CLVBS, a Paris-based startup, has officially launched its virtual clubbing app on iOS and Android, billing itself as “the future of immersive and social music streaming.”
The platform positions itself as “the dancefloor’s revenge on the smartphone,” offering immersive streaming experience that prioritizes community over algorithms. It is described as “a new-generation immersive streaming app, where users can listen to DJ sets live or on demand in 3D environments inspired by clubs around the world.” Users can create and customize avatars to step onto virtual dancefloors alongside music lovers from across the globe—what the company calls a “party Sims” experience.
CLVBS was born from what its founders see as a crisis in electronic music culture. While the genre has “never been more vibrant” creatively, physical spaces are under threat. “Across the globe, clubs are closing, independent venues are disappearing, and local scenes are slowly fading under pressure from normalization, gentrification, and crisis,” the company states in its manifesto.
“No need to film. No need to follow trends. Just the music. The moment. The connection.” CLVBS describes itself as standing “at the crossroads of YouTube, Bandcamp, and the Sims, a platform that puts artists back at the center, for those who live music as a necessity, not a trend.”
Whether virtual clubbing can truly sustain underground culture remains to be seen, but CLVBS represents a bold attempt to reclaim digital space for the values of the dancefloor.
Download the app here