Rock’n Roll never dies… and neither does Kiss. The famous American hard rock group will say goodbye to the stage, but will be replaced by holograms to continue the tradition.
Would you go see a hologram concert? Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons hope so. The two co-founders of Kiss (currently joined by Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer) closed their farewell tour with a little surprise: the appearance of a hologram of the group, ready to take over now that the musicians of flesh and bones said goodbye to touring.
An “eternally young” Kiss
At Madison Square Garden, a legendary venue in New York, four virtual avatars appeared on stage during the encores to play “ God Gave Rock and Roll to You» as the very last song. A way for the group to open a new chapter in its history, made of pixels, holograms and motion capture .
The technological-musical feat was made possible thanks to the special effects company Industrial Light & Magic (founded among others by the creator of Star Wars, George Lucas) and Pophouse Entertainment Group. After “scanning” their movements and facial expressions using a scanning tool,motion capture(capable of reproducing body and facial movements in 3D), the members of the group were able to give way to virtual doubles who put on the show on stage.
“With this technology, Kiss could be in concert in three cities and on three different continents in the same evening“, Per Sundin, CEO of PopHouse Entertainment, told the Associated Press. “We can be forever young and forever iconic and explore territories we never dared to dream of before», added Gene Simmons, the group’s historic bassist (now 74 years old).
The previous ABBA
Kiss isn’t the first band to pursue digital immortality. In 2021, the megastars of Abba had driven fashion with their Voyage tours, which marked the return of the group “on stage”, 40 years after their separations. The Swedish band even went so far as to virtually rejuvenate themselves, appearing on tour as they were in the ’70s.
The technology used was the same as for Kiss, with a lot of cameras, modeling software and a waste of resources. Pophouse Entertainment was also founded by Björn Ulvaeus, a member of Abba. So prepare to see all your favorite groups in holograms in the coming years, digital immortality seems more fashionable than ever.
Source : Associated Press
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