Live From The Metaverse, One Maltese Band Will Pioneer The Performing Arts Through Uncharted Territory
Two-man band Spooky Monkey will lead Malta’s music industry through uncharted territory by performing a concert from the metaverse itself.
Veteran musicians Alex Spiteri Gingell and Michael Quinton are set to take music-lovers on a literal out-of-world experience on 10th June, where together they will be playing a 30-minute setlist from a virtual realm.
Lovin Malta sat with Alex, who was pretty hyped about the prospect of mixing it up in the metaverse.
“We’ll be performing five brand new tracks,” he said, “with a backdrop of different words projected through a green screen.”
“There will be five different worlds, changing according to the song.”
A first for Malta, the initiative was made real following a proposal to the Malta Arts Council to study how technology can be used to help those in the performing arts amid the dent left by COVID-19.
At the event, viewers will be given access to the performance through a YouTube Live link. They can follow the show live from the metaverse, but even through their mobile phones in the absence of the VR headsets.
It won’t be a first for the enterprising duo, them having performed a test event in front of 20 university students on 19th May.
Part of the project, as a pilot venture, is data collection. On the day, the band will be dishing out questionnaires to get viewers to talk about their experiences. All part of a recon operation to help aspiring artists follow suit in the near future.
The whole initiative begs the question, is a performance in the metaverse better than one done live? The answer may not be so straightforward.
True, you won’t be able to crowd surf or have a beer with your friends whilst your favourite band trashes the stage, but there again, you can’t watch your band play from atop a volcano either.
Formed in 1998 Spooky Monkey came onto the Maltese music scene with a blast with their first performance at the YMCA music festival in 1999. Their eclectic electronic sound fused with other traditional instruments changed over the years exploring many different styles of music.
The core of the band the duo Dr Zicotron (Alex) and The Rusty Cowboy (Michael) worked with many other musicians during their memorable live performances which were renowned for their theatrical madness, colour, and the mysterious monkey that gave out bananas to raving audiences.
Now funded by the Malta Arts Council under the Digital Research and Development Fund, and in collaboration with Culture Venture, Mad About Video, and the MAKS Department for Digital Art at the University of Malta, we may be witnessing history in the making.
Metaverse concert right up your alley? You can follow the event right here.