San Francisco’s The Reckless Nights is more than just a project—it’s a deeply personal journey through cascading guitars, moody synths, and raw vulnerability.
As they gear up for their latest album, Omar Rahim, is in full creative flow, tweaking tones and textures while soaking in the city’s endless inspiration.
Their latest single, “Rain,” is a haunting, melancholic ode to love, memory, and time, blending a kaleidoscope of soundscapes with introspective storytelling.
With influences like Frank Iero, Elliott Smith, and The Strokes subtly woven into the fabric of their work, The Reckless Nights is crafting a voice entirely their own.
Ahead of their next sonic chapter, we caught up to talk guitar breakthroughs, heartbreak, and what keeps them inspired.
HAPPY: What are you up to today?
THE RECKLESS NIGHTS: Currently I am on the hunt to find the “perfect” transparent overdrive pedal.
I had finished composing and recording all the tracks necessary for my upcoming album.
I am using my time in between each song being mixed separately to explore the sonics I used on the guitar and vocals stems.
I usually tend to leave all my reamping work for post production.
The last two singles I have released, the City, and Rain, are both “rough” mixes in order to clue in my audience to what I have been doing in the studio.
With how the current mixes are shaping up, it all sounds like a kaleidoscope of swelling textures and walls of cascading guitar and synth tones.
HAPPY: Tell us a bit about where you’re living and what you love about it.
THE RECKLESS NIGHTS: I am based out of San Francisco!
The city and overall interconnectivity of human life is a huge part of how I go about finding inspiration.
I am very fortunate to be exposed to a vast array of live music halls and venues, along with vibrant street artists and musicians.
San Francisco has always seemed like a place of endless opportunity and exploration, these nuances transmit their energy into the very words I write.
I feel the heartbeat of the city through the experiences in which I live my everyday life, and through that I am able to funnel my energy into creating what I am passionate about.
HAPPY: The Reckless Nights is a pretty personal project for you. Can you tell us a bit about the name? Are we sensing a theme?
THE RECKLESS NIGHTS: The Reckless Nights, as a pen name for my musical aspiration, has been like a baby to me.
I must admit I am very sensitive to how I craft the overall image of the music and feelings behind each narrative.
The name “The Reckless Nights” is like a rarity in which we all like to relish in, if we’re lucky.
I believe that’s why I am so drawn to the title, it’s uncertainty allows me to morph and transform my sound into whatever please me, the ambiguity lends itself the possibility to not be so constrained by a certain genre or image.
In terms of themes, I try to seperate the vibe of each album based on how I am feeling when I composed the tracks, and what kind of aesthetic I am trying to venture towards.
But I must admit that I do have a tendency to wander towards lovesickness when it comes to crafting a story or a back-and-forth of dialogue because how layered it allows the writer to be.
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HAPPY: Tell us about your latest track ‘Rain’? What inspired it?
THE RECKLESS NIGHTS: I was first inspired to base the narrative of the song around time, more specifically how love can be felt potently between two people based on the time of season.
I believe memories tend to play a pivotal role in how we come to view the loved ones in our lives, whether that’s a positive or negative thing, I wanted to voice these uncertainties through the lense of a love that has been dissolved.
The melancholic tone was definitely inspired by the dark and moody guitar work which is featured heavily throughout the song.
I think I really want to lean into these elements, which at the time reminded me of some vampiric love affair that would consume an individual’s waking hours.
I wanted to include specific lines talking about taking cover from the sun behind curtains, heathens and religious undertones, and how time could not separate the everlasting bond between two unrequited lovers.
HAPPY: The guitar work on “Rain” is super cool—How’d you approach the guitar parts for this one?
THE RECKLESS NIGHTS: The guitar lines for this song came so naturally when compared to the other songs I have composed for the album.
I believe the reason had to do with my exposure to music at the time and how much attention I was paying to various guitar hero interviews.
I was fascinated by Frank Iero’s lead chordal melodies he featured heavily throughout “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge”, I watched interviews in which he would demonstrate these fast chord changes which all evoked dark metal and heavy metal influences he would listen to as a kid.
His influences inspired me to look at my playing style differently, which I believe gave me more of an edge and power to how I went about counterbalancing the more beautiful acoustic and rhythm electric guitar work.
HAPPY: You mentioned feeling like you were “hearing guitars for the first time” with this track. Was this a breakthrough moment for you as a guitarist?
THE RECKLESS NIGHTS: This was one of those moments which stick with you as a musician.
We all share the ability to play these wonderful instruments, but what sets us apart is how we channel our very souls into them.
I was trying to find my voice in my guitar for years, and I believe it was this project which allowed me to sharpen these skills which lay dormant for so long.
Conjuring these melodies from thin air always seems like a miracle in themselves, with “Rain” it literally felt like each overdubbed track piled more flair and excitement into the mix!
HAPPY: There’s definitely a Strokes and Elliot Smith vibe on “Rain,” but it still feels like you. Who are you listening to right now, music-wise?
THE RECKLESS NIGHTS: Elliot Smith and Julian Casablancas have a way with words which allows the listeners to never grow bored with the stories they relate.
Everything seems so personal, yet also distant by the outstretched arm the singer holds out to us.
This bond of playing upon what’s known and unknown has allowed me as a listener to place my experience and life choices through the music in which resembles those feelings.
I wanted my music to have that same voice, and through trial and error I managed to find the right words to express this ambiguous need to connect.
Currently I have been obsessed with artists like Mg.kee, Of Montreal, and the Symposium, who are truly pushing the bounds in sonic innovation and musical creation.
HAPPY: Do you find writing about heartbreak helps you work through your own feelings, or is it more about creating something people can connect to?
THE RECKLESS NIGHTS: I believe it’s a bit of both. I always go into each song feeling very personally about it because I need to have an innate need/ drive to continue my venture into composing this “promising” track.
If I don’t feel at any time during the experimenting and writing process that I can relate to my song, then I will immediately discard or save it in my demo’s discography.
I had an instance where I will be four months into writing a song, which each day involved me actively contributing something to the overall mix, where I suddenly felt like the initial draw to the song has gone cold.
These introspective moments taught me to reevaluate my values as it related to creating music, essentially helping me realize in those moments my feelings attached to the song have also matured.
HAPPY: So what’s next for The Reckless Nights? Are you sticking with this confessional vibe, or are you planning to try something new?
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THE RECKLESS NIGHTS: I believe that The Reckless Nights has been a band which has let itself explore through the realms of confessionals.
By channeling my vulnerabilities and inner thoughts into the art, I find it to be more stimulating and easier to communicate my vision out to the world.
Yet, with all these new skills and tools I have acquired along the way with the recent album, I believe I am more confident to let the “music speak for itself” and have different storylines take the forefront in my songwriting journey.
HAPPY: What makes you happy?
THE RECKLESS NIGHTS: I am happy everyday I have the ability to play my guitars and use the equipment I’ve dreamt of owning.
I’m grateful to have the chance to connect with others around the world which relate to the emotions I rely on in my songs.
And above all I am happy that I can pursue my dreams and passions of creating music, my spirit and drive is kept by the promise I made with myself to see this vision through.
This life long pursuit to chase my purpose has taught me valuable lessons about myself and the art I appreciate, and those are values I can take pride in.
