James Boag brings revolutionary Meteorphonium to Flemington for Melbourne Cup 2015 via OGB
Following its spectacular debut in Tasmania at the start of the month, the James Boag Meteorphonium will make the journey to Flemington this weekend to create the very first ‘Symphony of the Melbourne Cup Carnival ‘, on special request of the Victoria Racing Club through One Green Bean.
The revolutionary instrument – the only one in existence in the world – takes cues from its environment to self-play a stunning, ever-changing symphony. In an environment with such rapidly evolving meteorological conditions, the ‘Symphony of the Melbourne Cup Carnival 2015’ is expected to be dramatic.
The James Boag Meteorphonium converts live weather data into complex layered music; a realisation of the journey James Boag takes to refine natural ingredients from the rugged Tasmanian wilderness into its premium products. The resulting music will be completely unique not only to each race day, but each minute of the iconic racing event.
As the centre piece of the James Boag Birdcage Marquee, the Meteorphonium has been tweaked to incorporate the unique sounds of Flemington, which will combine with site-specific readings such as temperature, light and wind speed. Changes in luminosity, such as the sun appearing from behind a cloud, will strengthen the sound in complexity and volume.
In celebration of the Meteorphonium’s arrival, Carnival veterans and Flemington employees Les Taggart, Winners’ Bar Manager, Atrium Restaurant Supervisor Sally Bruten, and Keeper of the Roses Terry Freeman have reflected on the specific race-related sounds which evoke their memories of Flemington and Carnivals past: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld4mmhFTa60
VRC Chief Executive Simon Love said; “We are always looking for incredible new ways to excite and entertain race-goers during Melbourne Cup Carnival, and this ground-breaking innovation is unlike anything we’ve seen or heard before.”
The instrument, designed by BAFTA award-winning engineer Nick Ryan, will be placed within the James Boag marquee within the prestigious Birdcage area.
1.7meters in diameter, the Meteorphonium features nine bronze singing bowls and central tongue drum that will react to meteorological readings. Sounds recordings taken from Flemington – including clip-clopping hooves, starter gates, the thunder of horses on the track and the celebratory clinking of glasses – will create ambient noise outputs from the instrument’s quadrophonic speakers, creating a symphony unique to the location.
Says Jack Mesley, brand director, Lion: “The instrument was created to showcase the James Boag journey from rugged wilderness to one of the world’s most refined beers. We were honored to be invited to bring the instrument to Flemington, and create a completely new soundtrack for the racing and social event of the year.”
Client: Lion
Creative: One Green Bean
Production: Infinity2
Instrument design: Nick Ryan. Supported by Daniel Jones (software engineering), David Cranmer and Jakub Pollág (instrument engineering,)
With thanks to the Victoria Racing Club for venue and Terry Freeman, Sally Bruten and Les Taggart for appearing in the video
5 Comments
This will clearly help the decline in beer sales…..
Just because you can make it, doesn’t mean you should.
Boag’s has one of the great brand truths of all time – its made from the pure waters of Tasmania.
They would’ve been better off having Boag’s promo people handing out bottles of Boag’s Pure Tasmanian Water to those who were in danger of having one too many.
This is what you can see and hear when you stick your head far enough up your own clack.
And there’s a big green bean at the centre of it.
I’ll always salute an heroic failure, but this is just way too dopey. And, as the comment above says, it has nothing to do with the essential brand promise of the beer…which IS unique now that Cascade’s brewed in Queensland.
I wonder if the meteorphoneything also makes a buhbumm sound?
“You know what would really talk to me while I’m getting hammered at the races? Some raucous contraption that has nothing to do with the product truth, or even beer.”
How did this get through? Classic PR brainstorming idea that should have been ‘parked’ and never revisited.
This was meant to go out April 1, right?