Daft Punk unleashes a series of unique AR experiences around the world
The ‘Daft Punk: Memories Unlocked’ campaign centres around the duo’s previously unheard track ‘Horizons’
Daft Punk have released what’s considered their “final goodbye” whilst celebrating the 10th anniversary of ‘Random Access Memories’. Collaborating with Snapchat, the duo have created ‘Daft Punk: Memories Unlocked’; a series of three unique augmented reality (AR) experiences.
All of these experiences centre around a previously hidden track, ‘Horizons’, which was an exclusive release in Japan back when the album was first released in 2013.
The track is a departure from their usual sound and features a sombre yet spine-chilling tone.
For the first experience, fans must use the Snapchat app to scan the iconic RAM album artwork. This then led to playing the previously unheard song while the duo’s iconic helmets floated in the air via AR, which fans could virtually wear as they listened along.
The second experience was the new Spotify Canvases added to existing songs, hidden with cryptic coordinates and the description “May 11th,10 AM”.
The coordinates led to different cities around the world such as Berlin, Buenos Aires, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Paris, São Paulo, Sydney and Tokyo. When the time came, fans flocked to the locations, launched the Daft Punk Snapchat Lens and were rewarded with unique graphics and moving visuals linked to the album.
Here is the clip from the Tokyo location! pic.twitter.com/m0WZDcsb7c
— Daft Punk Fandom🤖🤖 (@Daft_Wub) May 11, 2023
The final experience, ongoing until May 28, is a futuristic billboard campaign, where once again fans are asked to scan QR codes on billboards to enjoy the elusive track and interact with Daft Punk’s virtual gold and silver helmets. However, these billboards are only available to those in Berlin, Liverpool, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, New York, Paris and Sydney.
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Donatien Bozon, Director of Augmented Reality Studio at Snap Inc., mentioned in an official statement, “When we met with Daft Punk’s creative and management team earlier this year, we immediately saw their interest in augmented reality.”
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“This technology allows us to enrich the experience around a work of art and to create innovative and creative interactions between an artist and its audience,” he adds.
Listen to Daft Punk’s previously unheard track ‘Horizons’ below.
Henry Cooper is an Editorial Intern at Mixmag Asia. Follow him on Instagram.
