Sweden’s Way Out West festival is hoping to nurture a new generation of fans – literally – as it launches an “IVF stage” where live recordings from its headliners will be broadcast to sperm and eggs in a clinic.
Way Out West will take place in Gothenburg from 8-10 August this year, and will also host sets from Fred again…, Chase & Status, Peggy Gou and many more. There will also be a special show dedicated to the music of the late MF DOOM from Yasiin Bey.
As reported by DJ Mag, the “world’s smallest, fully-functional stage” has been designed in collaboration with Love Hultén, and will play sets from some of its biggest acts. Cleverly named as the Future Fan Stage, it will be located off-site at Eliva IVF clinic in Stockholm, and has been created in response to studies that suggest music can improve IVF success rates.
On its official website, Way Out West says of the new stage, “To stay relevant, new fans are crucial. New generations of fans are vital for keeping both artists and music festivals alive and kicking. This year, we ’ve added an additional stage to help create future fans of great music by ‘injecting’ live recordings by the headlining artists into their DNA at the earliest stage possible – before they even develop into foetuses.”
It adds, “In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a medical procedure that involves joining a woman’s egg and a man’s sperm in a laboratory dish. It helps millions get pregnant every year. Recent studies show that music improves the fertilisation rate during an IVF process.
“So, in collaboration with renowned designer Love Hultén, we’ve created a unique, fully functional stage that will play live recordings from Way Out West’s headlining artists for what might be the largest, yet smallest crowd in history: Sperm and eggs getting ‘ready to rumble’ in laboratory.”
Find out more in the video below:
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