Shades of Blk are a unique Montreal techno duo made of Steve Bacolias aka Bacs & Massimo Bergamin, aka Woe. They have been recognized for their thrilling sets at Stereo Montreal, among other Montreal venues. Constantly cruising their unique and innovative sound on their own imprint “Blk Blox Recordings”, Shades of Blk have turned many heads along their path. We had the chance to sit down and catch up with the duo to see what their plans are for the coming year, enjoy!

HS : What are your biggest influences at the moment?

SOB: Musically, so many different artists and genres. Our productions have influences from classical to hip hop, and sometimes even movies.

HS: What is the idea behind Blk Box Recordings?

SOB: Blk Box Recordings is about translating emotions into music. Every track tells a story. The black cube in the logo is placed behind the face because it represents the mind. It signifies all of our thoughts & feelings that we put into our productions.

HS: What can we expect from you guys in 2020?

SOB: 2020 will be heavily focused on music. In the past year we focused on developing our sound and slightly changing the direction. This year, along with Shades of Blk, we will be focusing on our solo aliases. We really want to push the boundaries and expand our label.

HS: What has been the favourite gig of 2019?

SOB: Hands down B 018 in Beirut. B 018 is the club that brought electronic music to Lebanon. Having the opportunity to play the closing set and to see the iconic roof open up during the sunrise was absolutely incredible. The crowd’s energy was beautiful and made us feel as though we were all vibing off each other. We were extremely glad to have the opportunity to chat with some of the loyal dancers after our set, which further proved how welcoming and generous Lebanese people can be. Although we had never met, they instantly invited us to their restaurants, bars, and other parties. Beirut’s nightlife is truly a sight to see and we look forward to having the chance to play there again!

HS: You guys are also solo producers and make your own music, how would you compare the process of making music in a duo compared to making music for your solo work?

SOB: It’s quite similar since you aren’t two people on a computer. When it comes to recording, we can jam on different synths just to formulate ideas. Generally though we give each other time to build a concept or loop and then we alternate and let the other build off that. Other times one of us will have full control and create most of the ideas of the track because we are inspired. We don’t want to take that away from each other and block the mental process if we have ideas flowing. Our solo alias’ and the Shades of Blk sound are different so even if it’s one of us creating most of the song from start to finish it still has that “Shades of Blk” sound. We’ve really honed that over time.