By Keith Walsh
Since their debut single “Isolation” in 2020, the electronic music duo BlakLight have proven to be a prolific pair. Comprised of Adam Collier on synths and Brian Belknap on vocals, the act has released a steady stream of singles, remixes and a couple of albums, as well as tracks on compilations. With clever synth riffs and beats and darkly sensual lyrics and vocal melodies, BlakLight’s accessible sound has caught the attention of listeners in the U.S. and Europe.
The sound falls somewhere between EDM and pop music with dance beats and slick production, with each release being an exciting occasion. Their singles “Wicked Face” and “Coma,” released a week apart this month offer brilliant, percolating synths and beats, and Belknap’s lonely sounding tenor. I asked Collier what it is about composing in minor keys that he finds appealing.
Collier says: “Songs in minor keys have always touched my soul to the core…my mind is always racing and emotions are hard to express sometimes. Minor keys make me feel human and give me a sense of peace. Minor keys break thru the noise in my head and make the world slow down. I have written songs in major keys but most of the time they don’t sound sincere to me.”
Blaklight’s new singles are accompanied by two tasty remixes each. “Wicked” tells the story of deception and betrayal, while “Coma” features a descending chordal pattern that echoes the protagonist’s descent. Belknap’s vocals compliment the melancholy sounds very well. I asked him how Collier’s dark sounds inspire him to write his tragic lyrics.
Belknap tells me: “There’s something about his music that inspires me, but I couldn’t put a finger on it. I usually start humming a melody along with the track on my first listen, and often that’s the melody that sticks when I flesh out my part. And lyrically, I tend to use his working title as the jumping off point. In the case of ‘Wicked Face,’ the working title was ‘Wicked,’ and I took it from there.”
No Secrets
Blaklight’s success in Europe, and particularly in Germany seems to be the result of creating great music. I asked what their secret is. “Our Spotify stats tell us that most of our listeners are in Germany, so there must be something about our music that resonates in Europe,” says Belknap. “But there is no secret to our success, haha!!”
As for “Wicked Face” and “Coma” being released so close together, there’s more to the story: Belknap tells me: “Both tracks were originally released on different compilations in 2022, but we wanted to give each of them a second life on their own, since they are both favorites of ours and we’re playing them in our live shows. ‘Coma’ was released on the Darkness Calling curated, Alien themed, Bandcamp exclusive charity compilation, They Mostly Come At Night, and ‘Wicked Face’ was released on the Generation Blitz 2: Concrete & Chrome compilation.
In addition to Blaklight, Collier’s other electronic music projects include SilverScene, Beautiful Crisis, Crush333 and MDA, while Belknap’s include Mind Machine and SilverScene. Blaklight is located in Southern California.
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