ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Thomas Dolby - Electronic music pioneer
Thomas Dolby has spent his career at the intersection of music and technology. He was an early star on MTV, then moved to Silicon Valley, then went back on the road with his album, "A Map of the Floating City."

Why you should listen

Perhaps best known for blinding us with science, Thomas Dolby has always blurred the lines between composition and invention. As a London teenager, Tom Robertson was fascinated with the convergence of music and technology. His experiments with an assortment of keyboards, synthesizers and cassette players led his friends to dub him “Dolby.” That same fascination later drove him to become an electronic musician and multimedia artist whose groundbreaking work fused music with computer technology and video. Two decades, several film scores, five Grammy nominations and countless live-layered sound loops later, it's clear Dolby's innovations have changed the sound of popular music.

In the 1990s, Dolby re-created himself as a digital-musical entrepreneur, founding Beatnik, which developed the polyphonic ringtone software used in more than half a billion cell phones. From 2001 to 2012, Dolby served as TED's Music Director, programming great music for the TED stage, assembling a wide variety of house bands and collaborations to play between speakers. At TED2010, backed by the string quarter Ethel, he premiered the song "Love Is a Loaded Pistol," from his sweeping, A Map of the Floating City. The album marked his return to recording and touring after a 15-year hiatus, and used seriously retro technology -- '40s-era oscilloscopes and Royal Navy field-test equipment -- to control modern synthesizers, in shows at once nostalgic and cutting edge.

In 2014, Dolby took on a new name: professor. He was named the Homewood Professor of the Arts at Johns Hopkins University, teaching the course "Sound on Film."

More profile about the speaker
Thomas Dolby | Speaker | TED.com
Ethel - String quartet
Ethel is, perhaps, the first 21st-century realization of the classical string quartet.

Why you should listen

An all-star foursome, Ethel includes performers Cornelius Dufallo (violin), Ralph Farris (viola), Dorothy Lawson (cello), and Mary Rowell (violin), a mixed bag of players from classical, rock and downtown new-music circles. The powerhouse ensemble takes an unconventional approach to performance.

Says the Wall Street Journal, "Ethel ... created a world in which classical music had never grown distant, a world in which it was as fresh and direct as crowds dancing in the street."

(photo by Steve J. Sherman)

More profile about the speaker
Ethel | Speaker | TED.com
TED2010

Thomas Dolby: "Love Is a Loaded Pistol"

Thomas Dolby: "O amor é uma pistol carregada"

