PixelJunk 4am is easy to understand once you have the PlayStation Move motion controller in your hands and the visualizer appears. It varies with each “presentation,” but you can change it at any time by pressing the Select button. What’s important is for the music to “live” in the air, so to speak.

With PS Move, you grab hold of the sound from four different instruments (represented by the four control buttons) and unleash them onto the screen, creating a different sound depending on your movement. You can create layers of audio and then manipulate them as you wish. You can also invent new sounds using the controller and distort the effects by moving the PS Move closer to or farther away from the visualizer.

In PixelJunk 4am you’ll be able to share your presentations on the PlayStation Network, even with users who do not have the game — all you’ll need is the free viewer application, which enables you to tune into presentations as they are happening or listen to recordings from your favorite artists.

Q-Games created various different events you can choose from to play live. Different events will present you with different mixes of songs, visualizers and a new mood to go with each one. You then take this event live on PSN and make it your own, crafting and performing it however you want.

Each song has 4 track instruments you can use: a Drum, Bass, Rhythm and Synth. Each track then has 4 different looping samples and four one-shot sounds in space around you that you can use. All of the loops and samples are different for each song as well, meaning events can have up to (4 loops + 4 one-shots) x 4 tracks x 5 songs = 160 different sound samples to pull from and mix however you like. :)

Then, there are the Effects that you can apply on top of those. Each of the four tracks has unique Effects living on different axes in space around you (like a giant 3D Kaoss pad for those of you into DJing and synths). Using these effects (reverb, low/high pass filter, flanger, ringmod, chorus and more), you can modulate the original sound samples into something completely different. All Effects run independently on each track instrument using the power of the PS3’s SPU hardware, so you could have up to 16 Effects simultaneously modulating all your music!

For people who really want to hack the songs, you can even dub your Move motions into a loop and play that recorded path of motion back through the music. That means any cool sounds or rhythms you make could become the new bass line in a song.

PixelJunk 4am supports up to two PS Move controllers for performing together in an event. So you could have your friend over and mix beats side-by-side with them. Or you could rock it dual-wielding a PS Move in each hand. The Live Viewer browser makes it easy as well to spectate the same events as your friends when you’re both online.

PixelJunk 4am can be used as a stand-alone music visualizer to play your favorite music from your PS3. You won’t even need a Move if you just want to fire up and run a playlist to the visuals. All five original 4am visualizers will be available right from the start. To get some of the rarer visualizers, though, you’ll need to unlock them through regular play first.

Very soon Q-Games will be holding an early access Live Beta for PlayStation Plus members. A limited number of codes will be given to PS Plus members who own a Move, allowing them to get a first taste of performing in 4am. There will also be a 4am Free Viewer beta download available to ALL PlayStation Plus members. During the course of the Live Beta, Q-Games plans to host some special live performances from around the world, including DJ Baiyon performing live from Japan. Any PlayStation Plus members with the 4am Free Viewer are of course welcome to spectate.

The PixelJunk 4am Live Beta will start from May 1st and run for two weeks, so keep an eye out for further details very soon on how you can get in.