Q&A with experimental musicians sweeep & Sace / Silent Boy

Image credit: Secret Souls

Swedish producers sweeep and Sace have taken us by surprise with their latest single ‘burn down my mind’ via Eevee’s imprint Secret Souls. Rich in vocal delivery from both artists, we are mesmerized by the trap and lo-fi notes that go along with it to create this invigoratingly electronic track that feeds the listener with its ominous energy from beginning to end. Known as Silent Boy, music producer Samuel Rogstrom also embraces his moniker Sace which focuses on darker electronic fusions like fellow collaborator sweeep. We asked sweeep and Sace a few questions about their musical endeavors in this exclusive Q&A.

Stream / Download: ‘burn down my mind’

If someone has never heard your music, which keywords would you personally use to describe your overall sound and style?

sweeep: Dark ambient mixed with experimental beats.

Sace: Airy and atmospheric.

Sace, sweeep and yourself both sing well together on this track that is equally vocally focused. When did you know that you had the talent for singing?

At first, I never thought I would be using my voice at all when making music. Around 2019 I tried recording my vocals onto a simple guitar riff I made just for fun, and after that, I realized it actually sounded good.

Tell us about yourself. How did you get into music?

sweeep: I’ve always been into music.

Sace: From a very young age I’ve always had an interest in music. As a kid, I liked to play Just Dance on Nintendo Wii. From there, when I got my hands on a computer, I started producing my own tracks on FL studio and I’ve kept going ever since.

When you compose and produce tracks, do you make music for yourself or do you make it with others in mind?

sweeep: For myself.

Sace: I make music for myself and don’t really think about what others want to hear from me nowadays.

Comfort the disturbed or disturb the comfortable – what is your aim with your music?

sweeep: Comfort the disturbed.

Sace: I want to develop and not try to settle in only one style.

Has your arsenal of equipment changed much since you first started?

sweeep: Yeah, I usually change my setup of equipment for each album. I like to use the same equipment for a bunch of songs to make them coherent, and then I feel done with that sound after putting out an album and want to do something new.

Sace: No not really, I’ve had the same equipment for years now. For example, I still use the same old small midi keyboard for my FL Studio and a sock as a pop filter.

Three favourite tracks of all time?

sweeep: I can’t rank top 3 because it depends on my mood, but here are 3 songs I never get tired of: William Basinski – ‘Cascade’, Yves Tumor, Oxhy, Puce Mary – ‘Hope In Suffering (Escaping Oblivion & Overcoming Powerlessness)’ and Eevee – ‘mist’.

Sace: Hard question, but here are three songs I’ll have in my heart forever: Vacant – ‘Trench’, Sam Gellaitry – ‘Games’, Gud – ‘Monster’.

What inspires you outside of music?

sweeep: Doing things I have never done before, going to new places, and meeting new people.

Sace: Outside of music I think nature and art inspires me the most.

What is the best or strangest reaction you’ve had to your music this far?

sweeep: It’s hard to explain funny reactions in text. But if someone says something like, “wow, I felt high for a second”, then I know they really got into the music.

Sace: Someone told me that they listened to my music to help them sleep which is really cool!

What, in your opinion would be the perfect genre fusion?

sweeep: Maybe genres that are each other’s natural opposite. It would be interesting to combine classical and noise.

Sace: I actually want to hear some country + dubstep mixed.

Do you consider the Internet and social media as fundamental in building a career in music today, and what is your personal relationship with the new technology at hand?

sweeep: I think social media is out now it’s just ads and algorithms. I’m tired of the glorification of big numbers of followers and listeners because it’s also so easy for people to fake it. Real-life connections are usually more helpful than the internet when it comes to getting DJ/live bookings and support anyway.

Sace: Today everything is on the internet and social media is important if you want to make a career in the industry. Connecting with others and promoting yourself is why social media is so important nowadays.

What can we expect from you in the near future? Any upcoming projects or releases in the pipeline that you would like to tell us about?

sweeep: I have more music coming out on the label Secret Souls and some collaborations with Eevee that I’m excited to share.

Sace: Very cliche answer, but yes I have songs that I want to drop and they will eventually.

‘burn down my mind’ features on DARK_GROUND.fm