Former Velvet Underground star John Cale is set to use flying drones in a performance to showcase his latest work in London.
The 72-year-old musician, who has often delved into the avant garde, will perform the new "audio-visual collaboration", called LOOP@@60Hz: Transmissions From The Drone Orchestra at the Barbican in September.
The project will see the drones carrying speakers to project the sound, as well as making mechanical noises as they hover over the audience.
Cale, who collected an OBE from Buckingham Palace in 2010, will work with his band, along with architect Liam Young, for the performance.
He has rearranged songs from his extensive back catalogue using different tunings to fit the new format.
Cale has said he aims to free the drones from their usual associations with surveillance and military uses to make them "choreographed, disembodied instruments which take flight in the auditorium to create a profoundly immersive live music performance", according to the Barbican.
The gallery reassured potential concert goers that the performance would be safe.
A spokeswoman said: "We've already been through a lengthy planning and approval period with this project to ensure there won't be any risk to audiences attending the performances in September."
The drones will not all be in flight at once but will have choreographed entries and exits through the performances on September 12 and 13, using their own landing point on the stage.
To book tickets visit www.barbican.org.uk.
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