PolyFauna
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Radiohead releases new music through PolyFauna app
This past February, Radiohead released their first iOS app, an experimental music and art project called PolyFauna. Using music from their King of Limbs recording session as the background for abstract and evolving visuals, the app was equal parts musical performance and art piece. Now Radiohead has released an update for Polyfauna, featuring brand new music and visual landscapes from the band. The app's "Whats New in Version 2.0" description simply reads "Entirely new" and they're not lying. Version 2.0 features an entirely new soundtrack by the band, one that will easily remind longtime fans of their ambient-minded album Kid A. The alien forests of the original app have been replaced with blossoming expanses of outer space, stars, and light. Players -- if you can call this app a game -- navigate the worlds by tilting their iOS device in various directions. The title intentionally leaves out any tutorials, so plug in your headphones for ideal sound quality and get ready to explore. You can listen to four previews of the new Radiohead music found within the app below, then head over to iTunes to download it for free.
PolyFauna for iOS is a trip into another dimension from Radiohead
We mentioned PolyFauna last week, and now I've had a chance to look and listen. This free app from the rock band Radiohead is a trippy portal to another dimension. You start up with a dark screen that gradually lightens and you see a sort of alien environment. Is that snow falling, or stars? Am I under water? What are those strange skeletal creatures floating by? You navigate by moving your screen in any direction. Every so often, a red orb appears. Intersect it, and you'll be transported elsewhere. You can draw on the screen and create some of your own "life forms." What's it all for? The app is an experimental collaboration between Radiohead and Universal Everything, a very creative U.K.-based design studio. The imagery and the sounds come from the song Bloom. You'll have to take it from there. I found the app compelling to explore, although I did get some people wondering what I was doing when tested it at lunch. The app is best with headphones, with directional effects and immersive sounds to go with the visuals. It's fun to explore, and the app fully utilizes the directional sensors provided by iOS hardware. PolyFauna is a universal app. It requires iOS 7.0 or later, and it's optimized for the iPhone 5. I've put some screen grabs in the gallery, but you will see different things as you explore more and more deeply into the bizarre world PolyFauna creates.
Radiohead's PolyFauna app will make you feel like a subterranean homesick alien
Radiohead has a new app for iOS and Android. It's called PolyFauna, and here's how Thom Yorke describes it: Your screen is the window into an evolving world. Move around to look around. You can follow the red dot. You can wear headphones.
