INTERVIEW

Interview: iBand - High Tech Music In Your Pocket

Written by Seraphina Lotkhamnga
Published March 06, 2008

At the top of their official website they proclaim, “Although skilled in a range of conventional musical instruments, we chose the iPhone and iPod Touch to create our music.” That’s right. Technology has been taken on a whole different level when the members of iBand decided to combine their love of music and modern gadgets.

 The Creation of iBand 

iBand is composed of three creative minds who are all in their mid-twenties. There is Marina who plays the piano and provides the vocals. Roger plays the bass and guitar. Then there’s Seb who plays the drums. Of course, these musical instruments are all formatted versions of iPhone and iPod Touch applications.

When I asked iBand how long ago they had decided to become this unusual but unique band, their answer was, “We’ve had the thought of making a band that uses the iPhone’s potential for some months now.” Their idea became a reality when programmers Mark Terry released “iAno” in mid-February, which is a piano for the iPhone, and when Shinya Kasatani released “PocketGuitar,” which one can guess is the guitar for the iPhone.

iBand Fans From Around The World  

Originally, for their first “jam session,” they added on the Nintendo DS for rhythm. This video, which was posted on YouTube a few days after the band’s formation, has now attracted more than 2 million viewers since February 17th, 2008. When I asked what song they were playing, I was informed it was just all improvisation. Since their first video, they have now also experimented with the iPhoneSynth and the BeatPhone.

Gaining popularity for their pocket sized musicianship; iBand decided it was a good idea to launch an official website. This website allows fans to read updates as well as watch new “jam sessions.” The site also includes pictures of the process of composition, recording, and set-ups. Although they have been asked to put ads after their videos, they inform site visitors that they prefer donations.

page 1 | 2
Seraphina is just a girl in her twenties trying to make it... She is a fan of post-its, last.fm, books, and daydreaming. Seraphina also writes about music and entertainment for LA's CityZine and The Deli as well as San Diego's TheMagazine.
Keep reading for information and comments on this article, and add some feedback of your own!
Interview: iBand - High Tech Music In Your Pocket
Published: March 06, 2008
Type: Interview
Section: Music
Filed Under: Sci/Tech: Programming, Sci/Tech: Personal Tech, Music: Original, Music: News
Writer: Seraphina Lotkhamnga
Seraphina Lotkhamnga's BC Writer page
Seraphina Lotkhamnga's personal site
Spread the Word
Like this article?
Email this
Submit to del.icio.us Save to del.icio.us
RSS Feeds
All RSS Feeds (240+)
Comments on this article
BC articles by Seraphina Lotkhamnga
Sci/Tech: Programming
Sci/Tech: Personal Tech
Music: Original
Music: News
All Music Articles
Seraphina Lotkhamnga's personal weblog
All Interview articles
All BC articles
All BC Comments

Comments

Want comments emailed to you? No spam, promise! Address:

Add your comment, speak your mind

(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/74532)

Personal attacks are not allowed. Please read our comment policy.





Remember Name/URL?

Please preview your comment!

Fresh
Articles
Fresh
Comments