Lightcycles — light cycles on a grid

On screen

What Lightcycles shows

Lightcycles marks out an arena on a black grid, always seen whole, where six black-lacquered light cycles race, each in its own colour, with ring wheels and a headlight on the floor. They move one cell per eighth note and only turn at right angles, on the beat, always heading for the most open space. Behind each one a low neon wall grows, then fades from its tail, and they lean into every turn.

They dodge each other and get boxed in, and a trapped cycle crashes in sparks before reappearing at the edge. During the build-up they speed up and their walls grow longer. On the drop they all rush to the centre and crash in a shower of sparks, then set off again in a star across an empty grid. For techno, synthwave, electro and drum’n’bass.