Syndrome X/209

Hello Kettil - Happy new year! We apologise for the delay in this interview. I'd like to start by discussing your past endeavours. You were part of a project called Artificial September - tell us how you became part of the scene.
- "I guess that story starts around 5 a.m, many years ago. Per (other half of AS), wrote to me randomly on a community for Swedish Alternative people. We started discussing music, and I shared some complaints about having to rely on an entire band. Especially as a bass guitar player. He asked me what music I was into, and told me I should get Propellerheads 'Reason'. Then he taught me about making electro, and soon thereafter we formed The Evlent Syndrome Project (Later changed to Artificial September, and its Side-Project's - Evlent Chapter, and Syndrome X/209), under the nicknames "X/256", and "X/209". And the rest is history."

Syndrome x/209 had a number of unorthodox demo releases - in fact, I'd be daring enough to suggest that the project never really became anywhere near as big as it could of. You called this interview because you wanted to talk about the project - on the back of an amazing album 'Gemini', once again you seemed to be grossly overlooked.
- "I'm going to be honest. I can't promote myself. I can't just sit down and write to someone I've never met, and go like "Hey! This is my new song! You will love this!". But in the beginning, I didn't really think you'd have to tell people what to listen to. I just, sort of, assumed they'd find it themselves.
I first took notice of this when I joined Project Rotten, and actually "gave away" some Syndrome X/209-songs (Bleed You Dry, for example). The music was the same. But the outward attitude was Fredrik's. So I watched as Project Rotten, outgrew Syndrome, in just a matter of months. And I guess that's why he and I work so well together - we both focus on our own parts."

Moving on to Project Rotten - which you of course share with Fredrik Croona : Your performance in London for Cybersonik in October was extremely good - you won over a few of the audience who were new to PR, and you played the songs that really stood out on disc - 'The Hunger' being one. How has the feedback been? Do you expect to be invited back to the UK at some point?
- "A girl can dream. Haha! No, but jokes aside - I actually think we are very welcome back. Both guests and organizers seem to have enjoyed our performance. Overall, the feedback has been really good. Some people frown upon us trying to "update", or "reinvent" our sound between the records, and I can honestly not understand why. As long as it's not a complete overhaul, it should just be enjoyable to discover the new bits and pieces, while still hearing the old ones. And as a side-note: We've gained more fans than we've lost, with our changes."

There was a point when the show nearly didn't happen due to a technical issue - I recall popping backstage to wish you guys luck and running into a very, very angry and concerned Fredrik. I suppose this is one of the issues with being an Electronic act. Has this ever happened before?
- "Yup. It has. In Moscow, for example, we had the tiny, not so notable, issue (I suggest you read that with heavy sarcasm) that there was NO sound.
But in London, the issue was another - I had forgotten the powerchord for my laptop, at home. And even though we got to borrow one, so we could soundcheck, it wasn?t the right size. So between the soundcheck, and our performance, the computer died. Again. But actually I don't think it's much different from a guitar player breaking a string before a show. All genres have their problems and worst case scenarios."

Within a week of seeing you live, PR announced it was being put on hold - everything now seems to be ok again, as a release is announced. Both of you are very prolific in the scene - is PR likely to last much longer?
- "Yes. The plan is for Project Rotten, to last for as long as we want to. Sometimes, however, a person can end up in a funk, due to lots of reasons. And being in a duo, is not like being in any other band. Since it's so intimate, you become like a married couple, and that can add further stress sometimes. But we got through it all, and now we're continuing being on the rise."

You talked to me about a new project you've launched, which I've had an early listen to - it fits nicely with the sound of Project Rotten and your own influences. Care to introduce this project to the world?
- "My new project is called KILL THE SLEEPER (All caps, for effect). It?s going for a more post-hardcore/metalcore vibe, with a heavier tone, and a dash of my personal emotions. So the finished product will differ, I think, from a Project Rotten-, or a Syndrome X/209 release. And don't be frightened by the genres I compared it to. It's still going to be dancefloor friendly Dark Electro. Just rougher."

Your solo work has had little success with record labels, unfortunately. Has it put you off in any way?
- "Syndrome X/209?s collaboration with a label was a bit off-putting, yes. And even though money shouldn't be an issue (given that there aren't any money in this genre), I made more money releasing Gemini, myself. And I hardly even promoted that. So, I guess if the time comes- I'll try and sign to a label in the future. When there's nothing left I can do to expand on my own."

I've covered everything I wanted to ask - use the 'answer' section here to talk about everything outstanding that you'd like - then close this interview in your own way. Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us, and good luck with the future.
- "I'd like to thank everyone for their amazing support."