Blackwater Holylight: In The Here And Now
Not Here Not Gone, the latest album from BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT is a dazzlingly sublime blend of doom-laden hard rock with hypnotic shoegaze elements complimenting an already hefty sound. This is a record that is an absolute pleasure to listen to from start to finish so don’t hesitate to let it consume your mind and soul.
We had the privilege of catching up with vocalist/bassist Sunny Faris to talk all about Not Here Not Gone as well as hearing how the band’s recent tour went, and the anticipation for coming over to the UK and Europe for live shows.
We stay things off with Sunny regaling to us about the tour in the US that BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT has just concluded with GLASSING and SOM. “It was a really good run. As far as some of the highlights go, I think just getting to know the bands and sharing the stage with them each night was definitely very special. We always love to play on the East Coast, especially in New York, so that was also really great!”
Sunny then went on to heap praise on the band’s tourmates on the run. “They’re both really amazing bands. They are very different from each other but both bands work so well with ours, and it created a really cool dynamic at each show.”
With the band’s new album, Not Here Not Gone, having been released before the tour, Sunny then enthused about playing songs from it on the tour. “It’s been awesome. We are all so happy to be playing and performing new material. It’s really fun to see how the songs continue to take shape and grow after you record them, and you start playing them live.”
Sunny then describes the band’s on the road playlist for when they are travelling from show to show, with eclectic results! “We listen to literally everything on the road. Every genre is welcome most of the time. Anywhere from soft ambient music to death metal to rap. We’re all over the place!”
Sunny is also very excited about heading back over to the UK and Europe to continue to play live in support of Not Here Not Gone, as our conversation took place prior to the band crossing the pond. “We’re very excited to return to Europe and the UK. We always love being there, so we’re stoked!”
With dates at Roadburn and the Berlin and London editions of Desertfest, it is a safe to say that BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT are at home playing festivals in Europe and Sunny is excited to be playing these shows. “Oh yes, festivals are our favourite. We love playing club shows, but festivals are always so magical because there are always so many people and such a wide variety of bands, and it just really feels like a community when you’re there playing.”
Sunny then tells us about which bands would play if BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT were to curate their own festival. “I’ve always wanted to do this. I would definitely just have a bunch of our friends’ bands playing so that we could all hang out and enjoy each other’s music. Some bands would include NOTHING, FULL OF HELL, MIZMOR, GATECREEPER… and so on!”
Sunny then goes on to reveal which live shows that BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT have done which have been the most memorable. “It’s really hard to say because we’ve played so many good shows, and they’ve all been very special for their own reasons. We always love playing the Desertfest shows. I would say those are some of our favourites!”
Talk then turns back to Not Here Not Gone and Sunny is very happy with how it has been received so far. “It’s been great. There’s been a lot of support and excitement around this release!” With so many different levels to the sound of Not Here Not Gone and songs that just grown and grow, especially on a track like Heay, Why?, BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT have made their biggest sounding album to date, which Sunny agrees with. “Yes! We are also pleased with how it came out and we worked really hard to make sure that this was going to be our biggest sounding record we’ve ever done.”
Sunny then went on to discuss how this is the most accessible BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT record tracked to tape yet. “I guess everyone gets to choose that for themselves, but for us, definitely!”
We then delve into the lyrics of the songs on the album and what they deal with. “A lot of the lyrical content on this record is about expansion, grief, letting go, moving on, healing, liberation, exploration, and so on.” The instrumental Giraffe is also brilliant addition to the album, with its amazing bass/synth sound, and Sunny tells us all about this. “This is the interlude to our album that we had the pleasure of collaborating with Dave Sitek on. That one came together while we were at the studio and was the only unplanned track on the whole album.”
Sunny then told of the biggest influences in the sound and outlook of Not Here Not Gone. “We didn’t have one specific influence that we were trying to emulate on this record. However, we were definitely listening to a lot of shoegaze and doom bands along the way!”
Even though Not Here Not Gone has only just recently been released, the question of new material and whether the band have had thoughts of new material gains a positive reaction from Sunny. A reaction which will undoubtedly enthrall fans of BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT and their immense sound. “We actually have! Not a ton, but we are starting to talk about conceptualising what we want our next record to sound like.”
Not Here Not Gone is out now via Suicide Squeeze Records. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS130 here.
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