Take A Trip to Outer Space for Unrated, a New Virtual Concert

Continuing innovations for the live music industry in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic has led us all the way to outer space, even if only virtually.

Unrated, a two-day virtual music festival hosted by Mumbai’s production company Transhuman Collective, will take place on a specifically designed space station (TransSpace, a platform created by the firm for brands) on July 18th and 19th. The free-to-watch livestream event will host three hours of music each day, featuring electronic music producers such as Ash Roy, Calm Chor, OX7GEN, Vinayak^a, The Helium Project and Zokhuma spinning DJ sets via 3D avatars, plus sound-reactive visuals, lights, lasers and pyros.

Taking place as a fundraiser with a “mission statement” to raise ₹10 lakh for PPE kits to equip healthcare workers in India, Transhuman Collective’s co-founder Soham Sarcar says they began thinking about an event right around when COVID-19 reached pandemic status. It caused global lockdowns and effectively has put a long pause on live events. “These conversations eventually turned into actions with the news of the rise in medical health workers falling prey to COVID-19 during the month of May 2020.” Building on real-time 3D technology, augmented reality, holographic and projection mapping, Sarcar says his team was “extremely confident” in delivering this experience.

Transhuman Collective co-founder Soham Sarcar (right) and TransSpace co-founder Sidhraj Shah. Photos: Courtesy of Transhuman Collective

The timing of the event also turned out to be serendipitous for Mumbai-based drum and bass producer OX7GEN, who was finishing up an EP that was centered around a narrative of space exploration. His set at Unrated will feature an exclusive peek at the five-track EP, which he’s keeping under wraps at the moment. “It’s going to be animated versions of us at a sort of console like space, playing a DJ set,” he says. The one-hour set will include the EP and more material that go into “similari-ish zones.” He adds, “It’s still very different from what I usually do. I wanted to keep it cohesive with the sound of the EP as well.”

Calm Chor, for his part, adds in a statement, “I’m really looking forward to this event and I can’t wait to perform in my 3D avatar in the virtual space station! I have been in touch with the team and from what I have seen it’s a really engaging experience. I’m preparing something to match the visual content with space age and sci-fi sounds!”

Unrated will be streamed live on YouTube, Twitch, Vimeo. Contribute to their COVID-19 campaign here.