They’re best known for fronting the long-running punk rock band AFI, yet for more than a decade vocalist Davey Havok and guitarist/producer Jade Puget have also been hard at work on their side project, Blaqk Audio.
The duo began dabbling in electronic dance music (or EDM) as far back as 2001, writing dozens of songs but not officially releasing anything until their CexCells album in 2007. They played shows in support of it, though soon returned to their main group, with AFI issuing Crash Love in 2009 and embarking on another lengthy tour in support of it. With that wrapped up, Havok and Puget returned to their electronic ways, creating new material for Blaqk Audio’s sophomore release, Bright Black Heaven, dropping Sept. 11.
Several gigs have been planned to usher in the release, including Sept. 8 at Alex’s Bar in Long Beach and Sept. 14 at the Roxy in West Hollywood, both of which sold out almost immediately. As of this writing, tickets are still available for the duo’s shows at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, Ace of Spades in Sacramento on Sept. 10, the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco on Sept. 11, and the Blank Club in San Jose on Sept. 12.
Though the album has been ready for some time, Blaqk Audio went through some back and forth with a variety of labels before Havok and Puget signed with German indie label Superball Music and set a release date. Some of the new tracks began to trickle out as early as February 2010: “Ill-Lit Ships” was played on a few Southern California radio stations, “Bon Voyeurs” was showcased on BPM, a Sirius XM Radio program, while “The Witness” was featured in last year’s Taylor Lautner flick Abduction.
And earlier this year BA toured New Zealand and Australia, opening for Evanescence. “It was fantastic over there,” Havok says during a recent phone interview. “The reaction was really strong. It was nice to see we had a fan base out there, and I got some glow sticks thrown at me, which I always take as a compliment.”
