Meet Stave, the Guitar Hero of the Lexus NX
The street is called Stave, an old airstrip lined with motion and audio sensitive lights and lasers, and the Lexus team built it for hip hop artist will.i.am – and, of course, to show off the Lexus NX.
Lexus filmed a spectacular video starring will.i.am in the NX, a live event with the video shot in a single night.
In the video, the musician, designer and innovator navigates his Lexus NX through Stave, essentially a huge music road built with lasers and lights, resulting in a new version of his song “#thatPOWER” featuring Justin Bieber.
Basically, it’s like a real-life Guitar Hero, but with a Lexus.
A team of sixty-five technicians worked for over seven days to build the rigging for the lights and motion sensitive lasers, designed by world-renowned light artists, Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF), who has previously worked with the likes of Coldplay and U2. MLF Creative Director, Barnaby Steel said: “Together with Lexus, we’ve created a huge musical game with three stunt drivers as the players and will.i.am as the conductor. Music is brought to life when the cars hit beams of light that are motion sensitive at the correct time and rhythm. It’s basically like a giant laser harp with cars instead of fingers. The challenge for will.i.am and the drivers was to navigate the light points on tempo. When they fell off beat and triggered notes off tempo, the system would have to restart.”
It was built and filmed on an old airstrip near Madrid, containing over 350 projected mapped motion and audio sensitive lasers and lights. will.i.am, along with three stunt drivers, including 2013 Blockbuster Rush frontman Niki Faulkner, battles against speed and rhythm to conduct and navigate a trio of striking Lexus NXs’, hitting the laser ‘targets’ at the correct tempo to synchronise with the summer hit. The system also responds to the singer’s voice.
Speaking about the video, will.i.am said: “Working with the stunt guys to hit the laser targets in time with the music wasn’t easy to get right but the result was awesome. The combination of technology, design and music in this project was out of this world.”
Alain Uyttenhoven, Head of Lexus Europe, added, “We’re projecting that the NX will represent one third of all Lexus sales across Europe this year, so it feels only right that we’ve created something as bold as this event with will.i.am – something that truly embodies our brand philosophy of Amazing in Motion!”
