Ahead of the release of their eighth studio album, Cracker Island, virtual band Gorillaz will host an augmented reality (AR) concert in New York and London in which the band members will appear as huge virtual avatars the size of skyscrapers.
Gorillaz Concert
The event will take place this weekend and will be accessible through the Gorillaz Presents app, available for free on iOS and Android.
The Grammy-winning group will perform their new single “Skinny Ape” in New York’s Times Square at 14:30 ET on December 17 and in Piccadilly Circus at 14:00 GMT on December 18.
The Great Leader presents Skinny Ape LIVE and immersive in New York and London! Have you downloaded the app yet… https://t.co/fsrc6XzTQQ
🇺🇸📍Times Square, Dec 17 2:30pm ET
🇬🇧📍Piccadilly Circus, Dec 18 2pm GMT pic.twitter.com/nwhreL9LyV— gorillaz (@gorillaz) December 14, 2022
The location-based augmented reality experience is powered by Google’s ARCore geospatial API, which allows developers to link digital content to real-world locations covered by Google Street View.
This augmented reality music event will combine virtual elements with reality, immersing viewers in a unique mixed reality experience.
Those lucky enough to be in New York or London this weekend can download the Gorillaz Presents app for free via the App Store and Google Play. After the “live” performance, you can watch the show on the app at your leisure.
Google has not yet released its augmented reality glasses, but the tech company is experimenting with the technology through mobile tools.
CNET reported that the virtual concert would use Google’s location-based augmented reality tool, which was unveiled at a conference earlier this year.
The tool relies on data from Google Maps and GPS coordinates to overlay persistent AR on the physical world.
Gorillaz’s AR music event will blend virtual features with the physical space, immersing audiences in an innovative mixed reality experience.
Virtual concerts are becoming increasingly popular as they do not require musicians to be geographically present at a specific location.
This simplifies concerts by saving time and other resources, plus virtual performances offer artists an inventive and immersive way to share their music with fans.
Gorillaz and mixed reality
Although metaverse technology, such as virtual reality and augmented reality, has been going mainstream in 2022, Gorillaz experimented with it as early as 2017.
The band launched its own mixed reality app to give fans an interactive tour of its estate. Even earlier, Gorillaz released an innovative 360-degree music video for their single “Saturnz Barz.”
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