Viral Twitter account @ringtonebangers selects the hottest mobile melodies worthy of the Ringtone Hall of Fame
Long before cellular advancement turned phones into pocket-sized supercomputers, there was the standard feature phone – now, commonly referred to as a ‘dumb phone’. Made up of fiddly press buttons and simple call-text functions, each block would come with its very own preinstalled set of ringtones – high-frequency sounds made up of short, ear-catching melodies designed to grab your immediate attention.
Technology has accelerated at breakneck speed since then, but these sounds are instantly recognisable, etched into our brains through relentless exposure. Take Nokia’s “Grande Valse”, for example, a simple composition, originally written by composer Francisco Tárrega in 1902, and later adopted by the Finnish company as the now-infamous Nokia Tune. In 2009, it was estimated that the ringtone was heard 1.8 billion times per day at 20,000 times per second, while a slow guitar version composed by Brian Eno was released in 2005.
Usually, these ringtones would be inspired by the sounds of the era. When you look at a lot of the stock ringtones from the early noughties, for example, you can see the influence of trance, R&B, or nu metal. There’s hints of videogame music too: “Many of these ringtone composers were inspired by video game music themselves, as I'm pretty sure many of them grew up playing them,” explains @ringtonebangers.
The viral Twitter account curates the hottest mobile melodies from past to present. With nearly 50k followers, it scours the depths of the web for the next jingle to make it into the ‘Ringtone Hall of Fame’. Two bangers are posted daily, which are then divided into ‘hardest bangers’ (ringtones that have at least 1k likes), ‘underrated bangers’, and miscellaneous. Each ringtone is then archived on a Google Doc, making the account perhaps the most extensive collection of mobile music out there.
Title: unknown
— Ringtone Bangers (@ringtonebangers) January 3, 2021
Original title: GA_hardtek_16
Model: Motorola W205
(this ringtone(?) seems to be unused) pic.twitter.com/90PZcgWo3q
But what exactly makes a ringtone banger? According to @fusoxide, the anonymous user behind the account, it boils down to listenability: is it a decent tune, or just another generic beep-boop made solely to grab your attention? “It must have substance and be enjoyable to the point you want to listen to it several times,” explains @fusoxide. “The vast amount of stock ringtones honestly aren’t bangers for this reason. While many of them are functional and work in context, would you really expect people to listen to old telephone rings on their own?”
“I try to avoid posting ringtones that feature overused chord progressions, are very simplistic, or are just unsatisfying and forgettable,” they add. ”I try to pick stuff that is similar to the music people actually listen to, as I have to sell the idea of ringtones being genuine bangers, and for many years a lot of people have overlooked this.”
Below, @ringtonebangers selects eight highlights.
Title: Sound_23
— Ringtone Bangers (@ringtonebangers) October 24, 2020
Model: LG KG240 pic.twitter.com/tIAV4p69ds
LG KG240, SOUND_23
“I love this one. It's very clever, combining a drum n bass beat with an emotional melody and chord progression, very reminiscent of K/J-pop and anime music.”
Title: Dance Loop
— Ringtone Bangers (@ringtonebangers) October 13, 2020
Model: Motorola C332
Arranger (possibly composer?): Keith Manners pic.twitter.com/iDowNa0bgb
MOTOROLA C332, DANCE LOOP
“This one is very intriguing. Not only does it have some smooth chords, it uses a 7/8 time signature, very uncommon for a medium like ringtones. Doesn't seem like much of a dance loop, though.”
Title: Momentum
— Ringtone Bangers (@ringtonebangers) April 26, 2021
Model: Nokia N92
Arranger: Hannu af Ursin (@hannuafursin) pic.twitter.com/OcABRNQ69Y
NOKIA N92, MOMENTUM
“A certified banger... with momentum. The original MIDI version was great albeit repetitive, while this audio version adds more substance. I love the chords and chopped up vocal effects in particular. Hannu af Ursin is very underrated.”
Title: MA Sound Demo035 / MA035
— Ringtone Bangers (@ringtonebangers) March 30, 2021
Source: Yamaha SMAF website pic.twitter.com/ZVZSKvpBcw
YAMAHA SMAF, MA SOUND DEMO035
“This came from a set of tips pages on the old Yamaha SMAF website, and the composer went really hard with these. Similar to Vanilla Sky, it has a lot of emotion to it, so no wonder this one was much loved.”
Title: Dance Party
— Ringtone Bangers (@ringtonebangers) November 11, 2020
Model: Samsung Galaxy S6 pic.twitter.com/Plmt5CkYmr
SAMSUNG GALAXY S6, DANCE PARTY
“Probably one of the best ringtones that has appeared on a (relatively) modern phone, makes you want to get up and dance. The Galaxy S6 does a good job at hosting a dance party.”
Title: Tunnels
— Ringtone Bangers (@ringtonebangers) October 19, 2020
Source: Windows Mobile Ring Tone Pack 2
Composer: Benjamin Bethurum (@Bethurum) pic.twitter.com/Vw95SDIput
WINDOWS MOBILE, TUNNELS
”I love this one. Although some might view this one as a bit generic, to me it gives off a slightly futuristic/optimistic vibe that I love, particularly the synths. I suppose it would fit well with walking in tunnels in a modern town/city.”
Title: Final Lap
— Ringtone Bangers (@ringtonebangers) February 10, 2021
Model: Kyocera DuraXV LTE pic.twitter.com/Go7CM7hKP6
KYOCERA DURAXV LTE, FINAL LAP
”A very fitting title, as this was clearly inspired by jazz fusion from Japanese racing games. I love the chords, along with the change in rhythm and chords in the second part.”
Title: Irised
— Ringtone Bangers (@ringtonebangers) May 24, 2021
Model: Alcatel OT-808
Year: 2010 pic.twitter.com/SQ2FJ6FCCj
ALCATEL OT-808, IRISED
”This goes hard. It's a garage banger, and I love some of the spacey sounding synths – and as always, the chords are great.”