With the entire history of recorded music now at our fingertips, it may come as little surprise that global consumption of catalogue music has surpassed consumption of new releases in recent years. Artists of the 20th century are seeing continued resurgence via never ending streams of UGC and strategic positioning of existing IP. What’s clear is that how a song is experienced matters more than when a song was recorded. Finding new ways for audiences to experience their favourite artist, album, or song has the potential to create considerable value for existing fans and new listeners alike.

Inspired by old photographs and demo recordings of The Beatles, this project seeks to explore how we can leverage existing IP to develop entirely new worlds for audiences to experience. While we’re all familiar with the album recording of Yellow Submarine, it’s a little known fact that there are three versions of the song; a demo by Lennon, a demo by McCartney, and the album recording that is an amalgamation of the two. John’s demo, while rough around the edges, sees the songwriter reflecting on the town he used to call home, while crafting the melody to one of the band’s most iconic numbers.

By utilising archive footage of the band in Liverpool from around the time of recording, we were able to imagine the city as John would have known it. Hand crafted graphics allowed us to explore the textural qualities of the song, while themes of reflection, memory, and longing led us to structure the scene as if you were looking out from submarine. The idea was taken to its logical conclusion as an immersive experience, where audiences could step inside the mind of the songwriter to hear the song anew, and experience the place he used to call home.