Young People With Cancer Could Be Heading To Free Gigs, Thanks To Hilltop Hoods & Google

Back in 2014, Hilltop Hoods' Pressure (Daniel Smith) outlined the difficulty his family faced in dealing with his eight-year-old son Liam's acute myeloid leukemia diagnosis, penning the struggle in the song, Through The Dark. 

Now — though young Liam is free of any sign of cancer — Smith, Google Play Music and CanTeen have teamed up to produce an interactive film for Through The Dark, a chance for fans to engage with two 3D-animated worlds and a father and son's journey through dark and light.

Nine months in the making, it's a stunning, minimalist world, signifying hope and despair simultaneously.

Speaking to The Music, Smith told us, "We unanimously decided we wanted a simple but stylised look."

Google Play Music's Sophie Hirst chuckles, "Our original design for the father, when we were presenting to Dan … he goes, 'I've got one piece of feedback though, I really don't like my character.' So we went back and redesigned his character..."

Dan jumps in, "They made me a lumberjack! I was more like Astro Boy before."

The video uses a mobile phone's accelerometer to delve between the two opposing worlds, working a little like a 360-video, but can also be accessed via a browser on a desktop. 

For everyone who listens to the hip hop act's album at the link at the end of the video, $1 will be donated to cancer organisation CanTeen. But this time, instead of showing your support with a coloured bandanna, your donation could help young people 12-25 living with cancer get special access to live music, as part of a new project called Side Of Stage.

CanTeen already have TEG, Universal Music Australia, Cattleyard, Lunatic Entertainment and Blue Max Music on board. Depending on what each promoter or touring artist is able to offer, the project aims to offer special experiences for young people living with cancer through side of stage access, meet-and-greets, backstage tours and more. 

Smith explains, "There are already five major festivals around Australia, pretty much all the major record labels are pushing their bands to sign up — no one's said no to it. As an artist, all you have to do is say yes to some kids coming backstage, who doesn't wanna provide that experience for some children?" 

Hirst says, "[CanTeen are] using the funds from our [Google Play Music] project to kickstart Side Of Stage … the first phase is invitation-only with their current CanTeen members and the early partners they have on board. Later, it's about rallying the industry and getting more bands."

Head here to watch the interactive video for Through The Dark (though it works better on mobile) and here to learn more about Side Of Stage.