Dark Saints makes electronic music inspired by darksynth, synthwave, industrial and goth with a love of horror movies and 80s video games.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in the northeast of England, in a city called Sunderland. The hometown of Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics
What is one of the first songs you remember liking as a kid?
I grew up in the 80s and I remember sitting by my mam and dad's stereo recording music onto cassette from the chart rundown on the radio every Sunday. I remember loving "Living On A Prayer" by Bon Jovi, Hello by Lionel Ritchie, and the usual Michael Jackson stuff and Kylie Minogue's early cheesy pop songs. I think the song that really got me into music in a big way though was Paradise City by Guns N Roses. After discovering that band I wanted to be in a band myself.
What were some of the influences you had that made you start making music?
Guns N Roses was the band that started the fire for me but when I was about 14, Nirvana exploded, and I got massively into grunge and alternative/indie rock. My main instrument is drums so bands like Soundgarden with Matt Cameron and Jimmy Chamberlain from the Smashing Pumpkins. I think Jimmy Chamberlain is my all-time favorite drummer and biggest influence. I met him once and had all these drumming things I wanted to talk to him about. Instead, I got too nervous and awkwardly kissed him on the cheek then walked off. What an idiot.
At what age did you start playing/singing?
I wanted to play guitar originally, but I didn't really enjoy it and guitar lessons at school were through my lunch break. I found out drum lessons were through English so I decided to give it a try just to get out of a lesson but I loved playing the drums. I would have been about 13. Writing my synth music didn't really start until I was 41! But I did study music production in my early 20s and dabbled a little in writing electronic music back then.
If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to yourself after finishing school?
Don't worry about other people's opinions so much, just be yourself, embrace your quirks and invest in bitcoin early (but sell a decent chunk before it crashes in late 2021)
What are some of your favorite songs at the moment?
At the moment I can't get enough of Sweet Candy by Choir Boy. I've been playing this almost on a loop for a good few weeks now
And I love FM Attack. I've been listening to City Lights a lot over the last few months. I love how it combines what to me seems like goth music mixed with synthwave. That's what I try and do with Dark Saints but this song really nails it
Do you listen to your own music besides when making it or do you listen so much it gets tiring after it is released?
It's weird as when I'm working on music, I end up really sick of it and hating it. I can't even remember what I liked about it in the first place sometimes. But once it's finished and uploaded, I start to really enjoy it again. I initially try to listen from the perspective of someone not involved with the making of it, though it's impossible to do that, unfortunately. So yeah, I do listen to my own music and once it's finished, I don't really get tired of it. I'm embarrassed to say my Spotify wrapped top 5 songs were my own.
Are there any collaborations you would like to have in the future?
I've recently done a collaboration with To The Stars We Return, who writes this amazing atmospheric, cinematic synth music, but he is also an awesome singer. He sang on a track we did together called Lost in the Darkness. Go check it out on your streaming service of choice.
I'm always talking with Neilio about a collaboration together. It hasn't happened yet but I'm sure it will. We only live a few miles away from each other so there's no excuse not to really. Though we always send each other works in progress for feedback so I guess that could maybe be classed as a collab? Maybe?
What is one of your favorite memories so far in your music career?
I've been quite lucky really and played some awesome gigs with the various bands I've been involved with. I've played with some of my favorite bands in great venues and released some great music that I'm really proud of. But I think my fondest memories are when I was about 15 and was in the first band where we wrote our own songs. We got to go to Germany to play some gigs, did a radio interview, and did some recording sessions over there. It was so exciting to be away playing music in another country, drinking beers, and having a laugh with my mates. I thought that I'd made it, and I would be buying fast cars and nice houses soon after. The fast cars and nice houses never happened. Not yet anyway.
What advice would you give to someone that is just starting to get into music?
Don't try too hard and fit into a genre, write music that's genuine to you. Listen to all different types of music and try to take from all of them. Even if it's from a genre a million miles away from what you're doing it'll sound like you once you work it into your music.
A BIG THANK YOU to Dark Saints for doing this interview!
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