IMAGINE A GIG where the venue walls melt
away to reveal a sci-fi universe of rush-
ing stars – or your favourite artist splits
into a cloud of pulsating pixels or grows
skyscraper-tall. LA-based digital studio
TheWaveVR is shifting the paradigms of
musical performance, proving that anything
imaginable can be built. Far more than a
concert playback in VR, the studio’s platform
enables musicians to design entire audio-
visual worlds that VR headset-wearing fans
can explore in their own homes. Like any real
space, these worlds include going to the bar
and socializing with like-minded gig-goers,
but untethered to the laws of physics.
‘You can empower visual creators to
develop a new type of experience that con-
veys a certain emotion based on the spatial,’
says Adam Arrigo, CEO and cofounder of
TheWaveVR. From zero-gravity raves to an
intimate party at Imogen Heap’s Essex home,
musicians have never had so much control
over the narrative, look and feel of their per-
formances. ‘Over the course of a Wave show,
the space itself can evolve, but you can also
end up in all kinds of aesthetics, from abstract
art to cell-shaded cartoon styles,’ he explains.
‘It’s an entirely new palette. Purely from an
access standpoint, it allows musicians to go
on tour virtually and sell concert tickets –
something important, given how hard it is
to make money in today’s music industry.’
VR, Arrigo believes, is going to change not
just how music is visualized, but also how
it is distributed and how we socialize while
listening to it. His ambition is for TheWaveVR
to own this digital concert ecosystem.
Formed by a group of self-defined
‘sci-fi nerds and musicians’, TheWaveVR
began three years ago as a side project for
sound and game designer Arrigo, VR devel-
oper Aaron Lemke, and their visual artist
and developer friends. Its first iteration was
a virtual reality DJ booth, where ravers were
offered something more than a simulated
clubbing experience. ‘On the drop, the DJ
could click a button and blast through outer
space or turn the whole club black and white
on a whim to evoke a film-noir aesthetic.’
Interest from high-profile musicians like
Skrillex led TheWaveVR to co-design VR
concerts, bringing in famed AV artists like
David Wexler (aka Strangeloop), the talent
behind Flying Lotus’s live visuals. Now the
25-strong team collaborates with hand-
picked musicians to showcase the platform’s
potential, but any artist can create and
upload a VR ‘Wave’ experience.From casual beginnings, TheWaveVR
has secured round after round of fund-
ing, including a phenomenal $6 million
investment last year. In many ways, it was
founded in a perfect storm of cultural shifts.
To start, younger generations now prize the
purchase of experiences over things, as long
as such experiences have an Instagram-
friendly aesthetic that helps them to signify
their music taste. Gaming is fashionable as
never before, and, as Luke Pearson dis-
cusses on page 164, there’s an appetite for
music in this space. What’s more, over the
past eight years EDM (a high-octane strain
of dance music with crunchy baselines and
soaring drops) has exploded onto the US
scene – a perfect fit for VR. ‘EDC [dance-
music festival] is a crazy Disneyland of
visuals, where hundreds and thousands of
dollars are spent making animatronic sculp-
tures using cutting-edge technology,’ says
Arrigo, ‘but putting a show in the hands of a
digital creative produces a much better and
cheaper experience.’ Not to mention a tour
with a smaller environmental footprint.
Something that distinguishes
TheWaveVR from other VR experiences –
and may be the key to a mainstream rollout in
the future – is the ability to socialize withinGlitch Mob’s VR experience ‘See Without
Eyes’ explores themes of isolation versus
social interaction.170 SHOWS