On playing a virtual drum kit made of cheeseburgers

It’s a strange feeling, contemplating the future of music making while playing a drum set made of cheeseburgers.

But George Michael Brower‘s Playthings warrants discussion. The artist’s experience, created solely by Brower, drops you inside an awww-inspiring mini-game made of cartoon gummy bears, musical scales, jelly beans, synths, burgers, and snares.

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It’s disarmingly cute, evoking Lisa Frank, Willy Wonka, and Apple’s Garage Band all at once. But Playthings also goes a step further than you’d expect in facilitating music making. A row of hot dogs replicates a xylophone, the jelly beans are really chimes, a few cheeseburgers form a drum kit — and the kit is almost latency free; the moment I struck a large burger, virtual drum stick in hand, I heard the loud THUMP of a kick drum.

With a little more sophistication, Playthings could go a long way toward shaping the way we think about virtual instruments as VR evolves. It isn’t ready for a wider release yet, but Brower is demoing the experience across New York and is soliciting sign-ups from would-be users here.