Digital concerts have had a varied history with Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz pioneering the concept in the West and Japan’s Hatsune Miku continuing to sell out arenas in Asia. However, developments in 3D modelling technology in the last 10 years has given rise to an all new form digital concert. Perhaps most infamously, Coachella 2014 brought us Tupac resurrected and rendered in all of his early-2010s 3D glory. Although still essentially a projection on a large screen, the 2014 Coachella performance imprinted the hologram concert into the music zeitgeist. 

Fast forward ten years and we are now faced with a massive digital performance industry, whether that be entirely online events like Travis Scott’s Fortnite concert in 2020, or holographic arena shows like ABBA’s Voyage. While Voyage still works of the same technology as Tupac’s 2012 performance, all aspects of the process have been greatly improved: 3D modelling, motion capture, projection, lighting, and sound design have all been refined to a high degree in an attempt to convince the audience that they aren’t just looking at a big screen. Despite the band being as unlikely to return to the stage as Tupac, their digital renditions sold 1.4m tickets in its first year. 

Perhaps what hologram concerts need, to truly live up to their futuristic namesake, is a leap in technology. In comes Layered Reality, a UK based digital events specialist who have secured the rights to give Elvis Presley the Lazarus treatment. Layered Reality is a company that specialises in virtual reality (VR)  technology as a vehicle to tell immersive stories to participants. Although official material from Layered Reality is vague on the specifics of the Elvis experience, it appears that it will feature physical set and sound design used in combination with an augmented reality overlay (AR) viewed through a VR headset. 

In addition to this smorgasbord of technological bells and whistles, the digital Elvis will use AI models to generate new dialogue from the star. Speaking to the BBC, Layered Reality’s CEO, Andrew Guinness said: “The AI generates an authentic version of Elvis, born of original material, but it [also] allows you to do new things with him.” Much like the unofficial fan AI covers seen last year like ghostwriter977’s ‘Heart on my Sleeve’, Layered Reality will use old footage and recordings of Presley to train an AI program to mimic his voice. 

The experience is scheduled to take place in London sometime this year. Layered Reality offers a mailing list for those wanting to receive updates on specific locations and dates on their website. 

Billionaire Alki David has spoken of his plans to resurrect Amy in 3D with the use of similar technology to that used when Tupac Shakur was ‘brought back to life’ at Coachella two years ago. The plan would involve a live orchestra performing whilst Winehouse’s hologram takes centre stage and gives the effect of the now deceased singer, often dubbed ‘the greatest jazz singer of her generation’, rising from the dead. Winehouse’s father Mitch has apparently also spoken of his interest in the project having been keen on establishing a legacy for his daughter since her prematurely passed in 2011 at the age of 27.

It will be interesting to see how people will react to this news, some may not agree with bringing back the singer as it could be seen as tarnishing her legacy. There have also been mentions of a potential book or album to commemorate the singer’s extraordinary talent although nothing has been set in stone so far. The potential for an Amy Winehouse resurrection could be the first of a new wave of revivals, if it goes ahead, and it would undoubtedly mean the world to fans across the globe who were never given the opportunity to see her perform in person before her death.