Watch Billy Corgan’s Trippy Cosmic Voyage in ‘Aeronaut’ Video
Billy Corgan journeys through a psychedelic cosmos in his new “Aeronaut” video, a 2-D preview of the singer-songwriter’s upcoming virtuality reality experience behind his latest solo LP, Ogilala.
The clip opens with the Smashing Pumpkins singer dressed in a brilliant white suit, playing the piano against a black backdrop. As the ballad builds with strings and vocal harmonies, the setting shifts to stars, mountains, streams and a cityscape highlighted by flashing lights.
San Francisco artist-filmmaker Danny Bittman conceptualized the virtual reality project, working with visual collaborators Viacom NEXT and Isobar. The creative team captured Corgan’s hologram performance in volumetric video at Microsoft’s Mixed Reality Capture Studios, using the Unity creation engine and Tilt Brush to design the digital landscapes.
The VR experience will be available to the public in early 2018. It was designed for room scale systems – initially Microsoft Mixed Reality headsets – with added versions for other systems to follow.
“Aeronaut” highlights Ogilala, Corgan’s first solo LP in over a decade (and first as William Patrick Corgan). The singer recently launched a brief solo acoustic tour, which concludes with a four-night stint – November 9th through the 12th – at L.A.’s Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.