By: Chris Stead

With the release of their sophomore effort, Blind Faith and Envy has a new label, big goals and a path set to reach them. Their first release, The Charming Factor, was on Nilaihah Records, their second record, however, hails the birth of their own label, Silver Echo Records. Murder of a Girl is a clear growth from their last record while still staying true to their roots as a synthpop group. Charlene April gives us a little insight into where Blind Faith and Envy is now and where they are headed in the future.

Gothic Angst Webzine (GAW): How did the members of the group meet?

Charlene April (CA): Daniel and I met in a bar in Illinois. We started talking about music and discovered early on how much we had in common.

GAW: What is the significance of the name Blind Faith and Envy?

CA: We liked some lyrics that I wrote to an old track and decided it would be a cool band name. We both feel it’s a neutral band name that could work with many genres of music and doesn’t instantly stereotype us. Personally I think that “Blind Faith” and “Envy” are two things that drive the human race to want to succeed.

GAW: What are the best and worst aspects of being in a band?

CA: The best thing about being in a band is having creative freedom, which I have in BF/E. Of course sharing the music with others (in the hope that they enjoy it) is very rewarding. Playing live is fun too, and we would like to do more performing. The one thing I struggle with the most is patience. Songwriting can be very tedious and when I am excited about a song in progress I want to hear the finished product right away. The worst thing is waiting, there’s so much waiting in the music business!

GAW: What groups do you feel were the most influential in developing the sound of Blind Faith and Envy?

CA: Mostly the “classic” electro bands like Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails were the most inspirational. We have learned a lot from bands in the scene. Some artists, we feel, are awful and represent everything we don’t want to be. On the flip-side of that are the few bands that are really smart and creative and are able to market themselves and their music as a total concept, a “brand” if you will. That’s super cool and very desirable even if the music isn’t all that fantastic.

GAW: What has changed between The Charming Factor and Murder of a Girl musically?

CA: Murder of a Girl is a lot darker than our debut album. We are pushing to sound a bit harder and edgier. There’s a lot more emotion there and I feel my vocal performances and lyrics are a lot stronger. Daniel’s programming and production has matured with Murder of a Girl. In general, Murder of a Girl is a much stronger product.

GAW: The title of your new release seems to be much darker. Is this reflected in the sound of the new album?

CA: Yes- it’s definitely a darker more meaningful album. However we wanted to keep a couple of elements of The Charming Factor incorporated in the new album because we didn’t want to totally shock our fans. “Water and Land” and “I’m in a Haze” are throw back songs, similar to the kind of songs found on our debut.

GAW: What made you decide to switch away from Nilaihah Records and start Silver Echo Records?

CA: Nilaihah Records was not a good fit for us, we felt stifled and didn’t want to stagnate. We decided to start Silver Echo Records for our own releases and also to put out compilations. We want to help promote some of the other talented bands/artist’s in the scene. The best business advise is “take care of your own business.” Music is a business that is best managed by the artists themselves (assuming they are resourceful and can figure out the business end of it).

GAW: How has running a music label been going?

CA: It’s been great! We have been able to put together an extensive distribution list (especially digital), and we have a strong promotional campaign in place for releases. We will be having our very first compilation Silver Echo Vol. 1 released this Fall 2006. We are very excited about it. We will be putting together more compilations in the future as well as BF/E releases.

GAW: Where do you see the group headed, musically as well as career-wise over the next few years?

CA: We are currently working on a new album and hope to have it released in 2007. Hopefully the new album will put us on the map. We are planning on writing radio-friendly hits that (hopefully) commercial radio stations will heavily rotate. We have received airplay from a few commercial rock stations…so our goal is to get some regular rotation.

GAW: I know that you have just released Murder of a Girl. Are you currently touring to support the new album?

CA: We are in the beginning stages of planning a tour. Hopefully we can hit several clubs here in the mid-west and depending on time constraints we might be able to expand the tour to a larger geographical area in the U.S. Updates will be listed on our website and on our MySpace site.

For more information about Blind Faith and Envy or to hear their music go to:
http://www.blindfaithandenvy.com
http://www.myspace.com/blindfaithandenvy.com