Boiler Room launches 'multi-genre' streaming platform 4:3

23 May 2018 - Press release

Boiler Room now launches 2.0 of the media brand and a new cultural institution 4:3; joining the hands of streaming service, publisher and platform with carefully commissioned and curated content from some of the most innovative thinkers from around the world. Platform agnostic, 4:3 is as much a real world presence as a content platform bringing experiences to life via exhibitions, talks, installations and more. 
 
4:3, is for a culturally connected audience, the Netfilx of the underground. 4:3 aims to expand gateways between image and sound by living across social channels, websites and physical spaces, filled by curated seasons and themes with a mix of archive and underground films, challenging the notions of high and low art. 4:3 launches on 29th May. Access the beta version here: fourthree.boilerroom.tv

4:3 is a new kind of streaming platform, with free curated content. Guest curators are Elijah Wood, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Peaches, and Jenn Nkiru, 4:3 will showcase feature films and act as a cinema, screening forgotten gems, future cult classics, festival-fresh cinema, and exclusive limited releases. 4:3 will also premiere shorts and music videos alongside archive footage including 'Fleshback: Queer Raving in Manchester's Twilight Zone' an original piece of curated content, exploring the vivid history and the present of queer, dance music culture in Manchester. The launch of the platform demonstrates Boiler Room's evolution as a multi-platform media brand. 

The launch of the platform demonstrates Boiler Room's evolution as a multi-platform media brand, and its continued push to unlock new ways of brands to engage culture-obsessed young audiences. Brands will have the unique opportunity to co-create content with 4:3, acting as an editor in partnership with the most exciting and talented creatives from around the world, to curate authentic, narrative driven films and stories. 4:3 will give brands the opportunity to craft a full season of content that goes beyond the normal realms of existing brand partnership opportunities. 

Stephen Mai, CCO, Boiler Room, says: “Boiler Room and our audience is connected to worlds of music, art, fashion, film and culture. They desire deeper story telling and real life experiences.
 
For us 4:3 is the evolution of the media brand. Audiences are tired of white noise delivered by publishers who are trying to hack an algorithm through engagement bait content
 
4:3 is a cultural institution and will present content with purpose. Our hyper-curation means that when we share or communicate content it’s something that means something to us and to our audience. The fact that 4:3 can live anywhere means that our content exists where our audience does social, on our website, on TV or in real life.  This model give brands an unique opportunity to co-create and curate content that tells their stories in a authentic way to culturally connected audiences. We’re excited about the storytelling opportunities this will bring.”

Blaise Bellville, founder, Boiler Room says: “We’ve built a reputation for championing underground music through real world experience and content, making the most exciting local scenes and experiences available to everyone no matter where they live, and driving club culture to exist meaningfully all around the world.  With this credibility, we’re evolving to explore more narrative driven stories, artists and moments within music and beyond through a new platform that will take our audience deeper into this world.

Through storytelling and curation we also open new opportunities for brands to connect with our audience through culture, films and art. Online and IRL.”

Amar Ediriwira, 4:3 Creative Director says: “Holding a mirror up to Internet culture, 4:3 omnivorously pulls anything from a feature film to a music video to found footage to a meme. The platforms seeks to challenge notions of “high" and “low" art, all the while expanding the ways we experience moving image and sound. 

4:3 will also be the stage for Boiler Room’s original filmmaking and commissions. The first original, “Fleshback”, traces a body-positive queer clubbing movement in Salford that takes its cues from wild Gaychester nights at the Hacienda back in the ‘90s.

Our launch event, ‘Swimming with Arthur Russell’, mixes film, sound art, photography, DJs, live music, and installation work.  Like Boiler Room, 4:3 is rooted in physical experience; our events are multi-faceted, connecting the dots between club culture and cinema to stretch the boundaries of what a film experience can be. "
 In conjunction with the launch of the site, 4:3 will be presenting an exhibition for Arthur Russell, the pioneering cellist and electronic musician called ‘A Portrait of Arthur Russell’. Taking place 30th May until 3rd June at St John on Bethnal Green, the multimedia tribute comes in collaboration with The New York Public Library and features archive pieces from Russell's personal collection, along with a sound installation from producer Andy Stott, and a screening of the documentary 'Wild Combination' which will then go live on4:3 on 3rd June.