sounds” consists of a series of events, both live (in Liverpool and Hamburg) and in the studio, performed by a a cross-section of established and up-and-coming artists whose music spans different generations and genres.

Mason’s 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 “Daytona” Competizione was on show at Monday’s performance, tying in nicely with the Fab Four theme – great sound mixed with one of the most recognisable sights (on the road).

Mason’s Ferrari Daytona Competizione is an ex-Ecurie Francorchamps car which finished eighth overall at Le Mans in 1972, when it was driven by Derek Bell, Teddy Pilette and Richard Bond. Nick also used to own a road version of the Daytona, which he drove when Pink Floyd were recording their album ‘The Wall’ back in the 70s.

But what’s the real connection between Ferrari and the Beatles?

Well first of all both George Harrison and John Lennon were among the marque’s most famous owners, with Harrison’s Dino originally planned to star in this week’s concert at the Cavern Club – a place where the band performed 292 times.

“Journey of Sounds” is a joint initiative between HARMAN and Ferrari, whose JBL sound systems have been fitted to Ferrari sports cars since 2008, but the idea for the ‘Journey of Sound’ arose by chance – when HARMAN sound engineers were designing the new JBL sound system for the Ferrari FF – ‘Ferrari Four’ made them think of the ‘Fab Four’ and hence the idea was born.

Since their partnership began, HARMAN has delivered over 50,000 systems, equipping all of today’s Ferraris including the 458 (Italia and Spider), F12berlinetta, FF and California.

The system fitted in the FF is something special though.

As standard, Ferrari fit a high-end stereo together with a 640 watt 9-channel amp, but this can be upgraded to the 1280-watt JBL Professional Class-D high-performance amplifier with a total of 15 speakers plus QuantumLogic Surround Sound. This transforms any stereo or multi-channel audio source into a 7.1 channel surround sound experience.

The connection between HARMAN and the Beatles is even closer than Ferrari’s tautological segue. More than 45 years ago, HARMAN’s Studer studio equipment recorded the Beatles legendary Sgt Pepper album, which no doubt was played in Harrison’s Dino at one time.

Mason together with renowned record producer Steve Levine have created a unique fusion of musical generations, composing new tracks and developing something completely original.

They’ve brought together BRIT award winner Kate Nash with her edgy, punk and indie rock-influenced sound, Canadian rock singers Jonas & The Massive Attraction, British indie newcomer and singer, songwriter and guitarist Natalie McCool, the gravelly blues voice of British singer and songwriter Jamie N Commons, who’ll be presenting his unique, modern-gothic, 21st century version of the blues and the German indie-pop band Wilhelm Tell Me.

They’ll be performing a mix of Beatles songs together with material of their own, bringing to life new and original pieces of music. There will also be a recording at London’s AIR Lyndhurst Studios, founded by the Fab Four’s producer George Martin.

You can follow the journey by visiting blog.journey-of-sound.com, where there’s more about the artists, the venues and Mason’s stunning car collection.

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Images and video: Nick Bailey (Propel Technology), Jesse Morgan and Ben Pichelmann from Filter 5 Productions.