(San Francisco) The legendary American glam metal group Kiss announced Sunday that digital avatars will now represent musicians in the entertainment world, using a method developed with Abba.
Kiss “marks the end of its physical existence by entering the digital world,” Pophouse Entertainment, a Swedish branding and entertainment company, said in a statement.
“Transforming the group into avatars will ensure their immortalization, while pushing the boundaries of rock and roll performance, as Kiss did throughout their career,” she assured.
The band wrapped up their ultimate End of the Road tour at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday.
At the end of the concert, their avatars “performed” a song, then an image of the four avatars appeared on screen with the Kiss logo and a phrase, “A new era begins.” .
Known in particular for its mega-success I was made for lovin’you, its pyrotechnic effects and its stylized makeup, the New York group has sold more than 100 million records worldwide in its 50-year career, according to Pophouse Entertainment.
Vocalist Paul Stanley (71) and bassist Gene Simmons (74) were the only remaining founding members.
The avatars introduced Saturday put the musicians in the shoes of superheroes, “a glimpse into one of the many and diverse ways Kiss will live on in the future as a digital artist through his avatars,” the company detailed Swedish.
The digital incarnations were created by ILM, the special effects company founded by George Lucas.
“We will be able to be forever young and forever iconic, and go to places we never dreamed of before,” said Gene Simmons, quoted in the press release. “Technology is going to allow Paul (Stanley) to jump higher than he ever has. »
Pophouse Entertainment has already developed a show in London by Swedish disco group ABBA, where the quartet is represented by digital avatars broadcast in holograms, performing among others Mamma Mia, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man after Midnight) and Dancing Queen.
Building on its success, the show has been extended and plans are being considered to export it elsewhere in the world.