Listen to Enclosure in advance via Sat-JF14, its own satellite!
An interorbital satellite named Sat-JF14 has been launched on Saturday. It’s connected to a tracking application for Android and iOS that will allow you to preview Enclosure a week before its official release when it orbits over your area. This was not done by any musician or a band before and, as we know, there has always been a connection between John and the cosmos; so this is very fitting.
The application will be active until the eve of Enclosure’s release and here you can read the press release, a tutorial on how to use it and watch a little video of its launch.
Official Press Release
On March 29th, 2014, at a remote High Desert location in California, former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante’s new album ENCLOSURE was loaded onto an experimental Cube Satellite called Sat-JF14 and launched into space aboard an Interorbital Systems’ NEPTUNE Modular Rocket.
Beginning today, March 31st, fans from around the world can download the free, custom-built Sat-JF14 mobile application developed by Frusciante’s longtime label Record Collection and leading Brazilian Creative Agency, Loducca. This app will enable users to track Sat-JF14’s movement in real time. When Sat-JF14 hovers over a users’ geographic region, ENCLOSURE will be unlocked, allowing users to listen to the album for free on any iOS or Android mobile phone. Sat – JF14 also supports an integrated social chat platform giving fans the ability to communicate with one another after listening to the music. The album preview will last until midnight on April 7th, at which point Sat-JF14 will cease transmission.
“This partnership with John Frusciante, Record Collection and Loducca represents a new chapter in our quest to further explore the cosmic relationship between science and art,†says Randa Milliron, Interorbital Systems co-founder and CEO. “ENCLOSURE is a musical masterpiece and we’re thrilled to be able to utilize our proprietary space technology to facilitate this unprecedented form of space-enhanced distribution.”
On April 8th, 2014, Record Collection will release ENCLOSURE, the 11th full-length album from John Frusciante
Here is how to use the application
Screenshots provided were taken on my LG Optimus L9 mark I phone using Android 4.0; but it should be working in a very similar way on most phones.
1. Download the application for your phone of choice from Sat-JF14 page, which contains direct link to the application page on Google Play and iTunes Store, so you won’t have to search (first picture).
If this is not working for you, access the store the way you would normally do when searching for applications and search for SAT-JF14 (second picture).
2. Click install to download the application to your phone.
3. Upon installing the application, navigate to its icon on your phone and click to open.
4. Enter your e-mail address or connect to your Facebook account, if you’re using the said social network. If you opt for the earlier, my tip to you is to use the e-mail address associated to your Gravatar.
5. Allow the application to locate your phone. For this purpose, make sure location tracking is on! The MAP tab, displayed during configuration process, will show you where Sat-JF14 is at the moment. Don’t be confused with how the map always starts zooming on Brazil, that’s where the app developers are from.
6. Use the ALBUM tab to stream the album once it’s available in your region. Don’t forget to press the play button. Depending on your device’s RAM, you might have to stop all the running processes or even restart before this tab shows you something more than the blank spacey background image.
If the satellite is not currently orbiting your region the INFO tab will be displayed instead, allowing you to read the basic information on the application as well as the related legal data.
7. Use the CHAT tab to talk to other fans. Newest chat messages will be on the bottom, so tap downwards to scroll down.
8. Use the SHARE tab to recommend the app to your friends via whatever social networking apps you have installed on your device.
9. Last, but not the least: providing that you’re super-awesome and that you respect the effort of everybody behind this unique concept; rate the app on iTunes or Google Play.
[clear]Q: But how will I know when the satellite is orbiting my region?
A little icon that looks similar to the icon of the app itself will be displayed in your device’s notification area and, if your sound is on, you’ll get a sound notification as well. Upon clicking on it, you will be promoted to connect to Sat-JF14.
This does not work on my tablet! / I can’t find it in the store!
The application appears not to be compatible with bigger devices. It is also not compatible with the BlueStacks emulator.
Also, there have been at least ten cases where it did not work on Android 2.3.6 (which is higher than the minimum requirement) and situations where it was refusing to install on Android 4.0. Feel free to leave a review and submit your question to the developers.
Help! Where are the chat mods/admins to help me?
There hasn’t been any during the first 24 hours. A couple of nice people, including yours truly, are responding to questions when they have the time. You can also ask in comments to this entry.
Video Documenting the Launch
News item on John’s official site
Technical data on the launch
Comments to this entry are moderated. We’re a part of something revolutionary and everybody spoiling the fun by hinting alternate sources will have their comment deleted.
