Ello ello ello, wot's all this then? Okay, well Nightlights is my electronic music project. It originally started out as synthwave. (And for those who may not know what synthwave is, it's primarily synthesizer based music with generally an 80s feel to it, or sometimes 90s. The genre covers a big range of styles, from synthpop to movie soundtracks to dark gothic themed music.) Eventually though, I branched out a bit and although the music is still very much 80s influenced, it has less of a synthwave feel to it these days.

In my case, at this time, I write instrumentals which are mostly upbeat, optimistic songs. I can't and won't sing, so bum to that, but who knows? Maybe one day. I wrote music as "Snowkitten" for over 10 years, before putting that project on one side and beginning writing as Nightlights in the autumn of 2016. The first EP was then released in early 2017, and since then there have been several albums, EPs and singles.

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Also, the pink haired girl who features on most of my cover art is Kiki. She's essentially the mascot for the music, but she has a story of her own which I'm hoping to write at some point.

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For extra bonus excitement I'll copy over an interview I did a few years ago, originally on my Dreamwidth blog.

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What first got you into music?

I was a late starter - mostly in the 80s I was much more into home computing, the games etc. It wasn't really till I started college at 16, that I took a proper interest in music. But what kick-started it was the mighty mullet of John Farnham and his synthrock classic, "You're The Voice." On a bit of a gamble, I brought his "Whispering Jack" album as a cheapass tape, and was totally hooked, especially as most of his music back then was heavily synth based.

 

Who inspired you to make music?

Ahh, well that's an easy one. Mark Hollis, (who sadly passed away two years ago) main mover behind Talk Talk. I absolutely loved their "Life's What You Make It" song when my brother brought it as a single in 1991, and a few months later I found Talk Talk's first album at a local market, again on a cheap tape. There was no going back after that - I brought each album in order of release and later hoovered up their B sides at record fairs.

 

But their music is definitely the key thing behind me wanting to make my own music. However, back in the early 90s there wasn't really the kind of DIY approach that you can take now, where these days you can create an entire album in your own bedroom etc. And in the early 90s, there was no chance that I could afford the necessary equipment to get a bunch of synths up and running. So it took till the mid 2000s before I was able to actually do anything with that inspiration. But yeah, Hollis was the key there.

 

How would you describe the music that you typically create?

 

Oh I have no idea any more. It started as an intent to make synthwave, after I got hooked on the genre courtesy of Robots With Rayguns, The Midnight, Timecop1983 and FM84 (to name a few.) But as much as I love synthwave, I just felt like I was kinda forcing Nightlights to sound like something that it wasn't really meant to be. So after the first few EPs, I just went with " it is what it is." I suppose I could class it as synthpop to some extent, but I don't know if it would pigeonhole into that too well either really. I don't worry about genres for the music - if people like it, that's good enough for me.

 

What is your creative process like?

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Usually I'll stick down a basic drumloop in the software, which is mostly there just to keep time to, and it'll loop for 20 minutes or so. I then find a synth sound that I like, and I'll improvise to the drum loop for a while, recording it as it goes. If anything among that sounds interesting, I'll keep it and bin the rest, and gradually I collage bits of recordings together to create the final song.

 

A themed album (like "The Crystal Mountain" or the new "The Lost Girl") obviously dictates how some of the tracks will sound, as they need to fit in with the storyline that I've written etc. But even those start as "let's just see where they go" for the first few songs, till a theme really settles down.

 

Tell us about the new album briefly

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It's called "The Lost Girl" and basically follows a similar idea to my first album, "The Crystal Mountain." I liked the idea of having a soundtrack album from, for instance, an 80s or 90s film. But I never had the chance to write such a thing, as I would have been about 10 years old at the time... So I figured, why not create an imaginary 80s animated film and then write the imaginary soundtrack for that. So this new album does precisely that - a story I imagined in which the Nightlights mascot, the mysterious Kiki, has to return a snowkitten girl, Leana, by taking her back to her own time and world. But that can only be done by travelling across an amazing but highly dangerous alternate world, to reach the portal back to the 80s. However, they also have the Skiryks to contend with, who are pursuing them, intending to use Leana as a means to reach the so-called real world. And that would be a bad thing. That's the gist of it anyway - a synth based concept album, to sum it up in a few words.

