Daniel Ek, the founder of Spotify, was at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, last month, describing his vision for the future of music, reports CNET. ‘He swiped his right hand karate-chop style, made a big loop, and then grabbed an imaginary dial with his left and twisted his fist,’ writes Paul Sloan.

Ek was referring how gesture-based technology will transform the way we listen to music. Music would be listened to through ‘more intelligent systems’, according to Ek, with a personalised soundtrack played through technology such as musical lightbulbs, and not just conventional loudspeakers and headphones.

Live remixing also forms part of Ek’s vision of the future: during his presentation he announced that he didn’t want the string section of a song before removing it with a wave of his hand.

Spotify, now with nearly twenty-five million users, rented a house in Austin during the festival and painted it green. The company hosted live music performances in the garden and its thirty-year-old Swedish founder held his meetings at a picnic table.

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