While artists like Lane 8 are politely asking us to put our phones away while we’re in the clubs, others are exploring innovative new ways of turning our compulsive device usage around by encouraging a more social aspect. This was showcased in style at Lowlands Festival in the Netherlands over the weekend, with the debut of the Smartphone Orchestra.
The performance saw thousands of attendees coming together to create a composition inspired by the methodologies of minimal music, with the ringtones and notification beeps used as key compositional elements, and the crowd’s phones synchronized in harmony.
‘We wanted to reverse the operation of the device, and use it to get people to come together and share a wonderful experience,” organizer Steye Hallema told the BlackBook blog .
“We are very proud that we were able to achieve something on this scale at the Netherlands’ most pioneering pop festival. It was an experience that I, in any case, will not quickly forget.”
Watch the world premiere of the Smartphone Orchestra below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53G5f3TPOcE]
