In times of pandemic, many have picked up old hobbies. Maybe a guitar thats gathered dust, or crafts. However – other than these two, not many can say they’ve taken the time during quarantine to start a virtual band!
Who is Brimtone?
This is a tricky question, because with this “Virtual Band” there are two sides. The characters that make up the band in the virtual space are avatars, or animated characters meant to represent internet personas. A good example of a virtual band, one that a lot of people into alternative hip hop know, are the Gorillaz. A band of four virtual avatars that go on wacky adventures during music videos.
The characters in Brimtone are “Seto Shoji” (Left), and “Kaneko Himari” (right) – both of which are demons sent to earth to cause chaos with their music.
“Seto” describes their music during rehearsal as “chaos within the bounds of control – or similar to pop/rock metal.”
How does a Virtual Band Work?
What makes Brimtone special is their music will all be performed via livestream. Instead of animating the models beforehand and uploading the videos, they use a special software called PrPrLive. This uses a webcam to track facial movements which will then animate the model to mirror these expressions accordingly.
The Challenges of Being a Virtual Band
Despite how easy they make it seem, starting a virtual band is a lot of hard work. Rigging the models after they are drawn can take a long time, the first one taking a week and a half! Of course the PrPrLive software also needs to be configured, and rehearsal time is doubled due to challenges like Internet issues, faulty hardware, and (like live performance bands) performance blunders.
Seto also comments saying “Marketing becomes a different beast, as instead of renting out venues you must carve out your own little space on the Internet. Which – is still appealing – because your reach is farther than just the location and area around a venue in real life. Just need to get the word out correctly.”
When is the Debut?
Given they are setting up, their big debut is planned for mid-April. They will be streaming live on Youtube, and will have Reddit/Twitter feeds configured for the fans. They’re still working on a website to keep all this information together, and plan to use the Oak Hill Multimedia Lab for both rehearsal and a broadcasting location.
