Today sees the release of MATERIAL (Blaqknoise/Kobalt), the much-anticipated new album from BLAQK AUDIO, the electronic alter ego of AFI’s Davey Havok and Jade Puget. Fans can pick up the album on iTunes by clicking HERE.
Over the course of the past few weeks, fans have been given various sneak previews of the album, starting with the release of lead track ‘Anointed’ which can be streamed HERE, then came a video for the track ‘Waiting To Be Told’, and now Puget & Havok have teamed with Apple Music and VEVO for ‘Anointed’, the companion video to the duo’s single. Shot to resemble an 80s’-era old-school computer video game, ‘Anointed’ was directed by Adam Mason, Chris Tew and Chris Merch and can be viewedHERE:
Produced and recorded by Puget, MATERIAL is Blaqk Audio’s third release following 2012’s Bright Black Heaven and 2007’s Cexcells.
Though best known for their work with multi-platinum rock band AFI, Havok and Puget’s shared love of electronic music runs deep. Havok, who counts Devo’s Freedom of Choice and Duran Duran’s self-titled debut among the first albums he owned, saw his tastes evolve over the years from the synth pop of Erasure and Pet Shop Boys to Depeche Mode and ultimately to the heavier, darker Skinny Puppy, Ministry, Front 242 and Lords of Acid. Later, Havok immersed himself in the “futurepop” genre, which combined dark dance-y electronica with melodic vocals. From roughly 1999 to 2003, his contemporary musical diet consisted almost exclusively of artists falling under the industrial/ebm/futurepop/
“Being huge music fans and fundamentally driven by music in a creative sense, BA is a wonderful outlet for our long-standing love of electronic music,” says Havok. “Were it not for BA, I’d still be writing this type of music, even if it never saw the light of day.”
Blaqk Audio will be touring in support of the album with a North American headline run that kicks off May 4th at the House of Blues in San Diego, CA.
Fans based in Los Angeles-based have the chance to help the duo celebrate the album’s release at a special April 19th event at the Grammy Museum in downtown LA. Details can be found here HERE.
BLAQK AUDIO tour dates:
May 4 House of Blues San Diego, CA
May 5 Observatory Santa Ana, CA
May 6 Troubadour Los Angeles, CA
May 7 Ace of Spades Sacramento, CA
May 10 Doug Fir Lounge Portland, OR
May 11 Croc Seattle, WA
May 13 In The Venue Salt Lake City, UT
May 14 Bluebird Denver, CO
May 16 Turf Club Saint Paul, MN
May 17 Bottom Lounge Chicago, IL
May 18 Mod Club Toronto, ON
May 20 Sinclair Cambridge, MA
May 21 U Street Music Hall Washington, DC
May 22 Bowery Ballroom New York, NY
June 4 Live 105’s BFD 2016 Mountain View, CA