Brighter Than A Thousand Suns may be best described as “Industrial Disco”. They conjurer images of Trent Reznor, Phil Collins and Chvrches all hanging out in Patrick Bateman’s apartment watching anime.
BTATS has 2 new songs out for 2023 called "Shame" and "Atavism" which you can check out here: @BTATS (withkoji.com)
You can also hear these tracks on
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Where did you grow up?
Angelika and I both grew up in CT, USA.
What is one of the first songs you remember liking as a kid?
“Shout” by Tears for Fears. My sister and I used to get a kick out of alternating between being the one who gets to sing the last overlapping line of the verses leading into the choruses.
What were some of the influences you had that made you start making music?
For me, I think a lot of it stemmed from being a very introverted kid who needed to find a way to best make sense of the world and channeling that struggle and discovery through music just felt like the best way to find purpose. For Angelika, her father had a strong influence on her musical upbringing, which gave her a stability similar to how I felt with music while growing up.
At what age did you start playing/singing?
We were each about 10 when we first picked up a guitar.
If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to yourself after finishing school?
That our lives are shaped by opportunities - even the ones we don’t take.
What are some of your favorite songs at the moment?
Right now, we’re both really into Howard Jones, particularly his track “The Prisoner”.
Do you listen to your own music besides when making it or do you listen so much it gets tiring after it is released?
Not usually. It’s a while after releasing a song that I’m able to have any reasonable amount of objectivity on it that would be sufficient to merely enjoy it. Having said that, there’s been moments where I ‘ve been particularly proud of what we’ve done with a song that I’ll take a moment to give it a listen just to appreciate what we’ve accomplished.
Are there any collaborations you would like to have in the future?
It would be interesting to see what we might be able to to with Rein or The New Division.
What is one of your favorite memories so far in your music career?
Back when we were a metal band, touring during the peak and tail end of the MySpace era, roughly 2007-2012. Those were some of the most hopeful and inspiring memories.
What advice would you give to someone that is just starting to get into music?
While some of the best learning we can absorb is through emulating our heroes, instill the idea very early on that your ultimate goal should be to contribute something that only you can offer. Now more than ever, we live in a world of performers who merely parrot popularity. That may lead to the safety of a more wide-spread approval, but what the world needs more are risk takers.
A BIG THANK YOU to Randy and Angelika for doing this interview!
Don't forget you can see all of the new music and videos by Brighter Than A Thousand Suns here: @BTATS (withkoji.com)
Also, check out one of their lyric videos for "Atavism" below.