We’ve long been fans of Yeasayer‘s colorful visual aesthetic (to say nothing of their totally dance-worthy tunes). The band certainly knows how to complement their unique brand of psychedelic pop, enlisting friends like Radical Friend to create delightfully bizarre music videos filled with laser beams and holograms, and Yoshi Sodeoka, who’s been crafting a series of trippy music videos to accompany songs off their latest album. For their live show, they approached The Creators Project to help them create an immersive, artistic experience of light and color.We enlisted the help of software art pioneer Casey Reas to do something he never has—conceive the stage design and visuals. Taking inspiration from laboratory outposts, research stations and communications hubs, Reas envisioned a fractured time-space environment that utilizes the visual phenomena of reflection and refraction to create warped and glitchy tour visuals that collapse the physical environment of the stage in on itself. The design features several elements that include light beacons resembling signal towers, mirrored sculptures and projections that will combine with the music to compose a sublimely orchestrated audiovisual spectacle.Architecture and design firm Aranda\Lasch, who have designed for MoMA and the Venice Architecture Biennials, designed the crystalline mirrored sculptures that will serve as the canvas for Sodeoka’s Yeasayer videos and custom visuals developed by Reas and Aaron Meyers (who was part of the technical team behind Chris Milk’s epic installation, Treachery of Sanctuary). Meyers also created custom software that will allow Yeasayer to control video manipulations of the projections on stage, in synch with their performance, as well as a motion capture app that will map and warp the band member’s faces during the show. Architectural fabricators Asteriskos helped bring the ambitious tour environment to life.The elaborate set will tour with Yeasayer through all of their fall tour dates. Our behind-the-scenes video with Keating (above) gives you a first glimpse at what you can expect from the visual spectacle, as well as insight into Keating’s artistic vision for the set.We’ve also managed to snag a few exclusive pics below:Photos courtesy Asteriskos.
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