The Monthly talks to David Baxter from Boom Clap Play – Part 2 – Setting up Boom Clap Play

When did you set up Boom Clap Play, and why?

Andy McHugh and I started Boom Clap Play back in early 2016 as a side project for a musical video game. By the end of 2017 we were a full-time operation, thanks to an opportunity to work on a VR project we pitched to Digital Catapult.

That project—a poetic exploration of the history of the universe performed by Leicester spoken word artist Boston Williams—was a massive milestone for us. It won two awards, including the Royal Television Society Award for Best Interactive, and was showcased internationally in places like Australia, India, Italy, England, and Portugal.

We’d both recently become parents, so it was a bit of a leap of faith, but it felt like the right time to fully commit. Having worked together in the local music scene and as a motion design team, we already knew we worked well together, so we went for it.

What are the key concepts which form the ethos of the organisation?

As a small company, we’ve had to stay pretty flexible and take on opportunities as they come. In a way, that adaptability has become our ethos. We’ve been lucky to work on such a wide range of creative projects, and that variety has turned into one of our biggest strengths.

The idea of play is central to everything we do. We’re drawn to projects that let us explore, take risks, and be ambitious—sometimes overly so! We’re always aiming high with our ideas, but we’re also stubborn enough to see them through until they’re something we’re genuinely proud of.

Does the organisation work predominantly on creating digital content?

The term “digital content” feels a bit redundant these days because pretty much everything, aside from physical art, goes through some digital process. A lot of our work combines digital and physical elements.

For example, The Wiggle Room, part of Belfast 2024, was a physical installation at the MAC that used sensors and computers. Another project we did with Rory Fryers – Holonic Fields, funded by the Arts Council, was a large physical installation with live mushrooms, digital visualisations, and generative music. That even popped up at the Ulster Museum as part of a late-night exhibition.

At the same time, we still love analogue processes—Andy’s always sketching in notebooks, and we use pens, paper, and post-its for brainstorming. Our focus on motion sensor technology has also blurred the line between digital and physical, bringing a more tactile, interactive quality to what we do.

Where to now?

We’re still figuring out the balance between interactive physical content and linear storytelling. Right now, we’re working on projects for children’s television and exploring more playful, tech-driven physical art experiences.

The idea of play is at the heart of it all. We see it as this essential part of life that doesn’t get nurtured enough, especially as kids grow up. But to us, play is everything. It’s in the work, the process, and the impact we hope to create. That’s what keeps us excited for the future.