Here Come the Abbatars
1. A Voyage Back in Time with ABBA
ABBA is returning for a virtual concert in London. Or rather, ABBA’s avatars are returning. Hundreds of motion-capture cameras were used over several weeks to gather data from the four band members. But these aren’t 3D holograms. The avatars perform on a 2D high-res screen with an array of lighting effects and projections alongside a live 10-piece band.
In the works since 2016, the concert features ground-breaking new technology that recreates the experience of seeing Abba in their 1970s prime, playing hits like “SOS,” “Voulez-Vous” and “Lay All Your Love On Me.”
2. GQ Drops into Discord
The way that we are thinking about it is we are throwing a party, GQ is the host, Discord is the venue and you are invited. It kept coming from the audience: they really deeply care about GQ writers, editors and photographers, and getting to know them and getting to understand the process. - Joel Pavelski
As yet another sign of Discord’s growing relevance in the mainstream, GQ is one the of the first publications to open a Discord server — the first move in what could become the new normal for fashion and lifestyle magazines trying to forge a daily connection with the coveted sneakerhead/streetwear community.
The Discord, called GQ3, will have channels that promote celebrity fashion and showcase daily outfit “fit checks”. The first 1,000 members to join will get an “OG” role, granting first dibs on future drops and giveaways and have an opportunity to connect their crypto wallets, often a precursor of future NFT drops.
3. Immersive Art Goes Permanent in London
Kandinsky, Monet, Cezanne, Klimt, and Rembrandt. These are some of the artists whose work will be displayed at Frameless, the U.K.’s largest immersive art project. A multi-sensory and interactive installation, Frameless uses 4K projection technology capable of high-definition imaging. Oh, and the installation is 30,000 square feet. The mammoth new space is modeled on earlier projects like Paris’ L’Atelier des Lumières and Borderless in Tokyo.
4. Epic Games Exec Tim Sweeney + the Fight for the Soul of the Metaverse
Fortnite’s parent company Epic Games is fighting tech giants Apple and Google over the future of the metaverse. Tim Sweeney expressed his concerns that Apple and Google could unfairly extend their dominance on smartphone platforms to control all commerce taking place in AR and VR spaces. An interesting conversation to keep an eye on as Web3 matures and the decentralized Internet faces pressures to become more like its corporatized predecessors. Read the interview for a deeper look.
5. Ghosts of the Deep
Anonymous Content is partnering with director/producer Phil Gelatt to create a sci-fi adventure game called “Ghosts of the Deep”. (Gelatt just made “Love, Death, and Robots” with Netflix.) GOTD is set to be a unique production that is fully backed by the NFT holders of the project, rather than a small group of Hollywood producers. This will be a good case-study for combining big-name producers/creators with a democratized fanbase that’s involved throughout a project’s development.
…And In Case You Missed It