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Who would you most like to collaborate with?

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Well, that would have been Mark Hollis (Talk Talk) but that dream sadly became impossible two years ago. I know obviously it would never have happened anyway, as Hollis retired from music in the early 2000s, and was most definitely not interested in the kinds of music I create. But in an ideal world...

 

I'd say now, it would be bands or acts such as The Midnight, Nina, JJ Mist, VNV Nation, The Birthday Massacre, maybe Alan Wilder who used to be in Depeche Mode. Again, not going to happen obviously, but we can dream.

 

If you could go open a show for any artist who would it be?

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I mean, I don't play live for reasons I've mentioned before on this blog, but if I did, that would have to again be The Midnight, Birthday Massacre or VNV Nation, or maybe even Erasure.

 

What is one message you would give to your fans?

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The M&Ms are mine. All mine.

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(As a side note, I'm not wild about the word "fans" in this context. It feels a bit "us and them" I guess. I think it was the esteemed Vampire Step Dad who said he preferred "supporters" which seems a good idea.)

 

What is the most useless talent you have?

 

All my talents are amazing. Therefore I do not recognise this question.

 

Do you sing in the shower? What songs?

 

Ha!

 

How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?

 

In many ways, I'd say it's been a good thing. Without the internet, I doubt very much I'd have had the chance to release any music, and build up any kind of audience for it. The old method of record deals was great maybe, at the time, because if you got a *good* deal, I suppose you'd feel that the record company was looking after you, and helping you (as well as themselves....) to make a living out of your music. But if you couldn't get a record deal back then, for myriad numbers of reasons, there were very few options left for getting your music out there.

 

These days, you have so many options for releasing the music. Getting it heard is an entirely different thing, but the opportunities are there regardless. Even if you can't do gigs for whatever reason, the option exists to make a Youtube channel and film a live performance wherever you can, or make a simple video. And Bandcamp especially has been amazing for independent artists to get their music released and, in some cases, make a decent living from it.

 

But there is of course the fact that it did crush the record deal system which did suit some people, and the ease of spreading the music around illegally didn't exactly help matters. I can imagine that's put a fair few people off even trying. In my experience, if someone really likes the music, they would want to pay for it anyway, to maybe help the artist out, rather than grabbing a copy off a dodgy virus infected website. There's also the unfortunate side effect of Spotify, where too many people have the idea that you should just give the music away for nothing, always, and that is very far from healthy.

 

What is your favourite song to perform?

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I don't do live shows, for reasons mentioned elsewhere on the blog. However, if I did, I think it would probably be "Safe Return & Better Days" from the Crystal Mountain album, mainly because I'd love to see a live drummer belting out those beats on an electronic drum kit, along with a bass player attacking that main bass line.

 

Which famous musicians do you admire?

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Mark Hollis, for reasons mentioned earlier, combined with his principle of making the music exactly how he wanted it to sound, and any sales were a bonus. Otherwise, the most obvious next bunch would be the guys from Marillion. They have a fascinating story, and survived losing their singer in the late 80s, and later the entire record deal. They're credited with inventing crowd funding which led to them being able to still make their albums and do tours, and despite not having an "image" and being regarded as the very opposite of cool, they've built up a fiercely loyal following which I think is just amazing. Proof that you don't have to be some chisel jawed, flop haired boy band member or a woman wearing just a shoelace round her waist to necessarily carve out a music career.

 

What is the best advice you’ve been given?

 

"Throw the celery out the window. It can only do you harm." - Kiki, 2021.

 

If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?

 

Not sure really. Less reliance on Spotify, and more people using places like Bandcamp who actually give a damn about giving some kind of earnings to the artists.

 

What’s next for you?

 

Chips.