Step Through
Red Gates is a multidisciplinary collaborative project combining an instrumental album by London-based electronic musician Hyetal, an original short story by journalist and author Tim Maughan, and visual work by R3N.
The project explores themes of sci-fi-like societal chaos, emerging wellness technologies, and contemporary corporate culture through a dreamlike first person narrative. Set against a cinematic electronic soundtrack, the story documents the visions induced by a near future VR meditation device when alpha-tested by its creator.
Designed for presentation across live performance, installation, and hybrid concert formats, Red Gates is a continuously developing project exploring the boundaries between sound, narrative, and image.
Red Gates has been performed as an immersive audio-visual show in venues worldwide..
Red Gates live performance at Eufònic Festival
Upcoming performances:
Previous performances:
For booking inquiries, contact: purelifelabel [at] gmail [dot] com
The music for Red Gates was composed by David Corney (Hyetal). Active for over 15 years, Hyetal has released multiple albums and EPs, with coverage in publications including The Guardian and Pitchfork. His work spans a range of electronic styles, incorporating elements of dance music, dream pop, and ambient, and often foregrounds cinematic textures and atmosphere.
Red Gates was released on Pure Life Records on 26 July 2024 in both physical and digital formats. A limited Special Edition included a printed version of the novella and a DVD of the full-length visual film alongside the vinyl release.
The album can be streamed or purchased here.
The visual component of Red Gates was produced by Mateo Vallejo (R3N), an award winning multidisciplinary artist working in computer graphics, creative coding, and immersive media.
R3N created the album length short film using real-time engines and graphics programming techniques. He has also performed the visuals live utilising his own bespoke software.
The visual version is available to watch in full here.
The text for Red Gates was written by author and journalist Tim Maughan. His work explores issues around cities, class, culture, technology and the future, and has appeared in publications including the BBC and New Scientist.
Written in a stream of consciousness micro-fiction style between poetry and prose, the story follows an individual experiencing the ‘ego death’ procedure.
A printed version of the novella, including full colour illustrations, was included in the Special Edition of Red Gates. A web version is available here.
Red Gates is designed for immersive gallery installations, adaptable to:
Single projection with surround sound
Immersive 360º projection
Virtual reality formats
Technical specifications and requirements are available in the tech rider. For inquiries regarding 360º or VR installations, please contact: purelifelabel [at] gmail [dot] com
David Corney (as Hyetal) - Music Composition, Sound Design, Co-Director
Mateo Vallejo (as R3N) - Visual Art, Graphics Programming, Editing, Website Design
Tim Maughan - Writer
Andrew Hillock - Producer, Co-Director
© Pure Life Records 2024
