“Phantasmagoria” by Icky Blossoms

Icky Blossom’s Nik Fackler explained the motivation behind the video:

“We had been interested in VR since it started re-emerging as a thing and purchased an oculus rift specifically to start exploring what a new music video experience could be like.  We really wanted to experiment and  began looking for developers, when we randomly ran into this young guy, Eli, working on a 360 game at a coffee shop.  It was one of those stars align moments and we immediately introduced ourselves and told him about our ideas.  We had already been thinking of music video concepts for Phantasmagoria and thought a VR collaboration would be the perfect way to create a new music video as well as explore the new medium.  We wrote out an outline and concept and pitched it to Eli who seemed willing to take on the challenge of bringing the idea of “a kid having an out of body experience in his bedroom” to life.  We learned a lot with this video/experience and are now even more excited to see what the next steps in this technology will bring.  For now, the best way to view the video is with a VR headset through steam, but you can also watch the 360 youtube stream and use a google cardboard if you have one.”

Dave Carney, on behalf of the video creators 2DArray:

“Normally, Eli and I work exclusively on games. We started out making free experimental flash games that people seemed to enjoy,  and now we’re delving into virtual reality with Observatory: A VR Variety Pack. When we met Icky Blossoms and heard their plans for a hallucinogenic VR music video, we knew we’d found the missing piece for the pack. There aren’t a lot of VR music videos (or VR anything) out there right now because it takes too much time and money to produce content for it, so we saw this as a unique opportunity to be among the first exploring this new space. It turns out making games and making VR stereoscopic videos share a lot of the same qualities and challenges. To really kick it into high gear, we got the help of surrealist glitch artist Alex Myers to establish our trippy art direction.”

Hailing from Omaha, Nebraska, the three members of Icky Blossoms – Sarah Bohling (vocals/synth), Nik Fackler (lead guitar/vocals) and Derek Pressnall (guitar/vocals – also of Tilly and the Wall)

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