As you can see in the video, over 20 drones were strapped with brilliant LEDs and sent into the air to dance in unison. Apparently MIDI controllers were used to keep the flying devices and 16,500 lights grooving to the music, which we can only imagine is even more difficult than it sounds!

The shamisen players were from the Tsugaru-Jamisen Oyama-kai, a national organization that was founded in 1963. You can check out a video of one of their “performance battles” in the video above.

Players from the Oyama-kai also performed in another video featuring light effects and drones as part of a Sky Magic live event you can see above.

By now, you’re probably wondering what Sky Magic is—it turns out it’s actually a project by the Japanese ad agency Micro Ad. It’s certainly one of the prettier takes on advertising we’ve seen, but these performances are more about demonstrating their technological abilities than marketing a specific product. The project is focused on using cutting-edge technology in creative ways both for advertising and entertainment.

Related Stories:
Famikoto celebrates Nintendo with medley of game music played on traditional instruments
Volcanoes, castles and more: 10 of Japan’s best drone-shot videos to give you wanderlust
Take a look at Japan from a whole new angle—from the air!