IBAND - LIFE IS GREATER THAN THE INTERNET

"Most bands need a van to drive their kit about, and indeed it is a common joke that drummers owning a van can join any band without an audition. Also, a band needs a place to rehearse that is sufficiently sound-proof to avoid irritating the neighbours.

"With our digital instruments we avoid both problems, by carrying our band around in our pockets, and by listening to our jam sessions on headphones. We can even write new material while sitting on the beach!"

Pocketsized music! Without doubt you are music lovers and gadgets fans. How about real instruments?

"Although we are skilled in a range of conventional musical instruments (Seb: drums, Marina: guitar, piano, flutes, and Roland bass and dulcimer – a traditional Austrian music instrument), we choose the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch to create our music. Using these devices, and third-party applications written by freelance programmers, we can emulate a range of musical instruments. We use this software as if we are playing real instruments, allowing us to create a new type of sound, and maximize on the portability of the host devices.

"Using the iPhone as a musical instrument isn't about getting a technically perfect song together. We could use any sort of synthesizer and full band equipment, with today's technology there are no limitations. But exactly the limitations are what creates a spirit.

"We consider music as being one of the greatest ways to communicate and to share something precious. It's like music being a language that can be understood by anyone, because it appeals directly to the feelings, to the heat, if you want."

You used several iPhone applications for the project. Which ones? Did you have to tweak them in order to use them or was it just a matter of 'installing' the software?

"We're using 2 iPhones and one iPod Touch. Those are connected to a mixing table which is connected to an HDV camera that we mounted so it would look down at our table from above. Another cable goes from the mixing table into a normal stereo hifi so we can hear what we play. So all we do is recorded and mixed live, except for the voice in our newest video which we added afterwards.

"As far as lighting goes we're using the crappiest, cheapest solution you can imagine. See the pictures on our website.

"At this moment the software we use is unofficial, third-party and can only be used on hacked iPhones. There are several methods for installing unofficial applications like the ones we use. However this process might void the warranty of the product; none of us had any problems with the third-party applications we use for making music so far, or to keep our iPhones working, for that matter.

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