Client_03 - who's behind this warpy VR electro mystery?

A cryptic VR-Electro project from an unknown entity. Can you crack the code? Kristian-Birch Hurst did.

Date published: 13th Jun 2019

On 10th June 2019, a Twitter profile named ‘Client_03’ suddenly burst into activity following a dormancy of over two years. A series of statements, soundbites and even an interactive video - flexing YouTube’s new VR feature - have emerged, leaning on themes of hactivism, systemic control and misinformation. 

Is this the beginning of the end, Terminator’s SkyNet IRL? Or an elaborate preview to an upcoming VR integrated music project? Let’s look at the clues...

In following the Client_03 account, the user is presented with two options sent via private message: to begin or end dialogue. Attached is an image that reads “Rejection and confidence exchange”. If (like most) your curiosity gets the better of you, a cryptic discussion will unfold with the curious entity.   

Characterised as a smart machine or AI respondent, Client_03 will present a series of riddles and clues, each one supported by more images of ambiguous statements. Play ball long enough, tick the right ‘criteria’, and you’ll be rewarded. The prize: a warpy Electro track dubbed "Prosperity Stream Divider” - not-so-coincidentally the name of one of the text plaques emblazoned across the social media accounts. 

The VR video, pinned to the top of the Twitter account, reveals more too. Phone users are able to view the digitally rendered environment in 360 degrees. Moving along a seemingly infinite conveyor belt under white marble archways. An expressionless voice echoes alarming truths as you drift into the blue void: “The system contains all the elements to passively accept control. With correct presentation, control feels like comfort”, it says; “Distribute false information. Create social division and fill the space with noise…”. 

Cue electro teaser...

But just who (or what) is behind this intriguing project? Digging deeper the social profiles do reveal some speculative answers. DnB/Bass stalwarts like Moresounds, Fixate, and the Client’s very first follower Fracture have shared much of the recent content. Label Astrophonica and many of its collaborators have also been jumping in on the fun. 

And this wouldn’t be the first time these artists have banded together either. In 2016 dBridge revealed the Richie Brains project; a collective incorporating many of the same producers releasing tunes on the revered Exit Records.  

Whether this is the work of one or a collective venture is yet unclear. Either way the mysterious project marks a furore into exciting new territories. Playing on the cyborg-esque tropes of the Electro genre, coupled with new tech experimentation, blows the potential scope wide open. The clear political criticism - questioning the nature of freedom and independent thought - indicative of the disillusion felt by many in the current news and media landscape. 

As VR quickly shifts from science fiction to commercial trend an exciting new frontier is opening up for artists to express themselves. A space beyond current infrastructure where possibilities are theoretically infinite - limited only by our imagination.

To follow more compelling weirdness as it develops head over to the Client_03 Twitter, Soundcloud, Instagram and Facebook accounts. Throw yourself down the rabbit hole, and see if you pass the test…