Deloitte Digital noticed that at SXSW Virtual Reality goggles and apps monopolized the future of interactive experiences and that the place for musical talent was strictly atop a stage. To differentiate, Deloitte Digital proposed a vision for the future that looks beyond a life tied to screens and reimagines music not as a static product, but as collaboration between artists and fans, a world in which technology reduces barriers between content creators and consumers.

Our challenge was to create a physical manifestation of Deloitte Digital’s vision that would capture the simple premise that interaction is what we as people do together, while showcasing how complex technology can actually serve as an enabler to true creative collaboration.

Noticing the blurring of SXSW interactive and music, we saw music as a universal connecting medium – but wanted to redefine what was possible with it, and redefine what a song is entirely.

Over two months the ARC was developed with Grammy-nominated artist André Anjos of RAC, who created a composition alongside a musical programmer, resulting in algorithms of a song that could not only evolve and change on its own, but also respond to the audience as they played one of the five instruments. The instruments were designed to be intuitive and tacitly approachable for musicians and non-musicians alike, begging to be pushed, pulled, rolled, and embraced. Unlike in a traditional band, the instruments didn’t play individual sounds like a bass or guitar, but rather influenced one another and the direction of the composition. There was no wrong way to control it, all results were beautiful and musically in key and on tempo.

Participants shaped the song in collaboration with others (including André) standing around the six-foot wide hearth-inspired centerpiece, under the visually reactive dome, and encircled by twenty spatially-mapped speakers.

The ARC far exceeded both Deloitte Digital’s expectations for public exposure and the public’s expectations of Deloitte’s creative and technical capabilities.

• 6,000+ SXSW attendees through the doors of Deloitte Digital’s activation

• 450+ million earned media impressions through major media outlets including FastCompany, MacWorld, and NPR.

• 18+ million social media impressions

• “Best Brand Experiences at SXSW Interactive” as named by CNBC

• Ignited a national conversation about the future of music through news articles including:

o “A New Way of Experiencing Music, Straight Out of Tron: Now at SXSW, Deloitte Digital’s ARC attempts to redefine what a music instrument is in the digital age.” – Fast Company 3/11

o “Their Songs, Your Way: the Rise of the Personalized Song” – Medium’s CuePoint 3/19

o “At the Deloitte Digital Interplay Lab, SXSW attendees can interact with music like never before” – ComputerWorld 3/12