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Onyx Halo is the sound of a past life colliding with the future. After nearly 30 years away from songwriting, Merseyside-born creator Stuart Hartley has returned with a project that reframes everything he once thought music had to be. Using AI to re-imagine the raw 4-track demos he recorded between 1990 and 1995, Hartley has finally given his early songs the production they always deserved – and in the process, unlocked a wave of new creativity. The result is a fully AI-generated band with a very human core: a fictional four-piece born at LIPA, built to embody the emotion, grit, and evolution of a songwriter who never truly stopped being one.
Art, Lee, Stone, and Jax form the imagined backbone of Onyx Halo, each bringing their own invented histories and sonic fingerprints to a sound that moves freely between folk-rock, indie, blues, and widescreen atmospheres. Their debut album, Black Light (26 February 2026), feels both nostalgic and forward-leaning — a rebirth rather than a reinvention, where old dreams meet new tools and unfinished stories finally find their ending. It’s the collision of memory, technology, and craft, distilled into a band that exists to make the past shine brighter.
We had a chat with the creator himself, Stuart Hartley, to find out more…
1. If 1990s?you could hear what AI has done to your old 4-track demos, do you think he’d be impressed, confused, or demanding royalties?
I think the younger me would embrace the technology. I’d certainly have a far more polished product available to hawk around the AR men.
2. Onyx Halo has four fictional band members. Be honest — which one would you most likely have argued with during rehearsals back in the day?
Well, I created all four to be 100% compliant, because back in the day, nobody was! The hardest thing was to get other musicians to help create the sound I wanted, they all wanted to play the sound they wanted. These four guys, never complain.
3. You’ve essentially created a band that never turns up late, never forgets gear, and never drinks the rider. Is this the most stress-free band you’ve ever been in?
I guess, only I’m not actually a member. They felt my pixels were too old for their image. I should remind them, I made them what they are today!
4. What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about your younger songwriting self while revisiting those old demos?
I had written a lot more unfinished songs than I remembered. Some I think turned out to be some of my better songs.
5. If Black Light had to be described as a film genre, what would it be — gritty indie drama, neon-lit sci-fi, or full-blown epic?
It would be Episode 1 of a saga that’s going to take you on a journey.
6. Which song on the album made you think, “Wow… I actually wrote that?” — either in pride or disbelief.
Every time AI finished with it, I said, Wow, is that my song! In My World, I always felt was a weak song as the chorus just repeats a lot, but AI made it sound amazing…I still say wow when I hear it.
7. If Onyx Halo could open for any real?world artist, past or present, who would be the dream match-up?
Just for personal reasons, because they are songwriters I admire and I’d be selfish and use the opportunity just to meet them, I’d say Bruce Springsteen, Sir Paul, Bob Dylan and Neil Young.
8. You left music at 25 to run a manufacturing company. What’s harder: managing a factory or managing four fictional musicians with big personalities?
Reality is always harder! Onyx Halo is just imaginary.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.