LCD Soundsystem has teamed up with the Amsterdam-based design studios Puckey and Moniker as well as with Google’s data arts team to produce a kind of abstract, interactive music video for their latest single “Tonite.” “Dance Tonite,” as the piece is called, lets owners of high-end VR headsets dance to the single’s music, capturing their motions and then broadcasting them to anyone visiting the projects’ website with their computer, phone or Daydream VR headset.
It’s a fun idea that’s hard to put in words, which is why Google produced a video to show what “Dance Tonite” is all about:
“The uncanniness of the ‘Dance Tonite’ experience is super entertaining and weird, and I really enjoy it. I didn’t expect to enjoy it,” said LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy. “I like the simplicity of it.”
“Dance Tonite” uses WebVR, a technology that makes it possible to develop VR experiences for the web, where they can be consumed with any browser. Anyone visiting the experience’s website with a capable device can switch to VR mode, and enjoy it as a spectator or even participant.
“We wanted to see if we could treat a VR device as a tool for self-expression and ‘Dance Tonite’ fits perfectly within a series of participative interactive music videos which we’ve directed over the years,” said project creator Jonathan Puckey. “Taking a piece of music like LCD Soundsystem’s ‘Tonite’ as a starting point can act as the perfect scaffold to create something within.”
