In a cruel twist of events that saw Hydeout cancel what would have been its inaugural festival in Singapore in 2020 with headliners like Martin Garrix and DJ Snake billed, the organiser behind the music festival has made an incredible virtual shift to launch Hydeout: The Prelude. 

Hydeout: The Prelude is not your everyday online music streaming festival as we know it. I’m struggling to describe it as there’s so much going on in this unique digital experience that bridges the virtual and physical. The music platform is filled with sets from artists - called episodes – and also has games, live chats, and even a virtual avatar with customisable rave outfits. Hydeout has taken everything we’ve missed about festivals and turned into an online extravaganza that we can enjoy from the comforts of our home.

Divided into episodes, new artist recordings are released every week from now until 27 March. With performances from DJ Snake, Rita Ora and Tokyo Machine already up for viewing, there are still many DJs and artists across various genres lined up for the coming weeks. Expect Sullivan King, Kill The Noise, Bohan Phoenix, Mercer, Mark Sixma, Dombresky, TOKiMONSTA, The Kid Laroi, G-Eazy and more to release exclusive episodes. Monstercat and STMPED Records will also be running their own label takeovers. But instead of having to tune it at pre-determined timings, I loved how I can just log-on and select a DJ that fits my mood at any point of time without having to choose one DJ over another. And if you need a toilet break, just hit that pause button so you don’t miss any of the incredible visuals.

While the platform is hard to discover new music and stages after experiencing Tomorrowland’s interactive virtual map, there’s a lot to explore after you get past the clunky-ness of the online homeground. The magic truly begins when you click on an episode. With three stages and countless secret locations inspired by and recorded in real world locations, the episodes brings you to three virtual worlds – HydeCity, HydeIsland, and HydeEscape – with 20 different stages between them. Effortlessly segueing in between music, artists comments and director’s cuts, a live set borders on pseudo-documentary feels as the DJs share more about themselves and their inspirations as they bring extraordinary sets to your screen.

In the spirit of inclusiveness, there’s a ‘Pay-As-You-Go’ pass for those who would like a preview of the festival. Each free account allows you limited access to the content, but you’ll still have access to all the features. The ‘Season Pass’ at $49.90 gives you unlimited access to all content, where you can stream the episodes as much as you want. If you don’t want to sit through all the content, top up in blocks of $9.90 to just purchase your favourite artists episodes.

And just like how every festival has its own currency, Hydeout has introduced their own currency. The free account comes loaded with 100 HydeCoins and the full Season Pass comes with 1000 HydeCoins, which you can use to purchase artist episodes and virtual outfits. Everyone loves freebies at a festival, so head over to the games section to shoot some hoops or  play a game of online dodgeball and you might be able to score some free HydeCoins. In a nod to its origins of Singapore, there’s also Hyde.Chef, a fast-paced memory game serving up traditional Singaporean dishes where you compete with other festival goers all around the world. 

With the first festival season already out, executive producer Chan Wee Teck and Lead Show Producer Mark Lim has announced that they are working on a second season. While Hydeout: The Prelude might not exactly fill the void that festivals left, it certainly gives enough of the festival-on-demand vibes to tide us over until the live music industry recovers. 

Enter Hydeout The Prelude at www.hydeoutworld.com