Blackwater Holylight have steadily carved out a distinctive niche in the Los Angeles underground scene, following their relocation from Portland, Oregon. With a career marked by a careful balance of ethereal heaviness and introspective lyricism, the trio now unveils their fourth full-length album, “Not Here Not Gone,” set for release on January 30, 2026 via Suicide Squeeze Records. The record represents both a geographic and artistic shift, shaped by the band’s move to Southern California and the resulting exploration of light and dark, heaviness and airiness, and introspection and empowerment. From the dirge-like riffs of “Bodies” to the hallucinatory textures of “Giraffe” and the harrowing finale “Poppyfields,” the album showcases Blackwater Holylight’s deliberate patience and evolved sound—a reflection of their personal and creative growth over the past three years. As the band prepares for a headline tour across North America and Europe in early 2026, we spoke with Sunny Faris to explore the making of the album, the evolution of their sound, their creative process, and their perspective on today’s underground scene.
Can you walk us through the genesis of “Not Here Not Gone” and how relocating from Portland to Los Angeles influenced the writing and recording process?
When we moved to LA, we had just released our 3rd record on Riding Easy Records, thus fulfilling our contract with them. We toured Silence/Motion, and in the meantime, started writing and demoing songs, some of which are on Not Here Not Gone. Since we didn’t start looking for another label right away, it gave us a lot of time to slow down, be intentional, and not have the pressure of recording and releasing music quickly. I think moving down here for us gave us the gift of time, and not being afraid to use it. It allowed us to discuss how we wanted to transition our sound slightly, while still staying true to who we are and going through the motions of that organically.
How did the environment of LA shape the themes and atmospheres of the album compared to your previous work?
Going from a place where it is dark and cold and depressing for the majority of the year to a place where it’s always sunny definitely made the desire to play slow, gloomy music diminish in ways. Again, we are still us, and will always sound like us, but not having the depression that comes along with Portland winters certainly made a shift in our sound. I can’t really explain why specifically, but I think any artist who changes their environment will experience a profound shift
in their work.
The press release mentions the duality of light and dark throughout the album. How do you approach balancing menacing riffs with melodic and ethereal elements?
The theme of light and dark has been present the entire time we’ve been a band, and being dynamic has always been important in our writing. The balance really creates itself because I have a floaty and soft voice that, when paired with drenched-out guitars and big drums, and everything else we have going on, just creates this kind of dance with all the voices in each song. The balance is a natural one.
“Heavy, Why?” has been described as a lyrically light but instrumentally Heavy track. Can you elaborate on the creative process behind it and how it fits into the album as a whole?
That song took form one day when Eliese and I went to our space to jam. I wanted her to fuck around with playing the beat, and I started playing with her, and it just sort of fell out. I wanted to keep the lyrics sparse so it could really highlight the drums. It didn’t really dawn on us until pre-pro with Sonny when he pointed out that the snare hits act as the hook of the song, which we thought was really neat. That song was one of the earlier ones we had written, so it
kind of helped lay a foundation for the album.
The instrumental track “Giraffe” represents a notable stylistic shift. How did collaboration with David Andrew Sitek influence its creation?
“Giraffe” was a beat that Dave had already created and gifted to us to use for the record. We then took it to our studio and layered the guitar track on top of it.
Patience is highlighted as a theme, with songs developed over a period of three years. How did slowing down the creative pace impact the album’s cohesion and emotional resonance?
By taking time, we really got to let my songs unfold and blossom. We made demos of a few of the tracks, and in earlier times, I think we would have wanted to release them instead of sitting on them for a while, and letting the songs continue to form. It was also great because we got to pick and choose what we wanted on the album, and cut the stuff that we didn’t feel fit as well.
The second half of the album, including tracks like “Void to Be,” “Fade,” and “Mourning After,” deliberately moves away from big riffs. What drove this exploration of more nuanced, layered instrumentation?
We wanted to have some softer songs included on the record because it is such a part of who we are. “Mourning After,” in particular, was a song I knew would really come to life in the studio. We knew we wanted to layer a lot of guitars to give it the sort of woozy feeling it has. It was really fun to see that we wanted a bunch of layers but did not really know what they were all the way until we were doing it in the studio, and the way it came out is exactly as we had hoped.
“Poppyfields” was composed just days before entering the studio and deals with a friend losing their home to wildfire. How did you approach blending heavy instrumentation with such asensitive narrative?
