So I went to a Miike Snow concert this past Thursday. Now, while I highly enjoyed the music and the concert atmosphere (but for the people standing in front of me who somehow brought sacks of confetti that they frequently tossed into the air and into my face), I was actually most struck by the visual composition of the show. The producers had combined a series of light effects with a fog machine to create an amazing, ghostly backdrop for the band.
(I did not take my own pictures, so I will have to giddyup on google to rustle up images that sort of illustrate what I mean)
I was fascinated by the interplay between the fog's organic forms, and the straight, dynamic beams of line that coursed through them. Often the musicians were silhouetted against the halo of light, lending the performance an eerie, ethereal flavor.
I am always impressed by performers (or their publicity teams) who succeed in creating a unified brand. Miike Snow's music is itself a little haunting, and their live shows preserve that same ambience. The stage was flooded shades of blue, white, and gold, echoing the hues in their promotional images.
Check out their myspace also: how slick is that?
I believe Design is inherently commercial. Artists and designers are separate entities because of the different career paths they choose, though naturally the two may overlap. But given my definition of Design, clever integrated marketing and unity of brand strikes me much more than a design without a patron. Design is at its best when it is working to accurately and flatteringly represent a client. An entity gains dimension when all its components resonate to the same theme. For a musician, coordinating sound and sight gives performance a new fullness of experience.
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