Walking through the ins and outs of one of last year's best streaming events.
Words by Luis (@luis.hoa):
In a time where bands took to the web to perform on livestreams or present previously recorded shows, audiences had plenty to dive through while we remained at home throughout the quarantine period. For as accessible and enjoyable as some of these virtual shows proved to be, very few had the ability to hook audiences in a unique way that didn't feel as if you were watching another mere YouTube video of a past performance. TesseracT knew this very well and instead of following suit with the horde of other livestreams, they sought out to amaze and immerse through grandiose means. Enter P O R T A L S,
In December 2020, P O R T A L S arrived as an all-encompassing experience that bridged TesseracT's acclaimed discography with state of the art light and laser effects through a conceptual narrative that follows the band's growth throughout the years. Audiences were treated to over two hours of fan favorites and deep cuts, some of which have never been performed live, all while a central monolith remained at the core of the event. This monolith came courtesy of Portuguese designer Tiago Marinho, who depicted the symbol amidst different environments that changed as the band progressed through each chapter. It's simple yet effective at conveying the world of possibilities that lies through TesseracT's craft. On August 27th, the P O R T A L S experience will arrive in a variety of formats that allow for a full in-depth escapade of the progressive metal kind.
We sat down with TesseracT bassist and creative mastermind Amos Williams to break down the stimulating intricacies of the ambitious endeavor that is P O R T A L S:
Amos, ‘P O R T A L S’ is TesseracT’s most grandiose project yet and it all kicks off with Tiago Marinho’s cover artwork, which depicts a central monolith amidst a desert. You mention you met Tiago at a festival and some ideas started flowing. How did this collaboration come about?
Williams: It was one of those weird things where we were just on the same paths. We were in line. I’m really interested in not just art, but art that uses modern technology. Previously, in some of our artwork, I was trying to use 3-D technology that didn’t look 3-D. With ‘Altered States’ (2013), we found an artist called Ion Lucin who was doing some really cool stuff with this program called Maxon Cinema 4D. It was almost like he was creating art from natural paper. It looked very flat, but it had something lively about it, as if moving. I’ve always had that in my mind, that I enjoy working with artists that use 3-D graphics and things like that.