Yes, that’s right. Once we had the instrumental parts, I knew right away what the song needed to be about. It was as if the song was demanding it from us, and it was in the driver’s seat more than we were. I think that when you have this fast tremolo guitar, the only option is to sing about something sensitive; again, the music demands it.
Recording at Sonic Ranch with Sonny Diperri marked another step outside your comfort zone. How did the studio environment and production approach shape the final sound of the album?
Working with Sonny and going through his entire pre-production process was completely new for us. We had never worked with a producer like this before this record. He told us when we decided to do this album together that it was going to be a lot and difficult at times, and he was absolutely correct about that. He would come in for pre-production sessions and have us play the songs sped up, slowed down, retuned, and so on. For “Bodies,’ he suggested we restructure
it, which led to us restructuring that song probably 15 different ways until we narrowed it down to 3 and landed on what it is now. We practiced our asses off so that by the time we got to the studio, we could play those songs half asleep and blindfolded, which is the point of his entire approach. To be so ridiculously prepared that by the time you record, it’s easy and fast and leaves a ton of time for the fun shit like finding tones and making crazy layers. The studio itself was an incredibly magical experience. We slept in a house that was about 50 feet from the studio, and being in a place where all you have to do is work and focus on what you’re making, outside of the temptations of everyday life, was amazing and so fun to be so focused and in routine with your art.
Across the record, there’s a recurring tension between confidence and vulnerability. How conscious are you of this dynamic when arranging songs?
I feel completely conscious of that dynamic as it is so foundational to who I am. I won’t speak for the girls, but for me personally, yes, I am 100% aware of that and aware of how it shows up in my music.
How do you feel your sound has evolved from your earlier releases to “Not Here Not Gone“?
This record is so much more refined than anything we’ve ever put out. The songs are more intentional, and we are way more locked in with each other because of the pre-pro process. We’re all just better musicians than we’ve ever been before, because with time comes practice, and we will continue to evolve and grow as musicians, which of course will refine and evolve our songwriting too.
Looking at your upcoming 2026 North American and European/UK tour, how does performing these new songs live influence the way you write and arrange them in the studio?
Performing the songs live didn’t influence the way we wrote them at all. The only thought we had about playing live is that it will be fun!
How has the band’s lineup and chemistry developed over the years, and in what ways did that affect the creative process for this album?
The four of us have been playing music together for 6 years, and some of us longer. So we really know each other and how we work together, and it’s something you just continue to get better and better at. I definitely think that this album was the best flow we’ve ever had writing since we were in our space working on it so so much before the studio. You just get into a flow with one another and we’ve built such an understanding of what we all need to work and learn.
The Los Angeles underground scene is known for its diversity and experimentation. How do you situate yourselves within the current scene, and what influences or contemporaries do you see as relevant to your work?
I feel like everyone we know in music, LA or not, is constantly influenced by one another. We are part of such an expansive network of friends in bands all over the place, and I am in constant awe of what everyone creates, and how we all take care of each other and for each other across the board. So in that way, I think we are all relevant to each other because we are all working hard to dump our hearts out on stage and make music that is meaningful. And maybe some bands sound similar, or maybe they don’t, but the constant is the collective love we all have for this. And that is undoubtedly contagious. Everyone has a place; it doesn’t matter what you are making, it has a place.
Looking forward, what directions or challenges do you anticipate for the band’s sound and artistic vision beyond this release?
The only direction will always be forward, and there will absolutely be challenges that are totally unforeseeable. The challenges are a guarantee. We are excited to play this collection of songs live because they still continue to develop and change, presuming them live, which is a piece of this that I love so much. We have some other personal projects we are working on that will be fun to share whenever they are ready, but mostly just gearing up to hit the road!
With “Not Here Not Gone,” Blackwater Holylight demonstrates a masterful evolution of their sound—melding Sludgy, Heavy riffs with ethereal, Ambient textures, and introspective lyricism with moments of empowerment. The album captures the duality of their experiences in a new city, the patience cultivated over years of deliberate writing, and the creative risks embraced in both composition and recording. As they prepare to tour North America and Europe in early 2026, the trio continues to refine their artistic identity, offering a rich, immersive, and nuanced journey for listeners, and reaffirming their position as a singular force within the contemporary underground heavy music landscape.
Pre-Order “Not Here Not Gone” here: https://lnk.to/bhnot