BACKCHANNEL - Unfiltered Intensity ! (Canada - Post HardCore - Interview with Luc).

Hello ! Can you introduce yourself and tell us how it all began for you - your encounter with this musical universe, what appealed to you, what fascinated you and what made you want to get into music? 
Hey! I’m Luc — I play guitar and do the clean vocals in BACKCHANNEL. I’ve been playing in Toronto-area bands on and off for almost 20 years now. Most of them have fallen under the post-hardcore umbrella, but over the years I’ve also played in punk projects, electronic stuff, and even a Thursday tribute band for a while.
What originally pulled me into this kind of music was the emotion and energy behind it — I’ve always loved heavy and melodic stuff. The songwriting and live performance side of it is obviously a huge part of why the whole band does it, but honestly, I also love the bigger-picture side of being in a band. Things like planning releases, organizing shows, setting goals, and slowly building something over time are just as rewarding.

Tell me about the band... How you met - the current line-up - past experiences - and above all - WHY the need to form THIS band?
We’re all friends from way before this band started (which was just a couple years ago). Most of the guys go all the way back to elementary and high school (with the exception of me), and over the years we’d all played in different bands and projects together.
This band really came from us hitting a point where we said, “fuck it — we still love doing this.” When you’re younger, you put a lot of pressure on “making it,” but as we got older we realized we just genuinely love writing music, playing shows, and being part of this world. Once we stopped worrying about expectations and just did it for the love of it again, it became super fun right out of the gate.

Describe your sound and explain why I should listen to YOUR band at all cost ?
Our sound is essentially melodic and heavy post hardcore! If you're an elder emo, love stuff like Underoath, Norma Jean, Poison the Well, Glassjaw, Finch, etc., or just like heavy, groovy shit with sing-along choruses, check us out! More than anything, we just try to write what feels natural to us and stay away from chasing trends. 

Lyrical and musical inspirations/influences ? How important are the lyrics for you ? Are there any specific messages or thoughts you try to develop and share through your lyrics ? 
Aside from some of the classic post hardcore and metalcore artists I mentioned previously, we kind of pull from everywhere (even if you can't tell). Outside of heavy music, we’re into electronic/EDM, ambient, post rock, hip hop, 90s alternative, etc. so bits of those tend to creep into our songs. 
Lyrics are definitely important to us. Our vocalist Dave writes about a wide range of things — nostalgia, personal relationships, anxiety, fictional stories, pretty much whatever inspires him at the time. It keeps things interesting because the songs never feel one-dimensional or locked into one specific theme. 

About the band's discography... Imagine someone who doesn't know your band at all and wants to get interested in.. Which release would you recommend to start with, and why? 
We’ve put out six singles so far. We started releasing music in February 2025 and have been pretty consistent with it while developing our sound and building a fanbase. Everything’s been very DIY too — we’ve handled the production, mixing, and artwork ourselves.
I’d say our last two singles, Smoke Screen and Undercurrent, are probably the best starting points if you’re new to the band. They’re heavy, melodic, energetic, and really capture what we’re all about.

 

Future plans ? 
We’ve been consistently playing shows around Ontario, so the plan is to keep hitting new cities, doing weekend runs with cool bands in the scene, and of course releasing more music. We recently finished two new songs with an awesome producer who’s really active in the Ontario scene, and he definitely helped elevate our sound. We’re working out the release details for those now, so that’s something we’re really excited about. Keep your eyes peeled! 

Your most insane dream with the band would be ?
Now that Warped Tour is back (sort of), it would be a dream to be included!

Your BEST & WORST concert - as a band - and why ? 
Honestly, we haven’t really had a bad show yet. Sure, sometimes there’s a technical issue or something random that pops up, but we don’t let that stuff faze us — we just go out, have fun, and go nuts onstage. It honestly feels like every show becomes our new favorite show. 

Next live-appearance(s) ?
We have an Ontario weekend run coming up soon - May 22 in Toronto @ Supermarket and May 23 in Brantford @ Brantford Air Force Club with a bunch of friends. We’re doing shows pretty frequently, so it’s best to just shoot us a follow on Instagram to see what’s up next!

Some words on your local scene - bands you're friends with and you'd like to name ? 
Man, there are so many sick bands in Ontario right now. I know I’m going to forget somebody and regret it later, but shoutout to Constrain, Jenafur, Mouth Breaker, Thorns, Napoleon, and a bunch more. They’re all bands we’ve either played with recently or will be playing with soon, and every one of them rules. 

Last word is yours.. 
Thanks, Fabien, for giving us a platform to rant about the band! We’re stoked about the future and can’t wait to see how things unfold.