When scanning Sindy’s cover art, you can’t find his face. You can check Instagram, but it’ll take a few scrolls to hit a clear image. Despite his mysterious ways, the Swedish artist’s music is accessible—traditional singer-songwriter intimacy cuts right through heavily affected textures. Not unlike Sindy’s inadvertent.index labelmates Horse Vision, the artist has a way to breathe new life into old tropes through the use of technology. And yet the mystery remains; I caught up with him in an attempt to lift the veil. Read our conversation, and listen to his new single below.
Your bio describes your music as "emotionally charged.” Which emotions, typically?
Somewhere in between euphoria and despair is good.
Sindy is an audiovisual project—what references to you look to in film and photography?
I like Harmony Korine’s movies—how they seem to consist of interesting scenes within the umbrella of a universe rather than an overarching narrative. It’s something I try to do for Sindy albums.
Your past two single covers are somewhat informal, and you typically forgo posting your face on social media in favor of objects and cityscapes. How do you find aesthetic appeal in mundanity or material things?
Most things can have a metaphorical quality when you isolate them from their original context, and it’s just fun to always look out for those things. I feel like I collect these images; they become little horcruxes of spirit. It’s helpful to look at them when I work with sound—to get it right.
Where did you find the “spirit harvest” teddy bear?
I passed him sitting on the sidewalk, somewhere near Gare de l’Est a few years ago. It was a quick encounter, haven’t seen him since.
This project has adopted more electronic textures since its inception, to varying degrees, but traditional songwriting still feels like the focus. Is there any appeal in taking a more cut-and-dried direction, or will you always aim to evade genre parameters?
I usually start off with an acoustic guitar and try different toppings later on, often with some set formula in mind. It’s less about evading genre parameters and more about getting the parameters right, I think. I want the least stuff possible to get the idea across—so simple that it’s almost incompetent.
Where do your pop sensibilities stem from? Your Swedish forefathers from the hit factory?
Idk, I love The Cardigans.
Your old band Ruby Empress was once selected for the Taco Bell “Feed The Beat” program, but there aren’t any Taco Bell locations in Sweden. Did you get to actually use the $500 gift card on tour?
Nope, still thinking about that gift card.
What’s next for Sindy? Any plans for seemingly elusive performances?
I’m releasing singles this autumn with inadvertent.index, very excited about that. For more elusive performances you’ll find me in Milan.
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