Neon Black Dreams just released their debut album, Kiss Of The Universe, which is out now on music platforms.
JJ and Yara combine to bring you a musical journey through their lyrics, videos and neon visuals.
Taken from their Bandcamp page:
Neon Black Dreams combines Pop, Synthwave, Post-rock with R’n’B infused vocals to create a new dimension of sound.
Check out my interview with one of my favorite new bands of 2022. They have brought a unique style of sound and visuals. I've been a huge fan since I first watched their music video for
The first time I experienced your music was through a music video submission for one of my YouTube series, The 4th Sector, and I have been hooked since I saw it. When did you both come together to start the band?
Originally, I was working on another project near the end of 2021. I was talking with a friend and said that I really wanted to make a Eurodance song. They suggested, why not just try it. This song eventually became Dreams. After finishing that song, I felt there was more to the story, and I wanted to express more ideas through this style of music. I wrote a story and then set out to write songs to tell that Synth Opera. I auditioned a few singers during the first half of 2022 and eventually met Yara through a friend. I felt she had the right voice and character to portray the character of the Kiss of the Universe story. And then we set to completing the full album.
Your debut album, Kiss Of The Universe, has been recently released and I’m loving it! What is it like to have your debut album out to the public?
Absolutely fantastic! It is a wonderful feeling to finally have 2 years of work finally available for everyone. Also, it is important as the album is meant to be listened to together in sequence to better understand the story of which it is a soundtrack to.
Based on your YouTube videos, the album tells an adventurous story through each and every track. What was it like putting that idea into your music?
Yes absolutely. The music for Dreams was written, and when I started with the lyrics, I had an idea to make the entire album a full-length concept story. It is roughly a mash-up of True Romance and Natural Born Killers set in 1989. The concept of the band is forever in 1985 but each album will tell a story from a different time, but from the perspective of a band in 1985.
I feel this allows a vast amount of creative freedom. For example, what music actually sounded like in 1995 is vastly different from what someone in 1985 would have envisioned music to sound like in 1995. Importantly, every song has an individual meaning, a story meaning and of course a personal meaning which allows for interpretation by anyone.
I’ve enjoyed all of the music videos I’ve seen and there are more I need to catch up on. I believe there are 11 in all. What was the creative process like for each one?
Yes, there are 11 videos, however, 2 are only lyrics videos. The original plan was to have the videos visual tell the entire story, but due to the situation we were never able to shoot the “acting” parts to cut in with the performance clips. And 2 clips we were never able to shoot at all. The video shoots were both grueling and exciting. We had a lot of help from friends and feel that they came out very well and help present the band image in a more dynamic way than just listening alone. However, we hope to have more complete story telling videos for the next album.
Do you have a favorite track on the album? Why is it your favorite?
JJ
A very difficult question. I would say it is a tie between Paradise Lost and Kiss of the Universe. Paradise lost because of the very deep personal meaning of the song and Kiss of the universe, because of the message and I was able to really explore a lot of progressive musical ideas in the song.
Yara
My favorite song is Kiss of The Universe. Because it is a unique piece of music. Combining two different stylistically and emotionally different parts inspires me. Yes, it's long, but there's a lot of depth, feeling, and story completion that gives hope. I hope our listeners share my feelings about this song.
Where can we find your music and social media accounts?
We keep our Bio page up to date with links to almost everywhere https://ffm.bio/ndb
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NeonBlackDreams
Instagram: https://instagram.com/NeonBlackDreams
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NeonBlackDreams
Bandcamp: https://NeonBlackDreams.bandcamp.com
What can your fans expect in 2023? Are there any upcoming events you would like to announce?
The new album is already being written. Hopefully it will be released before the end of the year. Also, depending on the global situation we hope to actually get out and play live for everyone if possible.
A BIG THANK YOU to JJ and Yara for doing this interview! I hope in the future we will be able to also do a video interview for one of my YouTube shows.
Check out one of Neon Black Dreams music videos below and support them on their website and platforms here: Neon Black Dreams (ffm.bio)