Holograms and Whitney: Morals of Posthumous Use of Artists

With the announcement of the brand-new Whitney Houston hologram tour titled ‘An Evening with Whitney’, Toni Stephenson gives her opinion about the remixing and re-use of artists’ songs and images after they’ve passed.

In 1991, the wonderful Freddie Mercury announced that he had HIV just days before his death. During this announcement, he said that “You can do what you want with my music…but don’t make me boring”. Nowadays, we’re coming up with more and more mind-boggling ways to use the material that artists have left us with after passing. Whilst hologram tours – one of the most bizarre uses of an artist’s material - have been around for a few years now and I’ve had time to process their existence, I’m still undecided on whether or not going to one of these so-called ‘concerts’ would be a little bit uncomfortable – for lack of a better word. The idea of being in a concert hall full of people going crazy for a hologram of a dead singer – such as Elvis or Whitney Houston – doesn’t really sit right with me.

Personally, if I saw that my favourite artist, David Bowie, was ‘embarking on a worldwide hologram tour’ then I think that I’d probably have to give it a miss. Whilst promoters are trying their hardest to make these gigs seem like ‘live performances’ worthy of your hard-earned cash, the simple fact is that the emotional connection and buzz that is created by the artist being there in the flesh is lost.

For me, this is what makes a concert worth the money you spend on it. If I wanted to experience an artist’s material, then I could simply open up Spotify or put on one of their records, watch a documentary about their life or open YouTube and watch their live performances. Sure, you could argue that the artist is no longer alive, so seeing them via a hologram tour attended by a lorry-load of fans is a nice way to pay tribute to their legacy, but for me I would rather go and watch a tribute act with real people performing live, or listen to the original music as the artist intended. That brings me to posthumous songs and albums. Often, these have been mixed and released by the family or friends of the artist in question. Most recently, the relatives of Leonard Cohen have announced a new album scheduled for release later this year, named ‘Thanks for the Dance’. For me though, posthumous songs and albums are really tough to get right. More often than not you find that the final mixes of the songs have had little to no input from the artist themselves – besides the vocals - which takes away the personal touch that for me is essential, making the songs harder to connect with.

Of course, in the modern age of music where everything is systematically produced and algorithms rule, music is no longer just produced by a small, tight-knit group of people. Computers that understand the best-selling hooks or lyrics are now controlling the entire industry, desensitising many modern listeners to the emotion that music can hold and sucking the soul out of new releases. Personally, this is why I cannot get along with many posthumous releases. They have been put through the same process that many of the pop hits of today have been put through, ending up lathered with catchy hooks and funky beats. For many modern listeners this won’t be an issue, but for me this is a no-go zone.

Even though I may seem against the fact that so many legendary artists are having new material released after death, it isn’t like it’s doing any harm. Sure, it could just be that relatives are trying to cash-in on the infamous post-death career boost that so many artists receive, and for me the Star Trek-style ‘live performances’ are a little freaky, but at the end of the day can we really complain about new material from some of the best artists in recent times? Probably not. I suppose it’s up to you to decide how you feel for yourself; maybe try and go to a hologram concert and see what you think. For me though, I’m probably just going to stick to the classic albums and tribute acts. Jack Whyles

Album Spotlight

Bakar Will You Be My Yellow?

Bakar has consistently brought a breath of fresh air to the London rock scene and there is no denying that his new project Will You Be My Yellow? enters a new era for the Camden-native.

The project gives off a more relaxed, breezy aura in comparison to his heavier 2018 debut album Badkid, perhaps due to the non-stop touring this man has done over the last 2 years with over 40 shows across the UK. Bakar is exhausted but by no means has this affected the quality of his work.

The project title is referenced throughout the project stringing all the tracks together using Yellow to reference practically everything from his girl, drugs, sunlight and his dreams to literal stomach bile.

With tracks such as ‘Ghosts’ and ‘Cashmere Tears’, it’s clear that Bakar has been through a rocky relationship with his ‘Yellow’ crooning lines such as “We had cracks in our pavement, never set in stone. Left alone, only see you at shows, and it shows”. Here, it’s blatant that Bakar has caught a glimpse of the dark side of the ‘Big Dreams’ that he once had providing a somewhat melancholic reminiscent feeling to the project. Even the title of the project‘s ska and reggae influenced single track, ‘Hell n Back’, indicates that Bakar has been through some serious s**t over the past year.

However, we do see some of the, dare I say, old Bakar in ‘Been A Minute’ which provides some quality headbanging content which will no doubt go down well at the live shows.

Bakar’s first feature track with Dominic Fike is an outstanding fusion of the LA and London scene which will no doubtedly jumpstart Bakar into the US scene. Bakar will be bringing his live show all the way to LA for his first ever US headline show in November after his sold-out Electric Brixton show.

Receiving praise from legends such as Virgil Abloh, Skepta and even Elton John, Bakar has been heralded as a shining light for the future of UK rock and indie with this new project only confirming these ambitions.

Tom Weatherilt