https://vimeo.com/385471505

Once upon a time there was an idea that bringing the digital into the real could constitute an art movement of its own. It was a quaint notion that implied we had some sort of choice in the matter. We have no choice. The digital world has invaded and replaced our world, like some sort of Borgesian town made of endless ideas.

Muse Blocks are a much cuter way to make the digital physical. They’re cute little panels you can hold in your hand. You can hold the little panel, tap your phone to the cover of a favorite playlist or album, and the music starts to play. More from CDM

Berlin-based Senic, a hardware startup focused on smart home solutions, devised the tangible product Muse Blocks. And they’ve recruited underground tech house label Katermukke, Dirty Doering’s label, which has its own grungy Berlin afterhours vibes – fitting to its home base of the Kater Blau nightclub.

Basically, you can think of these tiles as connected art objects. Tap them to your phone (provided you have an NFC-capable smartphone), and up pops a streamed album or playlist. You can program the tiles yourself, meaning that you can have a physical object to go with your mixes – so it’s the 21st-century streaming equivalent of a mixtape, in theory.

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