BlakLight interview: ‘It’s a fairly conscious decision to remain DIY’
BlakLight
BlakLight is an American Synth-Pop project I first discovered in 2020 with their debut album, “Music In A Time Of Uncertainty”. Founded by the duo Adam Collier and Brian Belknap, BlakLightnot only delivered a brilliant debut, but with each subsequent release they have continued to confirm their talent for crafting stylish, polished Electro-Pop. Late last year, they returned with their fifth full-length album, “The Haunting Of Us”, which also marks the official arrival of live member Omar Quiñones as a full-fledged part of BlakLight.
Once again self-released, BlakLight’s “The Haunting Of Us” is a meticulously crafted production, polished down to the finest detail. Brian Belknap proves once more to be a gifted vocalist for this genre, his voice shining even brighter thanks to the high-caliber musical backing surrounding it. BlakLight may not be reinventing the wheel, but they never pretend to: this is elegant, sophisticated Electro-Pop with all the ingredients the genre demands. Time for a chat with the entire band. (Courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
BlakLight interview
Q: “The Haunting Of Us” is already the fifth studio album for BlakLight – along with alternative edits and numerous singles and EPs all released since 2020. How do you look back on this rapid development and remarkable productivity by BlakLight? And how did the transition from a duo to a trio for this new opus come about? Has this change had an impact on the roles and input of each member?
Adam: Looking back, the pace probably seems intense from the outside, but for me it’s always felt very natural. I tend to get deeply locked into ideas and sounds, and once I’m in that space, I don’t really switch it off. I’m constantly writing, refining, and building. We have just followed that momentum wherever it goes. The transition from a duo to a trio came together pretty organically. Omar really understood the atmosphere and emotional tone we were aiming for. There’s more space now—more perspectives, more ways to approach a track. Everyone brings something distinct without losing our core identity.
Brian: It’s funny, but I think we’ve slowed down too much! We released the first two albums within the space of a year, and we had hoped to keep up that pace, but life got in the way. We’re not overly precious about the songs, there will always be another. Omar joined us as a ‘live member’ a few years back, as we needed more support in the live setting, and things evolved from there. He’s a fantastic musician and brings some great musical ideas and tight harmonies to the table.
Omar: I think the way BlakLight works as a band really comes down to trust. Each of us has a defined role, and that balance just clicks naturally. As for the frequency of releases, the process was already well established when I joined—Adam and Brian had a strong foundation and a deep catalog of material, which keeps the momentum going. My own process tends to be a bit more deliberate, but everything is now very structured. We have a clear release schedule this year, with a lot in the pipeline. It’s both exciting and creatively demanding. Honestly, it feels like a dream team.
Q: Tell us a bit about the new BlakLight album. Did the theme or the music come first, and how did both aspects evolve during the composition process? What stages did you go through to reach the final result?
Adam: The process starts by me writing a song or group of songs. The title tends to surface early, almost instinctively. From there, I send the demos to Brian and Omar, and the songs start to shape. When their vocals and additional music come back, I move into production and mixing. I will strip parts away, introduce new elements, or reshape entire sections. I hear changes constantly, and it’s difficult to leave anything untouched. We usually work right up until the deadline. The title track, “The Haunting Of Us” itself went through three distinct revisions.
Brian: Adam brought the title “The Haunting Of Us” to the table a few years back, and we stuck with it. For nearly all of the lyrics I’ve written for BlakLight, I use Adam’s musical demo titles as the jumping off point for my lyrical ideas and song titles. I typically don’t have anything in mind when I start writing, I just begin riffing and singing nonsense over the track until some words eventually shoot out, then I refine them and define what the song will be about. However, there are two tracks on the album, “The Haunting Of Us” and “Judas Kiss”, that I went into with a spark of idea about what I wanted to convey.
Omar: It’s always fascinating to hear how a track evolves from demo to final version. The core elements are usually already there—it’s about expanding on that foundation and bringing it to life. I remember suggesting early on that we lean into a darker sonic direction, especially given the album title. It felt appropriate, considering the current climate. More than anything, what matters is that the music remains relatable while continuing to evolve. You can really hear that progression across each release.
Q: Speaking of the final result, how critical are you of yourselves and the production as a whole? Are there any external voices you consult, or specific references or criteria you use? And to what extent do these influence the overall outcome of BlakLight’s work?
Adam: ‘Critical’ feels too light—it’s more like something that never switches off. I’m always hearing what could shift, what needs to be removed or reworked. It’s less about perfection and more about whether it feels aligned with what we’re trying to capture. I don’t rely much on external references. The only real measure is whether the track feels complete within its own world.
