By night Mark Deeks is an ordinary headbanger, who drinks beer, listens to loud music, composes new songs for ARÐ, and happily hangs out with his family and friends. But during daytime, he turns into a different kind of beast under his secret identity of Dr. Mark Deeks: an academic!
Dr. Mark Deeks has been invited to speak at a Newcastle edition of the popular TEDx series of media events on the topic where he will discuss the question: „Could Heavy Metal Music Help Maintain Your Mental Health?“
ARÐ comment: „Being invited to do a TEDx talk is something that I’ve had on my bucket list of lifetime goals for quite some time“, the Northumbrian band’s mastermind reveals. „Having been a metal fan since I was a teenager, I am only too familiar with the prejudice that people have about metal just being brutal noise and in no way helping to relax mental anxiety. Yet I am also well aware how much this form of music means to those of us who are involved, and how much it is able to aid us even through the darkest of times. It certainly has done that for me, and I am very much looking forward to tell my story at the TEDx talk.“
The TEDx event will take place at The Glasshouse International Centre for Music (formerly The Sage) in Newcastle on Saturday, 25 November 2023. A link to the announcement with a list of all speakers, event details, and ticket pre-sale can be found here: Mark Deeks – TEDxNewcastle
TEDx are independent local events similar to the TED conferences in presentation and following their principle to post talks online for free distribution under the slogan „ideas worth spreading„. TEDx events are also required to be non-profit, but admission fees or sponsorship may be used to cover costs. Speakers do not receive a payment and must relinquish the copyrights to their materials, which TED may edit and distribute under a Creative Commons license.
ARÐ are currently working on the release of the follow-up to their highly praised debut album „Take Up My Bones“.
