RL Grime's Tour Visuals: NeRFs and Luma AI at Hammerstein Ballroom

On Friday, November 10th, artist RL Grime played at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. This was the 7th stop on his 14 stop tour. You might be wondering when this website became a concert reviewer. Well, today we’re not going to be focusing on what RL Grime played as much as what was playing behind him. NeRFs. Tons and tons of NeRFs.

It’s one thing to see the Magic Reveal effect from Luma on Twitter or Instagram, but it’s another altogether different experience seeing them on a 50 foot LED wall.

Seeing the NeRFs on a massive LED wall was exciting to say the least, captivating the audience with impossible camera movements and telling the story of the songs. It made me wonder if LED Walls go on sale for Black Friday, though alas, I don’t think Amazon Prime offers a Volume discount.

RL Grime closed his set with Pour your Heart Out, the music video which is entirely made up of NeRFs.

The man behind these visuals, filmmaker Jake Oleson, is no stranger to integrating technology and art. He has previously worked on music videos like Pour Your Heart Out and Zayn Malik’s recent single, Love Like This, both powered by Luma AI. For “Pour Your Heart Out”, Oleson used over 700 individual NeRFs, showcasing his dedication to detail and innovation.

There were also a series of NeRFs displayed that I had never seen before, synced up to RL Grime’s song, Borderline, featuring EMELINE. I didn’t notice it until I returned home, but the official audio video, is actually 100% NeRF and features the same characters that were shown. There is currently no official music video for Borderline, so it seems likely that the NeRFs shown are a sneak peek of an upcoming music video.

Oleson appears to have stepped up the ambition for these NeRFs, creating larger environments surrounding a bridge. From what I could tell, the story appears to revolve around a couple that gets into a fight (shown in the official audio video) and reconnect on an ethereal bridge, before deciding to go separate ways. The NeRFs that were shown were amazing, so I’m hoping the RL Grime team decides to release it, sooner than later.

As RL Grime continues his tour, audiences are in for a treat, not just musically but visually. The integration of NeRF technology in his concerts is not only a testament to the evolving landscape of live performances but also a beckoning of a new era where technology and art coalesce seamlessly. If you’re curious to witness this fusion of music and cutting-edge visual art, the tour concludes on November 24th in Ontario, CA.