Woodes is going virtual.

Chances are you or someone you know has been drawn into the world of Minecraft. The video game, which has an active monthly user base of over 126 million people, is kind of an infinite virtual world that allows users to create, design and build stuff… At the extent of our knowledge on it anyway…

Melbourne-based artist Woodes, however, knows all the ins and outs of the global phenomenon. So much so that she has been building a world to go with her forthcoming debut record Crystal Ball. Yes, you read that correctly. She’s been hunkering down building with Reuben Gore (who built the famous Splendour Minecraft) during COVID, as explained in the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_liyGULGkU&feature=youtu.be

Of course, with a new album comes new singles and the experimental electronic artist has also dropped a new single ‘Queen Of The Night’ that features virtual Woodes in her Minecraft world. The track takes a darker turn than previous single ‘Euphoria’ and is perhaps the best indicator of what we can expect on Crystal Ball: huge vocal hooks, hypnotic beats and other-worldly lyricism. It’s part outsider-pop, part brooding banger and wholly intoxicating.

To celebrate the upcoming October 2nd release of Crystal Ball (pre-order here) we thought we’d hit up Woodes for all the info necessary to flourish in Minecraft. Check it out, in her own words, right here:

If you’re brand new to it, first step is getting an account.

Minecraft (Desktop version) is its own app. Once you set up your mojang account with your unique username (Mine is wooodes) you can download the desktop app and begin playing immediately. When you get into an app there’s the option to play by yourself (single player). There’s also the option for multiplayer, which is where my project exists. **When you preorder my album, we send you an information pack with everything you need to get into our Crystal Ball Server. We’ve had people from all ages on the server, from all over the world.**

The Blocks!

In Minecraft there are millions of ‘blocks’ in the game, and the world is extremely big.
It’s generative, meaning things are being generated live – like, there are birds flying, bees… if you keep walking, land keeps forming. The landscape of Minecraft is called Biomes and they are all different, there’s desert, reefs, deep forest and snowy mountains with snow falling. If you place a block in the middle of nowhere, leave the area, and come back, it’ll be there. Heaps of people can log onto the same server and be doing this simultaneously. You can chat, talk, listen to music whilst you all explore and create. We do group builds and projects and work together.

Start with a garden!

Once you’re in the game, creating a garden in Minecraft is one of the basic structures to do for any player. You need dirt, some water, and you can make some tools for tending to your garden out of wood. You can easily collect plants, or live off of the food, like carrots, beetroot, pumpkins. One of the first things I built on my streams was a garden and a chicken pen! Perfect pandemic, off-the-grid activity. To get inspiration on the types of things you can make, Googling “minecraft house” or “minecraft garden” or even “minecraft architecture” gets you a lot of options. There are so many sites with instructions because it’s so popular. If you’re feeling pro you can even add electronics, using circuitry. Some of my fans on my server are coders or architects in real life, and they make really impressive things in minecraft! Like music boxes that play music live & industrial furnaces that use bamboo to melt iron. As I said I… make chicken pens.

The soundtrack is beautiful!

Another great part is the music – it’s created by a German Musician named Daniel Rosenfeld or much known as C418 (C4-Eighteen). It ebbs and flows as you play.

Minecraft is good for you :)

Minecraft is a very peaceful, creative, collaborative game. It’s great for unwinding or learning how to game for the first time. Research has shown it also teaches you resource management, geometric skills, social skills, problem solving and creative thinking. That’s why schools like it. They even have a ‘peaceful mode’ which is able to be played by Toddlers!

Creating my album Crystal Ball in Minecraft

We’ve been able to build my record Crystal Ball in a village on a special server. Everything has been made from scratch. Fans have access 24/7, and can get involved with communal builds, build battles, or you can go explore and set up your own kingdom or secret retreat (We’ve even had fans making escape rooms with puzzles!) Each song on my album has a special place in our village, with access to lyrics and the stories behind the songs. Last Sunday we all built temples in the mountains, with the idea that the temples were shrines we could go and visit to reflect.

In a time where I can’t play shows, visit family interstate or go on walks in nature, it’s become a beautiful escape, even though everything is made of pixels. We’ve built campsites, special libraries, music stores and markets. We’ve been teaching newcomers the game and building things together. I’ve been so happy with the sense of community and the joy it’s brought me.