Due to “unfortunate scheduling conflicts,” the release of “Self 2.0” Christian Älvestam [Solution.45, Miseration, Torchbrearer, ex-Scar Symmetry], has been pushed back to the fall. Christian The EP will be released exclusively in all major web-retail outlets and streaming services via Pivotal Rockordings.
Songtitles set to appear on the effort include “Departure Theme”, “En Knippa Ljung” and “The Unforsaken”.
Perhaps most well known in the metal community as the singer on Scar Symmetry‘s first three albums, and currently front man in Solution.45, Älvestam also garnered fandom in the house music scene through his collaboration on a single MCD with DJ Henrik B, entitled Now And Forever. The single not only received rave reviews in the electronic music scene, but also was immediately picked up by DJ Tiesto, who played it in regular rotation on his world tour to tens of thousands of people. With additional contributions of his signature vocal style as a guest in the most recent Demon Hunter and Bloodbath releases, Älvestam‘s name has become a fixture among hordes of fans.
However, Self 2.0 promises to be something different from what fans expect from the singer/songwriter, as Älvestam explains:
“It’s not exactly a secret that I have a weak spot for more pop-oriented stuff – especially in the vein of the sound of the ’80s,” he says. “In fact, I have always been listening to softer music, alongside the heavier stuff, which is probably why my own music so often, unintentionally, tend to end up being a mixture of the two. I simply can’t help myself when it comes to merging the aforesaid styles together, it seems. I’d like to call it unavoidable influence, as a direct result of having been indoctrinated with both, from childhood upwards. With that said, fighting against it is not an easy thing, whether you want to or not. At the same time, some would call it a mixed blessing, I guess. Anyhow, I have wanted to do something a bit different from what I usually do for a long time now and that is to make an all-stripped-down and laid-back album, where I use my clean vocals only. You who have followed me since the early days know I’ve made brief digressions, musically, of that sort before, like the ‘Final State’ trilogy [Unmoored] and ‘Lethean Tears’ [Solution.45], to name a few, so it’s not like ‘Self 2.0’ is me heading out into completely unexplored territory. I’ve been there before, grubbing in its periphery. Then again, I guess you could see ‘Self 2.0’ as me going all the way for the first time, if you like!
“What can you expect of ‘Self 2.0’ then, taken as a whole? Well, if you, like me, dig bands/artists such as Michael Cretu [Sandra/Enigma etc.], Krister Linder [Grace/Dive etc.], 30 Seconds To Mars, Mute Math, Nephew, Dead Letter Circus, Pendulum, Mew, The Radio Dept. and so on, chance is ‘Self 2.0’ may strike your fancy!”