Filmed:
618,579 views

Para o lançamento do seu primeiro álbum em décadas, o inovador musical Thomas Dolby tem composto música num barco salva-vidas restaurado, fonte da sua enorme inspiração. Aqui, ele estreia uma bela canção deste álbum — sobre uma noite com uma lenda. É acompanhado por Ethel, membro do quarteto de cordas modernas.
- Electronic music pioneer
Thomas Dolby has spent his career at the intersection of music and technology. He was an early star on MTV, then moved to Silicon Valley, then went back on the road with his album, "A Map of the Floating City." Full bio - String quartet
Ethel is, perhaps, the first 21st-century realization of the classical string quartet. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:21
I've been playingjogando TEDTED for nearlypor pouco a decadedécada,
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Eu tenho vindo a tocar no TED
há quase uma década
00:24
and I've very rarelyraramente playedreproduziu
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e raramente toquei
00:27
any newNovo songsmúsicas of my ownpróprio.
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músicas novas da minha autoria.
00:30
And that was largelylargamente because there weren'tnão foram any.
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Isso aconteceu, em grande parte,
porque não havia nenhuma.
00:33
(LaughterRiso)
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(Risos)
00:35
So I've been busyocupado with a couplecasal of projectsprojetos,
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Tenho estado ocupado com alguns projetos.
00:37
and one of them was this:
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Um deles era este:
00:39
The NutmegNoz-moscada.
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O Nutmeg,
00:41
A 1930s ship'sdo navio lifeboatsalva-vidas,
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um barco salva-vida dos anos 30,
00:43
whichqual I've been restoringrestaurando in the gardenjardim
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que eu tenho andado a restaurar
00:45
of my beachde praia housecasa in EnglandInglaterra.
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no jardim da minha casa de praia,
em Inglaterra.
00:47
And, so now,
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Portanto, agora,
00:49
when the polarpolar icegelo capscápsulas meltderreter,
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quando as calotas polares derreterem,
00:52
my recordinggravação studioestúdio will risesubir up like an arkArca,
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o meu estúdio de gravação
erguer-se-á como uma arca,
00:56
and I'll floatcarro alegórico off into the drownedafogou-se worldmundo
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e eu vou flutuar no mundo afogado
00:58
like a characterpersonagem from a J.G. BallardBallard novelromance.
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como uma personagem
de um romance de J.G. Ballard.
01:01
DuringDurante the day,
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Durante o dia,
01:03
the NutmegNoz-moscada collectscoleta energyenergia
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o Nutmeg recolhe energia
01:05
from solarsolar panelspainéis on the roofcobertura of the wheelhousecasa do leme,
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a partir de painéis solares
no teto da sala de navegação
01:08
and from a 450 wattWatt turbineturbina
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e de uma turbina de 450 watts
01:10
up the mastmastro.
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no topo do mastro.
01:12
So that when it getsobtém darkSombrio,
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Portanto, quando escurece,
01:14
I've got plentyabundância of powerpoder.
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eu tenho muita energia,
01:16
And I can lightluz up the NutmegNoz-moscada like a beaconfarol.
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e posso iluminar o Nutmeg como um farol.
01:19
And so I go in there untilaté the earlycedo hourshoras of the morningmanhã,
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Fico lá até de manhã cedo
01:22
and I work on newNovo songsmúsicas.
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e trabalho em novas canções.
01:25
I'd like to playToque to you guys,
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Eu gostaria de tocar para vocês,
01:27
if you're willingdisposto to be the first audiencepúblico to hearouvir it.
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se estiverem dispostos
a ser os primeiros a ouvir.
01:29
(ApplauseAplausos)
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(Aplausos)
01:35
It's about BillieBillie HolidayFérias.
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É sobre Billie Holiday.
01:37
And it appearsaparece that,
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Parece que,
01:39
some night in 1947
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numa certa noite em 1947,
01:42
she left her physicalfisica spaceespaço
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ela deixou o seu espaço físico
01:45
and was missingausência de all night,
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e desapareceu a noite toda,
01:47
untilaté she reappearedreapareceu in the morningmanhã.
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até reaparecer de manhã.
01:50
But I know where she was.
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Mas eu sei onde ela estava.
01:52
She was with me on my lifeboatsalva-vidas.
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Ela estava comigo no meu salva-vidas.
01:55
And she was hotquente.
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E estava "quente".
02:00
(MusicMúsica)
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(Música)
02:27
BillieBillie creptrastejou softlysuavemente
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♫ Billie esgueirou-se sorrateiramente
02:30
♫ into my wakingacordando armsbraços
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♫ entre os meus braços despertos,
02:34
warmcaloroso like a sipgole of sourazedo masherva-benta
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♫ quente como um gole de papa azeda.
02:40
StrangeEstranho fruitfruta for ♫
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♫ Estranha, fértil
02:43
♫ a sweetdoce hunkHunk of trashLixo
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♫ um doce pedaço de lixo.
02:51
PanicPânico at the stageetapa doorporta
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♫ Pânico na porta do palco
02:54
♫ of CarnegieCarnegie HallHall
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♫ de Carnegie Hall
02:58
♫ "FamousFamosos JazzJazz SingerCantor GoneSe foi AWOLSEM PERMISSÃO" ♫
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♫ "Famosa cantora de 'jazz'
ausentou-se sem permissão"
03:05
MustDeve have left the buildingconstrução
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♫ Deve ter deixado o prédio,
03:09
bodycorpo and soulalma
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♫ de corpo e alma.
03:16
♫ On a creakyChia
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♫ Num banco de piano a ranger esta noite.
03:19
pianopiano stooltamborete tonightesta noite
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03:22
♫ as the moonlua is my ♫
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♫ Porque a lua é a minha
03:24
♫ only witnesstestemunha
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♫ única testemunha.
03:29
♫ She was breathingrespiração
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♫ Ela estava a respirar,
03:32
♫ in my earorelha
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♫ no meu ouvido.
03:35
♫ "This time it's love" ♫
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♫ "Desta vez é amor".
03:42
♫ But love is a loadedcarregado pistolpistola
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♫ Mas o amor é uma pistola carregada
03:46
♫ By daybreakAlvorada she's gonefoi
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♫ Ao amanhecer, foi-se embora.
03:50
♫ Over the frozencongeladas riverrio, home ♫
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♫ Sobre o rio congelado, para casa.
03:56
♫ Me and JohnnyJohnny WalkerWalker
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♫ Eu e o Johnny Walker
03:59
♫ See in the newNovo ageera
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♫ vimos a nova era sozinhos.
04:02
alonesozinho
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04:08
StayEstadia with me ♫
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♫ Fica comigo
04:11
♫ again tonightesta noite
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♫ novamente esta noite.
04:14
BillieBillie, time, ♫
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♫ Billie, o tempo,
04:16
♫ time is a wilyastuto trickstertrapaceiro
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♫ o tempo é um enganador astuto.
04:21
♫ Still an echoeco
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♫ Mesmo assim,
♫ um eco no meu coração diz:
04:24
♫ in my heartcoração saysdiz, ♫
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04:27
♫ "This time it's love" ♫
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♫ "Desta vez é amor".
04:40
(ApplauseAplausos)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by João Gonçalo
Reviewed by Margarida Ferreira

