In Pursuit Of Repetitive Beats

"In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats" is a one-hour interactive VR experience that drops you into the acid house rave scene of 1989. You're chasing down an illegal all-night warehouse party, caught between promoters, pirate radio, the police and the crowd, as the music and the moment build around you. Directed by Darren Emerson, produced by East City Films.
It has won awards at IDFA, the VR Awards and Adelaide Fringe, and toured to festivals and venues across the world.

Documentary

Interactive

LBE

Now Showing

Room Scale

Upcoming Shows
In Pursuit of Repetitive Beats has no upcoming dates.
Future UK and international exhibitions are in development.
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“It’s hard to comprehend you haven’t traveled in time.”

The Guardian

You don’t watch Beats, you’re in it. Room-scale VR puts you on your feet and inside the night: the car, the motorway service station, the rave. It moves through the people who made the era, promoters, police, pirate radio stations and rave-goers, and the relationships that drove a cultural shift.

The soundtrack carries it. Orbital’s “Chime” and Joey Beltram’s “Energy Flash” play through a meticulously built world, with haptics you feel as much as hear. One hour, fully interactive, designed to land somewhere between a memory and the real thing.

"One person left moved to tears. Others came out buzzing ready to pick up the phone and get some old mates back together."

- NME

Awards
DocLab Award for Immersive Non-Fiction, IDFA, 2022
Location-Based VR Entertainment of the Year, VR Awards, 2023
Anidox: VR Award, Viborg Animation Festival, 2023
Best Film & Digital: Interactive, Adelaide Fringe, 2024

Press

"The immersive nature of VR makes it feel almost like a real-life experience."
The Guardian
"You’ll dance, you’ll fly, and you’ll maybe even cry a little."
The List
"For anyone yet to experience VR it marks the perfect introduction."
Why Now
"With the experience being so crammed with contextual detail, it’s hard to comprehend that you haven’t traveled in time."
Mixmag

BBC Breakfast

BBC Click

BBC Radio 4

BBC Breakfast

BBC South East

BBC 5 Live

Accessibility

Accessibility was built in from the start, not bolted on. The experience offers a seated version for wheelchair users, subtitles, haptics, access packs, VR explainers, scene descriptions and touch tours for d/Deaf audiences. Working with Woojer, haptic vests bring the sound and the rhythm into the body, opening the piece up to deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors.

Background

Beats was originally funded by the BFI and Coventry City of Culture Trust, and premiered at Coventry UK City of Culture to sold-out audiences. Since then it has toured internationally, including the BFI London Film Festival, SXSW, IDFA in Amsterdam and the Phi Centre in Montreal. Its UK tour was supported by Arts Council England and the BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Fund.

Join us on this unforgettable journey into the heart of rave culture.

Behind The Scenes

Credits

Written & Directed by

Darren Emerson

Produced by

Ashley Cowan & Dan Tucker

Executive Producers for East City Films

Ashley Cowan, Darren Emerson & Dan Tucker

Executive Producer for BFI

Kristin Irving

Executive Producer for CCCT

Tony Guillan

In Pursuit Of Repetitive Beats

"One person left moved to tears. Others came out buzzing ready to pick up the phone and get some old mates back together."

Press

"The immersive nature of VR makes it feel almost like a real-life experience."

"You’ll dance, you’ll fly, and you’ll maybe even cry a little."

"For anyone yet to experience VR it marks the perfect introduction."

"With the experience being so crammed with contextual detail, it’s hard to comprehend that you haven’t traveled in time."

Accessibility

Background

Behind The Scenes

Credits

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