MOHAMMED HINDI, electronic artist

⟶ My parents emigrated from Syria to Sweden a couple of months before I was born. I was raised in a small town in southern Dalarna where our family were the only immigrants. It’s kind of weird since Sweden is now such a multi-cultural nation. The town didn’t have much on offer for teenagers.

At that time, technology was developing fast. I began spending more and more time in front of the computer, downloading music and video games. Music became really important for me and I started to find music I had never heard before. I remember hearing Black Sabbath for the first time, I started crying - it was such a powerful and mesmerizing sound. After that I was on fire to discover new music. I still get teary-eyed when I hear something new and powerful. It’s a sort of litmus test for me. The reaction is purely instinctive and I can’t control it, it just happens.  

I’m a big fan of electronic music. I love electronic music because it has never been about the person producing the music, the music speaks for itself. Burial is a great example of that, he released his first albums without anyone knowing who he was, the music simply told the story of the artist.  

I prefer it that way, I firmly believe that the looks and face of an artist are unimportant. Looks are not the reason I listen to music! If an artist hides behind a mask or a symbol, fine by me, I just want to hear their music.  I’m a bit tired of the modern way of marketing artists, where the face is just as important as the sound.  

I love how producing music, especially electronic, has become available to everyone. If you have a smartphone or computer you can pretty much make anything. This has revolutionized the identity of a typical music producer from being an old, white man behind a big mixing table, to being someone from any walk of life in front of their computer/phone. 

Electronic music has become such a wide array of genres it can be anything from eclectic harsh noise to banging techno to ambient field recordings.  It truly is the modern punk; it’s the definition of DIY. Just record something, don’t worry about pleasing people. If it sounds good to you, just release it. All you need is a computer or phone and imagination.

Behind the mask

A portrait series exploring identity, passion and dreams.