Robex Lundgren virkblogg.

Have any of you played in other bands? No, I've only ever had my solo career as a DJ.

How is it that you started playing music? I started producing back in 1999, then in 2006 when I had my first track signed to a label I pretty much had to start playing out live.

What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you? My name is Jole and I'm 34. I do all the production, some of the vocals and all the live DJing.

Did you make music even when you were young? Nope, I didn't even take music class at school. It wasn't until I left high school that I even started listening to music on purpose. It was never something that really interested me until electronic music started becoming more accessible.

Where are you from? I'm from Brisbane, Australia.
What's your style of genre? Well, this has been up for debate for a while now. I originally started making music in the style of Happy Hardcore, or so I thought, but many people say my stuff isn't Happy Hardcore at all. So I guess it's a subgenre of Hardcore, but it doesn't quite fit into Happy Hardcore or UK Hardcore.

What inspires you? I used to listen to a lot of UK/Happy Hardcore and that was always my main inspiration, but these days it's all sorts of things. From video games, anime, movies, TV shows. Just everything that's in my life, really.

How have you developed since you started with the music? I've come a long way in 10 years. Looking back, I would say my sound was unique but not very polished. I would like to think  now it's still somewhat unique but much more polished. I'm still working on that every day.

Do you have other interests of work outside the band? I like to ride my motorbike, I have a 2015 Yamaha R1. I also like playing Street Fighter.  If I had the time I'd definitely be competing in tournaments.

Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? Nope, I've been with multiple agencies. I found I could do the same thing myself, with less mistakes, and not have to pay them to make those mistakes. South Park summed it up well for me "You make the music, you build the fan base, you do the live shows, you travel all over the place, and we'll take care of the rest!"

Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? I run my own label now. I think it's good to get signed to a label early on in your career, it's one of the best ways to get your name out there. However, your goal should always be to outgrow the label and start doing your own thing eventually.

What made you decide to make this music? I first heard commercial dance music just before I started producing. I wanted to make music similar to that, but at faster BPMs. I then discovered the genre already existed and started moving in that direction.

What are your songs about? Usually rave related stuff, anime/gaming or other random topics I come up with.

Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? I do all the composing, lyric writing and everything else myself.

Do you start with the music or the lyrics? Usually the music.

Do you compose in a certain inviroment? I have my own studio so it's 99% of the time in there.

What language do you sing in? I only know English but I have produced some tracks (from other singers) in other languages before.

What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Least I would say probably like 50-100 and the biggest attendance at a show was something like 40,000 but that was the whole show. I couldn't say how many was at each stage.

What ages are most of your concert attendants? Usually 16+ or 18+

Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? I try to mix it up as much as I can get away with, but most sets I will get the popular tracks requested so I end up playing a lot of them.

Do you have a regular place you play live often? No, I actually play overseas a lot more than I play locally.

What was your first gig like? Surprisingly good. I had a packed room, made a few mistakes throughout but most people there didn't notice =P

What was your latest gig? Last gig I did was a local show called 'Rave Bubbles'

Have you had to cancel a gig? I wouldn't say cancel, but one time I was physically unable to get to the show so there was that.

Where have you played live this year? This year I will be in the US, Norway, and all over Australia (Sydney, Brisbane, Perth & maybe Melbourne).

Where do you plan to gig the comming year? Next year I have Japan and USA lined up so far (apart from local shows).

When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? I haven't started selling merch yet but I am in the middle of getting shirts made.

Where can people buy your merchandise? I have my own website: https://djs3rl.com/

What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? I have nothing against it. If I had to choose between people pirating my music or not listening to it at all, I'd prefer they actually got to hear it. There will always be the rest of the people who want to support the artists.

How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? I guess the biggest thing would be it's much easier to get your work out there, but at the same time harder to stand out.

What do you think of my work? You're doing a great job!

How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? I've only just started getting my name out in the Nordic region so this can only help spread the word.

Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? I prefer to avoid getting inspiration from newer artists as much as that's possible. I would prefer to have my own unique sound rather than a watered down version of what's popular. In saying that, if something sounds amazing to me it's hard not to become influenced by it. I do sometimes listen to my old favourites to get some of that nostalgic energy flowing.

What have been your biggest obstacles? My biggest ongoing obstacle is also my favourite obstacle. That's probably the fact that I'm generally not seen as part of the UK/Happy Hardcore scene. It would have made a lot of things so much easier if I was, but I wouldn't change a thing as I like doing my own thing.

What advice would you give other bands or artists? Stay as passionate as you can. Eventually that passion will pay off.

Do you have any new material? I try to have a new release every month. Usually a remix or something else between that, too. So yes. Next release will be at the beginning of the month!

What are your web sites?

YOUTUBE - http://www.youtube.com/user/S3RL

FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/DJ.S3RL.Official.Fan.Page

SOUNDCLOUD - https://soundcloud.com/S3rl

MIXCLOUD - http://www.mixcloud.com/s3rl/

How can people reach you? [email protected]

What are your plans for the future? I never look too far ahead. Right now I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing.

Do you have something to add? Thanks a lot for the interview!