Pearl Jam have previewed the latest single from their forthcoming album, Gigaton. To do so, they’ve tapped into the savage wilderness of modern tech culture by implementing an augmented reality experience to pair with the preview.
Not due for official release for another week, the track, titled Superblood Wolfmoon, requires listeners to point their phone at the moon to access the preview. Yeah, like some kind of werewolf transformation type deal. But with phones.
Pearl Jam preview new song Superblood Wolfmoon by implementing an augmented reality experience.
The band’s label, Republic Records, have collaborated with interactive production company Powster to develop the idea. To access it, fans require the Pearl Jam web app.
The preview began this week. Users aim the camera of their phones at the moon. Doing this triggers a series of animations to dance across the screen while a short audio clip of the upcoming single is played.
Who else found the #SuperBloodWolfMoon? Try it for yourself at https://t.co/MNGW3Kf92d https://t.co/qD8ZDvx5ab
— Pearl Jam (@PearlJam) February 13, 2020
Powster CEO, Ste Thompson, recently made a statement on the collaboration. “We’re honoured to be working with Pearl Jam to bring their music to life through technology blended with the elements of nature that inspired their tone.”
It isn’t the first time we have seen globally recognised bands utilise technology during the promotion of new music. Especially from older, longstanding artists. U2 infamously oversaw their album, Songs of Innocence, forcibly make its way onto the devices of millions of iTunes users in 2014.
Pearl Jam’s approach, while initially sounding a bit silly, represents a potential shifting of the tide in musical consumption. In a visually-dominated media landscape, the pairing of the album to visual production will perhaps become a much common occurrence. Ste Thompson spoke of his excitement around this possibility.
“Adapting to new technologies and integrating platforms unleashes the full potential of music, as well as changes the way fans experience new sounds and we are excited to be teaming up with Pearl Jam to provide their fans with this exclusive look at their style and artistic direction.”