Brian: I’m probably the least critical of the three of us, not being a technical musician. Adam and Omar always deliver, and if I can listen to my voice on the track without cringing, I’ve succeeded.
Omar: I’d say I fall somewhere in the middle when it comes to being critical. When I’m adding parts to a song, my focus is on whether it truly fits the atmosphere and intent. The most critical aspect for me is sound design. I work with a range of hardware and modular gear, moving between them to shape textures and tones. It can be a time-intensive process, but it’s essential to achieving the right sound.
Q: Could you elaborate on the deeper meaning behind the title of the new BlakLight album? To what extent is it a metaphor for themes such as loss, memory, and emotional erosion? And how much do these themes reflect the introspective and uncertain world we live in today?
Adam: The music came first, and as I was shaping the demos, certain moods kept emerging, memory, loss, and things that linger longer than they should. The title, “The Haunting Of Us,” came afterward, almost as a way of naming what the music had already begun to express. For me, this album reflects more on an internal world than an external one, about the spaces we carry inside ourselves. The album translates that introspection into sound.
Brian: It’s all of those things. My original intention was to write ten songs about all types of loss, but the songs took me in different directions as I worked on them. I try to keep the lyrics vague enough so that I’m not spelling out the meaning, and each listener can find themselves in the songs.
Omar: To me, the title reflects something very real and personal. As a band, we’ve all experienced loss, illness, anxiety, and concern for the people we care about. Those experiences inevitably shape the music of BlakLight. At the same time, the title also serves as a reminder of resilience—despite everything we face, we find ways to move forward and overcome.
Q: Up until now, as BlakLight you have always released your music independently. To what extent is this a conscious decision to operate BlakLight as a DIY band? I can imagine there are labels that would be interested in releasing your work. On the other hand, a ‘good’ label could potentially give you broader recognition—unless that is not a priority for you at all?
Adam: I’ll let Brian and Omar speak to that. My focus is more on shaping the music that gives our albums their foundation.
Brian: It’s a fairly conscious decision to remain DIY as BlakLight. My day job has kept me behind the scenes of the music business for over two decades, so I’m well versed on how things work. That being said, we’ve only ever been approached by one label. If someone wants to talk to us, we’re open ears.
Omar: We’re always having conversations about our long-term goals, including the possibility of working with a label. For now, keeping things in-house feels right. We have the ability to manage a lot on our own, and that independence has been important to us. That said, when the right opportunity comes along, we’ll be ready for it. At this stage, our biggest needs would likely be strong management and tour support.
Q: How does the energy of the studio recordings translate to the stage for BlakLight, and how is that divided between the three of you? And finally, what does the rest of the year have in store for Blaklight in terms of live performances and other plans?
Adam: For live performances, we enhance certain elements to give the songs more immediate energy, and they translate naturally to the stage. We have a great light show that shapes the atmosphere. Brian is one of the most commanding frontmen I’ve ever seen, he radiates energy that’s almost explosive. Omar and I anchor the sound, shaping the textures and layers that give the performance its depth. Together, the three of us create a live version that feels like the music has grown larger and more alive than in the studio. We have a 4th member for live shows, our friend Suede, he fills in when I cannot make it.
Brian: We turn the energy up for our live shows. I actually think that fans are surprised the first time they see us live, I’m not standing in the corner sulking in the fog. We’ve got a few festival dates (Dark Force Fest & Wave-Gotik-Treffen), UK and Mexico tours and hopefully some west coast shows before the year is up. There’s two more maxi-singles in the pipeline, an EP of covers, an EP of ‘re-imagined’ tracks, the follow-up to our ’nstrumental-ish’ album “tHE pADDED rOOM” and likely a new proper single and/or EP.
Omar: Performing live is incredibly important to me. One of the most exciting things has been watching Brian grow into such a powerful frontman of BlakLight—his energy is genuinely infectious. A lot of people don’t expect the intensity we bring, and the response has been amazing. On stage, everything is raw and immediate—all the emotion comes through at once, and that rush is addictive.
There’s also a real sense of connection with the audience. Brian has a way of making everyone in the room feel part of the experience. What we do has a certain elegance—it’s not overproduced, and it aligns naturally with our aesthetic. We all draw inspiration from the artists who shaped us, and those influences come through in subtle ways.
Performing alongside Adam is especially meaningful to me. There’s a strong emotional exchange between us, and it translates directly into the music. When all of us are on stage together, it feels like unveiling a painting for the first time—layered, expressive, and full of both precision and imperfection.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Side-Line Magazine than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can - and we refuse to add annoying advertising. So you can see why we need to ask for your help.
Side-Line’s independent journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we want to push the artists we like and who are equally fighting to survive.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as 5 US$, you can support Side-Line Magazine – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
The donations are safely powered by Paypal.