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Thomas Dolby - Electronic music pioneer
Thomas Dolby has spent his career at the intersection of music and technology. He was an early star on MTV, then moved to Silicon Valley, then went back on the road with his album, "A Map of the Floating City."

Why you should listen

Perhaps best known for blinding us with science, Thomas Dolby has always blurred the lines between composition and invention. As a London teenager, Tom Robertson was fascinated with the convergence of music and technology. His experiments with an assortment of keyboards, synthesizers and cassette players led his friends to dub him “Dolby.” That same fascination later drove him to become an electronic musician and multimedia artist whose groundbreaking work fused music with computer technology and video. Two decades, several film scores, five Grammy nominations and countless live-layered sound loops later, it's clear Dolby's innovations have changed the sound of popular music.

In the 1990s, Dolby re-created himself as a digital-musical entrepreneur, founding Beatnik, which developed the polyphonic ringtone software used in more than half a billion cell phones. From 2001 to 2012, Dolby served as TED's Music Director, programming great music for the TED stage, assembling a wide variety of house bands and collaborations to play between speakers. At TED2010, backed by the string quarter Ethel, he premiered the song "Love Is a Loaded Pistol," from his sweeping, A Map of the Floating City. The album marked his return to recording and touring after a 15-year hiatus, and used seriously retro technology -- '40s-era oscilloscopes and Royal Navy field-test equipment -- to control modern synthesizers, in shows at once nostalgic and cutting edge.

In 2014, Dolby took on a new name: professor. He was named the Homewood Professor of the Arts at Johns Hopkins University, teaching the course "Sound on Film."

More profile about the speaker
Thomas Dolby | Speaker | TED.com
Ethel - String quartet
Ethel is, perhaps, the first 21st-century realization of the classical string quartet.

Why you should listen

An all-star foursome, Ethel includes performers Cornelius Dufallo (violin), Ralph Farris (viola), Dorothy Lawson (cello), and Mary Rowell (violin), a mixed bag of players from classical, rock and downtown new-music circles. The powerhouse ensemble takes an unconventional approach to performance.

Says the Wall Street Journal, "Ethel ... created a world in which classical music had never grown distant, a world in which it was as fresh and direct as crowds dancing in the street."

(photo by Steve J. Sherman)

More profile about the speaker
Ethel | Speaker | TED.com