Legendary rock band KISS broadcasts the ‘finish of its bodily existence’ because it prepares handy over the way forward for its performances to the members’ new digital avatars.
After a profession spanning over 50 years, KISS is marking the official finish of its “bodily existence” as a band by crossing into the digital world for future performances. On the conclusion of the final present of the band’s closing dwell tour, The Finish of the Street, on December 2 at Madison Sq. Backyard, KISS introduced the shock onstage handover of the band to the members’ new digital avatars with an encore efficiency of “God Gave Rock and Roll To You.”
The band’s transformation into avatars will allow their immortalization, permitting the person members to retire from bodily performances whereas pushing the boundaries of rock and roll efficiency. For instance, the avatar-based performances will characteristic the band as fantasy-based superheroes, enabling generations of adventures sooner or later.
KISS’ digital avatars have been made attainable by way of a partnership with Pophouse Leisure Group, a Swedish leisure firm identified for its improvement of brand-building enterprises in music and leisure. Created by the George Lucas-founded visible results firm and Lucasfilm division Industrial Mild & Magic, the avatars are created utilizing a complicated performance-capture know-how, forming the premise of the avatars across the band’s precise face and physique performances.
Pophouse Leisure Group will proceed to hold the KISS legacy for generations to return, with the brand new avatar-based reveals serving because the second immersive music live performance undertaking of its sort for the corporate, following the success of the ABBA Voyage present in London.
To go behind the scenes of their digital transformation, KISS members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley sat down for a particular dialogue in regards to the historical past of the band and the inspiration behind the transition into avatar-powered efficiency.
“We could be without end younger and without end iconic by taking us to locations we’ve by no means dreamed of earlier than,” mentioned Gene Simmons. “The know-how goes to make Paul soar greater than he’s ever executed earlier than.”
“What we’ve completed has been superb, however it’s not sufficient. The band deserves to dwell on as a result of the band is greater than we’re,” provides Paul Stanley. “It’s thrilling for us to go the subsequent step and see KISS immortalized. I imply, we’ve spent 50 years constructing it so far.”
“By working with ILM and dealing with Pophouse, we’re all sharing this imaginative and prescient of taking KISS to a very totally different degree past simply being a music band,” Stanley continues. “And we’ve at all times considered ourselves as greater than only a music band.”
Per Sundin, CEO of Pophouse Leisure, concludes: “Pophouse Leisure Group is thrilled to embark on this transformative journey with KISS, and showcase to followers what’s on the horizon as a part of future avatar present. Our partnership will fuse the wealthy historical past and iconic standing of KISS with cutting-edge know-how, permitting followers — now and sooner or later — to expertise the band like by no means earlier than.”