Park Studios, Tutzing, southern Germany. Carla Vallet stands in the 145 m2 recording studio alone and with her eyes closed. “Streets of tomorrow, so many ways to go”: as soon as she starts singing, silence falls in the adjoining production rooms. “Even when I heard her for the first time, her voice moved me in a very special way”, says music producer Leslie Mandoki. “I knew that I could stop looking.” The end of a search which began with a song and a car. Carla Vallet is the face and voice of “Streets of Tomorrow” and thus the face and voice of the song for the new Audi Q7. The Q7 is Audi’s first SUV and it will be celebrating its world premiere at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt on 12 September. It’s also a world premiere for Carla Vallet and “Streets of Tomorrow”, the car’s song. But it was a long time in the making.

June 2005, Park Studios, Tutzing. Leslie Mandoki took up the challenge of writing “a unique song for a unique car” in his office with views onto Lake Starnberg. The producer’s first action was to examine his collection of business cards in order to utilise his contacts: major composers and musicians around the globe. The world is a village – this is especially true in the music business. The industry is like a large family, where everybody knows everybody else. No-one had to be asked twice. A short time later, anyone who was anyone in music convened at the sound studio to the south of Munich: composers, producers, sound engineers and sound technicians: 27 specialists from all over the world – the widest possible bandwidth of musical talent assembled in one location. “The direction we wanted it to go in was clear to us relatively early on”, remembers Ralph Weyler, Member of the Board of Management, Sales and Marketing. “We wanted the song to perfectly mirror the Audi brand and, of course, the Q7.” Not an easy task. But the individual pieces of the puzzle came together during two weeks of exhausting work with 20 musicians. “We came to “Streets of Tomorrow” almost automatically”, says Mandoki and laughs. “It’s simply that the song has the typical Audi sound.” The sound has a lot to do with electronics: electronic parts alternate with sections with much drumming. The complex sound design reflects progressiveness and innovation, values also embodied by the Audi Q7. The fact that Audi is also forging a new path with the Q7 is expressed in the lyrics as well. Everyone involved in the project was immediately convinced that “Streets of Tomorrow” was the right choice in every respect. “To lead and not to follow”, say the words. “Our very own requirement exactly”, says Stephan Grühsem, Head of Communication at Audi.
At last the song was complete – but who was to sing it? “We wanted a female newcomer to sing the song”, explains Grühsem. “After all, at Audi we want to set trends ourselves.” However, a suitable newcomer still had to be found. Applications had to be sieved out, photos studied and demo tapes listened to. People with dealings with artists had to be contacted. “We had a clear image of our singer in our minds”, recalls Ralph Weyler. “We found her in Carla Vallet.” No-one was better suited to sing the Q7 song that Carla with her velvet soul sound. Recording of the Q7 song was ready to begin.

July 2005, Studio 1, Red Rock Productions, Tutzing, south of Munich. Recording in the studio is into its third day. Three days with no time for sleep. From 10.00 a.m. until two in the morning. It’s hard work getting everything perfect, and it all requires everyone’s utmost concentration. Again and again, Carla stands in the large recording studio and sings the lyrics. “When I sing, I imagine myself sitting in the Q7 and driving along new roads”, she says. Next door, in the 80 m2 control room, which is fitted with analogue and digital high-end outboard equipment, sit Leslie Mandoki and a number of sound engineers in front of a giant mixing console, recording the song, their eyes on the singer. Even after days and countless recordings, Carla’s voice still gives the professionals shivers down the spine. “She has a unique voice with a high recognition factor”, says Leslie Mandoki enthusiastically. After three days and many hours of work in the studio, the song is just as it should be: suitable for the new Audi Q7.

August, 2005, a warehouse in Lenting near Ingolstadt. Carla is standing in a darkened hall in an island of light under the beam of three massive spotlights. Loud mood music throbs from the speakers. Behind Carla is the Audi Q7, its silver paintwork and her glittering top trying to outshine one another. She leans seductively against a side door; the photographer is enthralled, and takes picture after picture. Carla’s unique look and her charismatic personality perfectly match the sporty, powerful car.
Audi has once again proven its position as a trendsetter with Carla Vallet. Like no-one else, the attractive singer embodies the spirit of “Streets of Tomorrow” and the Q7. This cosmopolitan artist comes from a family of musicians: her French father is a jazz musician, her American mother a singer. Carla was born in Spain, has lived in France and studied in New York. A teacher of French and Spanish, she even speaks Japanese as well as English. She moved to Japan with her mother and spent seven years there, completing her studies. Music has always been part of her life. “I couldn’t live without music”, says Carla with feeling. And this is not something she will have to do, as until the world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show she will be accompanying the Q7 song “Streets of Tomorrow”. And things will really take off then, that’s one thing that Audi personnel and Leslie Mandoki and his team at Red Rock Productions are sure about. “Carla Vallet will be a star”, they all agree. And Carla? She says nothing, giving the photographer her brightest smile.

September 2005, International Motor Show, Frankfurt. On 12 September, Carla Vallet is again in the spotlight. At the Audi stand she sings her song live in front of an audience for the first time. As she launches into the first couple of bars, everyone falls silent: “Streets of tomorrow, so many ways to go.” Carla and the Audi Q7 have just one way to go: upwards.