LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ MSO PR) The multi-platinum British rock group THE DARKNESS have announced they'll return to the U.S. for two one-night-only shows Sunday, October 21 in New York City at Terminal 5 and Wednesday, October 24 in Los Angeles at Club Nokia. Although the above dates mark the only remaining U.S. shows for 2012, on Wednesday, October 24 fans nationwide will get a glimpse of the thunderous power of the band when their Club Nokia concert will be broadcast as an exclusive television event on AXS TV.
In tech news, THE DARKNESS have released their first-ever interactive music app via The App Store and Google Play. For the new app, the group partnered with the technology firm Aurasma known for their one-of-a-kind image recognition technology. Aurasma's technology unlocks a virtual world whereby memorabilia from the group's HOT CAKES album including artwork, tour posters and photos come alive with interactive, hidden content. Also featured, "The
Darkness Soundboard" includes soundbites from HOT CAKES that can be shared. The app allows exclusive access to official band news and Tweets, links to show tickets, alerts to watch the latest videos and the option to add personal photos into the app by adding #TheDarkness to your Instagram photos. For a faster connection to THE DARKNESS app, use wi-fi. Click here to experience it on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-darkness/id542038342?mt=8 and for Google Play, click here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobileroadie.TheDarkness&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDMsImNvbS5tb2JpbGVyb2FkaWUuVGhlRGFya25lc3MiXQ.
Watch THE DARKNESS app demo here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9pcQ1pGhX8&feature=player_embedded
THE DARKNESS -- JUSTIN HAWKINS (vocals/guitars), DAN HAWKINS (guitars/backing vocals), FRANKIE POULLAIN (bass) and ED GRAHAM (drums) -- are currently in the midst of a worldwide tour supporting
Lady Gaga to support their critically acclaimed third studio album HOT CAKES out on Wind-up (see link to critical soundbites here: https://msopr.com/files/critical_quotes30.pdf). In a recent live review during the Monster Ball tour The Independent (U.K.) noted the group "deliver a shameless feel-good stadium rock show like no one else alive" (9/16/12). HOT CAKES was produced by the band's JUSTIN and DAN HAWKINS with long-time collaborator Nick Brine and mixed by Bob Ezrin. The resulting 11-song cycle delivers the epic rock anthems and infectious pop choruses the band has become renowned for worldwide.
Listen to HOT CAKES and share it with your friends for a limited time, via: https://bit.ly/S2h07B.
Check out a sampling of critical reaction for HOT CAKES below:
ASSOCIATED PRESS: "Hot Cakes just exudes fun. It seems to wipe away a period of discord during which the band broke up and its members started other projects. 'Nothin's Gonna Stop Us' has a feel-good 1980s rocking chorus and guitar solos you can imagine being played in atop a huge speaker in a stadium." - Sian Watson (August 20, 2012)
ROLLING STONE: "After seven years off, these Brits bounce right back on 'Every Inch Of You,' the kickoff to Hot Cakes. Justin Hawkins cheekily tells his backstory: surviving on the dole till Led Zep changed his life, becoming 'an Englishman with a very high voice, doing rock & roll.' Hot Cakes stays amusing, mixing beer-barrel chuggers with proud schlock ballads. Sneakiest trick: going full-on metal… with a
Radiohead cover." - Chuck Eddy (3/5-star review, August 21, 2012)
ALTERNATIVE PRESS: "Frontman Justin Hawkins' otherworldly shriek, his brother Dan's FM roc-god guitars and the band's stacked-like-pancakes harmonies are in fine form on 'Forbidden Love' and 'Keep Me Hanging On.'" -
Annie Zaleski (3/4 star review,
September 2012)
PASTE: "Hot Cakes is the most varied record of The Darkness' canon-11 Killer-no-filler songs that steer through the '70's and early '80's and veer from fist-pumping anthems to mid-temp good-time rock, all with an ear for a killer pop hook." - Mark Lore (7/10 star review, August 21, 2012)
MAGNET: "…champs at penning solid, tuneful rock pop." - K. Ross Hoffman (August/September 2012)
www.theactualdarkness.com
www.facebook.com/thedarknessofficial
https://twitter.com/#!/TheDarkness
THE DARKNESS shows and Festivals 2012:
All dates below,with LADY GAGA, except*
Mon 9/24 Hannover, Germany TUI Arena
Wed 9/26 Zurich, Switzerland Hallenstadion
Sat 9/29 Antwerp, Belgium Sportpaleis
Tue 10/2 Milan, Italy Mediolanum Forum
Thu 10/4 Nice, France Stade Charles-Ehrmann
Sat 10/6 Barcelona, Spain Palau St Jordi
*Sun 10/21 New York, NY Terminal 5 *HEADLINING
*Wed 10/24 Los Angeles, CA Club Nokia *HEADLINING
Fri 10/26 Mexico City, Mexico Foro Sol
Tue 10/30 San Juan, Puerto Rico José
Miguel Agrelot Coliseum
Fri 11/9 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Parque dos Atletas
Sun 11/11 Sao Paulo, Brazil Estádio do Morumbi
Fri 11/16 Buenos Aires, Argentina Estadio River Plate
Tue 11/20 Santiago, Chile Estadio Nacional de Santiago
About Aurasma:
Aurasma is the world's leading augmented reality platform. Available as a free app for iPhones, iPads and high-powered Android devices or as a free kernel for developers, Aurasma uses advanced image and pattern recognition to blend the real-world with rich interactive content such as videos and animations called "Auras". Auras can be created for printed images, product packaging, clothing, physical places and users can even use the app to create and share their own. Since its launch in June 2011, Aurasma has had more than four million downloads, 400 Aurasma-enabled apps and over 8,000 partners in markets including retail, fashion, sport, automotive, education, advertising and publishing are using the free technology in their campaigns, on their products or embedding the technology in their own applications. Aurasma was developed by and is part of software company Autonomy -- an HP Company. www.aurasma.com.
About AXS TV:
Launched in July 2012 under the vision and stewardship of entrepreneur Mark Cuban, AXS TV is the premier destination for live events, breaking news, and as-they-are-happening trends in the worlds of pop culture, music, fashion, and entertainment. AXS TV Concerts is the premier source on television for 100% live music. From multi-day festivals to stadium tours to club acts, AXS TV delivers an unparalleled shared experience for fans of all genres. Leveraging the network's vast landscape, artists expand their reach to live behind-the-scenes moments, live fan Q&As, social media engagement and more unique opportunities specifically for the AXS TV audience. With multiple live concerts weekly, AXS TV is the number one destination for artists and their fans to experience and share a pure live event in the world of music and pop culture. Live LIVE! The largest independently owned and operated network, AXS TV was developed by entrepreneur Mark Cuban and General Manager Philip Garvin. The network partners include Mark Cuban, AEG, Ryan Seacrest Media and Creative Artists Agency (CAA). AXS TV is available in the U.S. via AT&T U-verse, Charter, Comcast/Xfinity, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Insight, Suddenlink, Verizon FiOS, and other TV providers. Visit www.axs.tv for more information.
