Amon Tobin ISAM 2.0: Exclusive Behind the Scenes Video of Landmark Live Show

Posted on Sep 12th 2012 3:56PM by Theo Bark
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Joseph Llanes

Following his mind-bending ISAM live tour in 2011, veteran electronic music producer Amon Tobin has returned with the ISAM Live 2.0 tour, which launched in Seattle, Wash. on Sept. 1, and will continue to tour North America for over a month, culminating in Los Angeles on Oct. 12.

"The first time 'round I just wanted to see if the show would work," Tobin tells Spinner. "Technically and conceptually we were all trying things that hadn't been done before. Now it's time to push the boat out and see how far we can take it all."

To construct the live experience, design groups V-Squared, Leviathan, and Vita Motus, alongside Tobin, created an incredible set, enhanced by real-time projection mapping, audio-reactive graphics, a 3D camera feed and much more.

For an idea of what the tour offers, check out a behind-the-scenes clip of the video used during the ISAM performance of Tobin's "Wooden Toy" below, featuring "what may very well be the first 3D mapping done using physical sets."

Watch Amon Tobin: Wooden Toy

"We saw an opportunity in 'Wooden Toy' to create a stark contrast to the visual intensity established in the rest of the ISAM show by our friends at Vsquared Labs," Leviathan tells us.
"The narrative leading into the track is that Amon has been thrown into space and has entered a dream state, therefore anything could happen at this point. We came up with this idea of Amon's head floating in a mason jar and experiencing a short tale told by way of a very abstract notion of puppet theater."

The ISAM 2.0 tour features updated an ISAM construction, including audio and visual enhancements and content from Tobin's beat-oriented Two Fingers alias, whose sophomore album hits shelves on Oct. 2.

"It's crazy to me that such an uncompromising musical and visual experiment got the attention that it has," Tobin says of the overwhelmingly positive reception the ISAM tour received. "Everyone involved, myself included, is in it to push their own creative boundaries first and foremost, so to have it reach as far as it has is an unexpected bonus."

While the project appears to have been incredibly time-consuming to design and execute, the crew at Leviathan explain that they viewed ISAM as an opportunity to "get their hands dirty" and create a new paradigm for live concert experience.

"Traditionally, our company produces high-end visual effects and 3D animation. This was a chance to get away from the the computer and get our hands dirty. To push the limit on crazy ideas, and to build some great artwork," a rep from the design group explains.

"It was a celebration of breaking away from the established idea of how electronic music is typically visualized in live settings. That, coupled with ISAM's already over-the-top visual presentation, and Amon Tobin's incredible music sets a new bar for what the live concert experience has in store."

Click here to view Amon Tobin's ISAM 2.0 tour dates.

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