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Synthetic Sensations is an online magazine focusing on technology, audio software, hardware, political activism, modeling, and electronic music. I was honored when they asked me if I wanted an interview. Featured in issue #2 you can download the entire thing here: Synthetic Sensations #2

Though of course if you are lazy you can just read the interview directly:

SS: Please tell me about yourself. What’s your background? Where are you based? How and what made you get into music?
RH: I’m Sweedish, Russian, German, and Jewish. Does that explain me? I’m still not sure! Currently I’m in a transient state because I’m homeless. Looking to change this so I can get back to finishing college. There have been a lot of bricks in the road recently but I’m not going to stop living because of these difficulties. I’ve gotta make the most out of my situation whatever it happens to be. I started taking piano lessons at a very early age and hated it because it was something I was forced into. From there I started fronting punk bands which lead to me creating noise music which lead me to picking up a few synthesizers which lead me to producing electronic music. Initially I was just a writer and street performer but I wanted to reach a wide audience and figured that music was the way to go.

SS: Please tell me about your experiences as a performer / musician. How hard has it been?
RH: When I was just starting out as an underground artist things were actually pretty easy. I was having a blast and doing everything I ever wanted to. It wasn’t until I started building a name for myself and “getting on the map” that things became difficult. I faced a lot of slander, harassment, stalking, and was actually the target of a hate campaign due to my Jewish ancestry. People felt that I “bought my way into the industry” and decided to come after me for this. I don’t understand why people think anyone who is Jewish has money though I certainly wish this was true for me! Looking back I was pretty naive and stupid but who wasn’t? I spun a lot of the negative press to my advantage but the damage was already done. I lost a lot of friends and collaborators due to being blacklisted from my own genre. In the end I learned who my real friends were but I never expected it to be middle school all over again. I just wanted to get my music out there. My demographic has now completely changed. Instead of reaching out to industrial types I started reaching out to other eccentric and “off kilter” types. I absolutely love my new fanbase. If you’re not an outsider you shouldn’t be listening to Experiment Haywire. I consider this entire experience to be a thinning out of the herd.
I’ve worked with some shitty producers who have tried to change my sound. Whenever I gave them my personal tracks they discarded them or completely changed them into material I couldn’t stand. Eventually I told these people to fuck off and turned Experiment Haywire back into a solo project. I am much happier this way. I actually wish I never worked with any outside producers. It’s a lesson to be learned. Experiment Haywire started as a solo project and it will end as a solo project.

SS: How hard has it been for you as a woman?
RH: I’m all about female empowerment as opposed to victimization but let’s just say that it was a bad idea to tell my fans and supporters that I was raped. Since a lot of my fans and supporters are survivors themselves I figured I’d go public and reach out to them. Yet this somehow got back to the nasty people who stomped me out of industrial and it became a huge internet joke. People were now threatening to gang rape me to remind me of the initial trauma. They were posting mutilated pictures of me with cocks on them and getting people to threaten me anonymously. In the end I realized they were a bunch of cowardly neanderthal thugs and I laughed it off. I actually feel that it’s a lot easier for me as a woman now than it was several years ago. As more and more female electronic artists pop up I realize that I’m not alone. We’ve built a pretty damn strong network for ourselves and are very supportive of each other.

SS: When did you start machineKUNT Records?
RH: 2007. It was after a controversial incident at a Providence noise festival. It was that show I was accused of “sneaking into” because I stood outside protesting the event after being called a “shitwhore cuntbag.” Suddenly it hit me. I was sick of the word “cunt” being used in a derogatory manner and I wanted to reclaim it. machineKUNT was now born though it was always an idea I had in the back of my mind. I just gave it a name. Females at the front. We were going to do things on our own terms now. This was going to be the new revolution.

SS: I love that the label is oriented towards female artists. How has this been received?
RH: Thank you. I’ve gotten a lot of mixed reactions. Everything from being called a feminzai to being told to “shut my stupid kunt up” to being told that I’d started something huge. A lot of other female artists have confided in me and asked me for their advice with their own musical projects. It seems like a lot of them have been through similar situations. I’m now encouraging all women to be their own producers and even to produce other artists. I’ve gotten a lot of press from various media outlets. The reactions are extremely polarized. Either you love machineKUNT or hate machineKUNT. There’s no in between.

SS: Has business been difficult what with people wanting to download MP3s for free?
RH: Of course it is. I think that’s pretty obvious. Yet what I’ve learned is that we need to create merchandise, throw live events, and encourage people to download our music through the proper legal channels. It’s not like anyone gets into running an independent record label to make money. I do this for the love of the art and the manifestation of my vision.

SS: What’s the plan for you and machineKUNT records?
RH: “Sanity is Slavery” is the latest compilation in the works. It’s all genders and genres. The compilation is about fighting against psychiatric abuse in the mental health system and we are donating 10% of proceeds to Mind Freedom International. This is a very important issue for me because I was locked up against my own will as a teenager for being “crazy” when I was really just reacting to the world. It amazed me that so many other musicians were interested in this compilation and that they had also been through absolute hell with the psychiatric industry. machineKUNT recently became a modeling agency. We’re the first of our type because we’re not an alternative porn site. The idea isn’t for our models to get naked but to express themselves creatively. There are so many alternative models with amazing ideas but since they aren’t willing to get naked for the camera it’s really hard for them to find work. We’re looking to change that. Eventually I’d like to combine everything together. Throw machineKUNT parties with live bands, DJ’s, models performing theatre, (if you’re a model you might as well be an actress too) and everything in between.