Thomas Dolby will always be known for his early-'80s new-wave hit, "She Blinded Me With Science."
But it was his work with cell phone technology in the 1990s, specifically with the synthesizer software developed by his company Beatnik Inc., that had the larger impact on contemporary culture.
As Dolby tells it, the cell phone giant Nokia wanted polyphonic ringtones in its phones but didn't want to pony up the extra few bucks per unit it took to provide individual sound chips. Beatnik's software, which could be easily included in the phones for next to nothing, was just what the doctor ordered.
"We were the natural choice," said the 48-year-old in a phone interview last week from the Silicon Valley. "From there we adopted a business plan that lined up all the other cell phone makers to get them on board, too."
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Today, you can find Dolby's software in two-thirds of the world's cell phones. You can find the man himself playing a collection of old and new material tonight at the Rialto Theatre.
Dolby can't remember the last time he came through Tucson.
This may be his first visit.
According to an unofficial touring history found on his Web site, the closest the musician has ever come to town was a Phoenix stop back in 1988.
In fact, aside from a few special appearances in New York and San Francisco, he hasn't been on an official tour since 1992.
Dolby turned his back on music in the early '90s to enter the private technology sector.
"I was frustrated with the music industry," he said. "Beginning with the fact that physical distribution of pieces of plastic to a shopping mall is a tough thing to do and there were only half a dozen companies in the world that could do that. If you were a talented musician you had to conform to their way of doing things before the public got to decide. You'd write 10-12 songs, record them and then there was a period of two-three weeks where your music was the focus. If it didn't catch fire, it was back to the drawing board. Over a period of days you knew whether the last 18 months of work was for nothing."
He decided to return to the stage earlier this year after seeing the transformation of the Internet and computer technology in its response to music over the last decade.
"The first time I got on the Internet I realized a lot of my fans were just on the other end of this network," Dolby said. "I realized my music could be everywhere at the touch of a button. I couldn't wait for that to happen, but it seemed too far off. When I first left music, I thought I could be of more use consulting technology companies trying to accelerate their adoption of audio. With the MP3 explosion they started to take notes, but it was only really when Apple married hardware and software with the iPod that the tech industry really got the message.
"The old era of the record label is over."
Dolby's Tucson performance will include plenty of material, classic songs like "Science" and "Hyperactive!" mixed in with music created on the road with tour mate BT as well as tracks Dolby has created since his return to music.
Dolby said his new stuff will be available sometime in 2007 but wouldn't guarantee they'd come in CD form.
"I like the fact that I can do the first three songs and release them as only an EP on iTunes," he said. "The whole process is a lot more organic. Everything is so much broader now."
Thomas Dolby's company made ringtone software that's almost ubiquitous
With: BT.
When: Tonight at 8.
Where: The Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. An all-ages show.
Cost: $20 through the Rialto box office, 740-1000. More on Dolby at www.thomasdolby.com.
