An Interview with Blood Pact: Sonic Melancholy
Are you looking for new shoegaze artists to get into? Blood Pact is a shoegaze solo project from San Diego, California. Let's see what they have to say about making music that consists of an ethereal mixture of prodigious distorted guitar, dreamy vocals, and delay and feedback that can drown out a crowd.
Photo taken by @samueldavidkatz on IG
WHO IS BLOOD PACT?
"My name's Brenton, and Blood Pact is my solo project. I write and record everything myself. For my live video that's out right now, I brought in Christopher Nichols on drums and Marshall Mosley on bass. At this point, I do most things independently and collaborate with others when necessary or if someone can bring something cool to the table."
HOW DID BLOOD PACT START/FORM?
"I started Blood Pact when I was fronting the band Conk Creet. I had written my early Blood Pact demos thinking I could take Conk Creet in a heavier, more shoegaze direction, but the rest of the guys didn't want to commit to going that way fully. That was fine, and due to some other personal reasons, I left Conk on good terms and started Blood Pact as my full-time project on my own. Since then, in August 2022, I've put out two albums, a live version of 'why am I here,' and a cover of the song 'seen' by Trauma Ray."
Photo taken by @jessirosephotography on IG
LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR MOST RECENT RELEASE, A COVER OF THE SONG "SEEN." WHAT IS THE SONG ABOUT?
"So, 'seen' is a cover of an amazing song by Trauma Ray. Since I first heard it, I fell in love completely with the music and the lyrics. Since I didn't write the lyrics myself, they might have a different meaning behind them than the one I took away from it and resonated with. To me, I feel like it's a double entendre. On the one hand, it's from the singer's point of view. He's consoling who he's speaking to, reaching out to someone who's in a dark place, intending to help and show them they're not alone. On the other hand, I personally feel like it's God's voice speaking to me in the same way when I feel like I'm sinking. All in all, it's a song of comfort and hope."
WHAT WAS THE RECORDING PROCESS LIKE?
"The recording process was fun. I found it a nice challenge to learn their song by ear while also figuring out tones that were similar but also my own. I messed around with different parts, so it wasn't a direct copy of the original song, which was also cool. I recently got to see Trauma Ray play the song at House of Blues SD, and it was nice of them to say that they added the song to their set on tour for me, whether that's true or not. I got to talk to them that night about my cover, and it was cool that they recognized me for it. They're pretty dope guys."
IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT IS THE BEST PART ABOUT MAKING MUSIC? WHAT IS THE WORST PART ABOUT IT?
"The best part about making my own stuff is that it's just me. I don't have to answer anyone and argue my ideas. I'm a producer and engineer first, so I know I have an ear for what's good and what isn't, in my opinion. At the end of the day, I have strong convictions about what I want to write about and what I want it to sound like, so it makes sense that I have the process I do, and I have no problem bringing in members to play the songs live if I ever decide to do a show. The worst part is when I do get writer's block. When that happens, I have no one to bounce ideas off of or feed me ideas. It's not too bad, though, because I spend so many hours listening to music and have a lot going on in my head. So, for the most part, I don't struggle too hard with it.”
WHAT DO YOU DO TO GET INSPIRED? IS THERE A CERTAIN PROCESS YOU HAVE? OR DOES INSPIRATION COME MORE SO OUT OF THE BLUE?
"My inspiration comes mainly from three places in no particular order. As I mentioned above, one is the many hours I spend listening to music. The bands that are established in my genre and other up-and-coming bands I find on Reddit and from my girlfriend are always inspiring me. Two, God pulls stuff out of me I didn't even know was there, to be honest. It's a blessing and a curse to hear melodies and lyrics in my head almost every waking minute, but that's how I know I was made for this. Last, anytime I go to a show to see a band I like, I am immediately just overwhelmed with my own ideas. I don't know how to explain it, but standing in the crowd and hearing something insane someone else plays sparks creativity in me like no other. My process always bounces back and forth from those reasons above, but it's usually the same for me when it comes time to write. I usually start with a riff or chord progression, lay down the drums, fill in the bass, then add some crazy leads and textures and finish it off with the vocals."
Photo taken by @grunge_fairy_ on IG
WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM BLOOD PACT IN THE FUTURE? ARE ANY NEW RELEASES OR SHOWS COMING UP?
"I currently have my next single finished and ready to release once I hit 1,000 monthly listeners; I'm right around 750 at the moment. Until then, I'm working on my next album, "heaven," and it's almost done. I'm just waiting for some vocal features back from a couple of cool people, and I'm stoked about that. As for shows, I've decided to take a break from performing and focus on being a studio band for now. My physical and mental health really started to deteriorate and catch up to me in the last year or two, so I've had to focus on that as it was holding me back from being on stage and performing comfortably. Still, it's all good. Maybe someday, if the offer's right and I'm in a good place. Until then, I plan to record a couple more live versions of songs I've previously released and drop videos for them as I did for 'why am I here.'"
