“Apple leaked it”: Flying Lotus reveals he created two iPhone ringtones
The producer posted on Twitter that he made the ringtones ‘Daybreak’ and ‘Chalet’
LA-based producer and DJ Flying Lotus has confirmed that he made two ringtones for Apple's iPhone, ‘Daybreak’ and ‘Chalet’.
He revealed the news following the latest episode of Twenty Thousand Hertz on Apple Music, where host Dallas Taylor discusses the “sound of Apple” through the years.
The podcast dissects Apple’s notification tones, Apple Watch sounds, and iPhone ringtones, revealing along the way that two of them had been made by Flying Lotus, real name Steven D. Bingley-Ellison.
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Roughly a month later, on August 21, Bingley-Ellison took to Twitter to corroborate: “Apple leaked it so I can say it. I wrote some ringtones that have been in ur iPhone since iOS13. ‘Daybreak’ + ‘Chalet'”.
The ringtones, both of which have a floaty, ethereal feel typical of Flying Lotus' production style, were released in 2019 for iOS13 iPhone, and have been free to use on all subsequent models ever since. Listen to them both below.
Apple software update iOs13 first became available in September 2019, landing with new features including Dark Mode and updated Photos and Notes apps.
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In the same podcast episode, the Apple design team discuss the "philosophy and process" behind some of their most recognisable ringtones including the 'Tritone' alert, as well as the origins of the Apple Watch sounds.
Apple leaked it so I can say it. I wrote some ringtones that have been in ur iPhone since ios13. ‘Daybreak’ +‘Chalet’ https://t.co/HHReqvxUgf
— FLYLO (@flyinglotus) August 21, 2024
"Over the last few decades, Apple has produced some of the most recognizable sounds ever made. In this episode, the Apple design team pulls back the curtain on their sound design philosophy and process," reads the episode's description.
A creative polymath at heart, Flying Lotus has composed music for film and television shows including Netflix's Yasuke and the 2018 sci-fi thriller Perfect, along with his own productions, the body horror anthology Kuso (2017), and science-fiction film science-fiction film Ash, released in 2019.
Listen to The Sound of Apple 1.0 here.
Meena Sears is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Instagram
