Saturday 12 May 2018

An Interview With Sunny From BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT


Blackwater Holylight released their spellbinding debut album earlier this year and it completely surprised me. As I never really heard an album such as this. As Blackwater Holylight combine Gothic Rock, Doom, Stoner, Psych, Fuzz, Shoegaze and even Indie Rock for a seductive addictive sound.

Newly signed to Riding Easy Records, this is an album that’s winning a whole lot of praise within the Doom/Stoner Rock scene.

I wanted to find more about Blackwater Holylight and I was given the chance to do a quick interview with Allison (Sunny) Faris (Bass/Vocals) from the band.

Hi. Thanks for doing this interview.

Hi there!


Sunny (founder, bass/vocals) here!

What is the main theme of the record.

The main theme of the record is vulnerability and our lives.

Can you give a brief history of how the band came together and where it is today.

We all came together from knowing each other around town and a few of us have been friends for a while. We’ve been a band for about two years now and plan on continuing forward together!

What influenced you when writing and recording the record.

Just our current situation in our lives, growing being vulnerable, things starting things ending… Just a lot of learning!

Was recording the album an easy or hard experience.

It was definitely challenging in ways, and also really fun in a lot of ways! I don’t think that the recording process should ever be necessarily easy for anyone.

Blackwater Holylight has a very unique sound of their own. I had a hard time describing when I reviewed your album recently. How would you describe your own sound.

Our sound does a pretty mixed bag, it’s anywhere from melodic and sultry to heavy and dooms. We say heavy psych but it definitely has many flavors, that’s usually what we tell people when explaining our sound is that it’s just a lot of things.


You’re currently signed to RidingEasy Records. How did you manage to sign to that great label.

We had recorded a few songs that we were going to release an EP and I have been following writing easy and was very interested in them, I sent them a couple tracks and a few days later we were on the phone! It was a little bit of manifest destiny if you will.

Did you have any other offers to release your album.

The only label we sent it to was RidingEasy and they were the only label I wanted to sign with at the time.

Will you be promoting and touring this album heavily. Or will you just be focusing on gigs closer to home.

We would like to be on a supporting tour for a bigger band, but we’re kind of waiting for the right thing to present itself. Right now we have a lot of things around town and are going on a small West Coast tour in August. But for now we’re sticking around home and thinking about starting the recording of the next album.

Have you been taking noticing of the reviews that your album has received. Have you been pleased with the responses. Or do reviews not phase or bother you in the slightest.

I have been extremely pleased with the reviews we’ve gotten so far! Everyone has been so kind and supportive and had pretty amazing things to say about it… I had no expectations whatsoever so everything has been a big surprise.


If you could have been a member of any band (regardless of genre). Which band would you be a part of and the reasons why.

I’d want to me a member in Black a Sabbath, obviously... is there any other answer than that?!

Thanks for doing this interview. Before you go do you have anything to say to your fans. Best of luck with the new album.

WOMEN ARE POWERFUL. Be good, do good, and we thank very single person for the love and support!

Words by Steve Howe and Sunny

Thanks to Andy Turner for arranging this interview. Thanks to Sunny for doing this interview.

Blackwater Holylight debut album is now available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via RidingEasy Records

Links:

Instagram | BandCamp