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Halifax programmer and L.A. band The Glitch Mob develop iPhone app

Posted by Philis McGregor, CBC News on January 18, 2016 in Alumni & Friends, News

Alan Lavell graduated with his Bachelor of Computer Science degree from the Faculty of Computer Science in 2013. 

Read the full story by Phils McGregor on CBC News.

A Halifax app developer who's now in business with an internationally-known electronic band from Los Angeles hopes their new app will fuse emerging iPhone video technology with music and visual design.

Allan Lavell, 26, is already known for his app, Glitch Wizard — which was downloaded 4,000 times in its first month on the iTunes store.

When he downloaded one of the band's tour photos and "glitched it out" using Glitch Wizard, he was able to get in touch with band The Glitch Mob. 

The finished result gave the image a complex effect — like being processed by a faulty television signal, Lavell said — that resembles much of the band's album artwork.

After he tweeted the reworked image to the band, The Glitch Mob then retweeted it to their millions of followers.

Lavell's creation helped him connect with the band on Twitter, then by phone. Eventually, he ended up at a conference in San Francisco with Glitch Mob member Justin Boreta.

The pair added Dean Grenier, the band's art director, to the mix soon after. The three formed the company Phantom Force.

On Jan. 19, they'll officially release a new app, called HYPERSPEKTIV, through iTunes.

Read the full story by Phils McGregor on CBC News.