fbpx

BlakLight shine a synth-pop beat on classics from Sparks and B-Movie

Via Bandcamp

Today is Bandcamp Friday across the land, and there’s a massive wave of new music flooding the digital landscape. But some of the best new selections are rooted in older templates, and Los Angeles dark electronic-pop duo BlakLight have adorned the release of their “Into The Void (Cold Mix)” single with a pair of spirited covers from the influential early-’80s: B-Movie’s timeless “Nowhere Girl” and Sparks’ masterful “All You Ever Think About Is Sex.”

“Into The Void (Cold Mix)” marks the fourth single from BlakLight’s October album of the same name, a standout release from the duo of Brian Belknap (Mind Machine) and Adam Collier (Crush333, MDA and Full Frontal Disco) that harkens back to the glory days of European synth-pop. Their kaleidoscopic take on Sparks’ lively tune is inspired, but we’re particularly smitten with the B-Movie cover, perhaps the finest reboot since Philtron gave it some proper thump in 1997. BlakLight’s rendition spins vividly around the song’s masterful orbit without ever flying too close to the sun. And no matter what bells and whistles are placed on the 40-year-old tune (yikes!), that synth line remains forever unfuckwithable.

“We keep a running list of artists that we’d like to cover, and  I had actually suggested a different track for this single, but then Adam came back with ‘Nowhere Girl,’ an absolute classic which we both love,” Belknap tells Vanyaland. “Sparks has been on our list from the beginning, but we’ve never been able to decide on a track as Russel’s soaring falsetto makes things a bit challenging. For this single, we had already decided on ‘Nowhere Girl,’ but then Adam sent me ‘All You Ever Think About Is Sex’ as a complete surprise, so we decided to go for it.”

Check out the trio of songs below. Those in Los Angeles are directed to BlakLight’s live debut March 19 at Bar Sinister alongside Vain Machine, before another stage appearance at the inaugural Darkness Calling Festival. with Blood Handsome, The Sea at Midnight, and others.