1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the solo project?
1. First off, HELLO!!! And of course. Soreeyes is primarily a recording project done entirely by myself, (Runa Fjörgyn Klem) and is primarily inspired by black metal music ranging from 1st and 2nd wave classics like Celtic Frost and Carpathian Forest, up to the more recent post-black metal bands like Deafheaven, Lantlôs, and Numenorean. It also takes inspiration from post-metal, post-hardcore, and shoegaze. Pretty much if something is grimy, honest, and creative; it's bound to inspire me.
2.You have a new album coming out in the middle of October, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?
2. The style that I went for on "Sleep Waves" was deeply inspired by the DSBM music that my close friend showed me at the time. I was very deeply involved in his life at the time and we happened to cross paths at very emotional moments in both our lives. We both spent a lot of energy trying to save eachother from our collective mental illness, and it kinda culminated in me spending sleep-deprived nights writing this record for hours on end.
3.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored so far with the music?
3. The lyrical themes of "Sleep Waves" are very personal. I felt that I was putting together a very cohesive record about neurodivergency and suffering. Mental illness is really personal to me, my family, and countless friends Ive been close with, and to simply explore the topics of mental illness and self harm was something early on that I instantly knew I wanted to do for the entirety of my musical career.
4.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Soreeyes'?
4. "Soreeyes" is kind of a nickname that I gave to myself, as well as the name for the solo project. I am Soreeyes as much as the music is Soreeyes. The meaning of it pretty much comes from the fact that I cry so much that it makes my eyes sore. I sometimes get headaches from how much I cry. And in a way, nobody watches you cry as much as yourself does. And thats why the name is self-prescribed. Ive kinda been a crybaby since I was a little kid.
5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?
5. The CD artwork is interesting. Remember that friend I mentioned earlier who inspired the album? He's the one who took photography for the album. It's pretty much just a bunch of phone pictures of this park in Maumee, Ohio. It's a beautiful place there, alongside the river. I also loved the foggy setting that he managed to capture on that day. That's obviously symbolic for the "fogginess" of mental illness. In general, I think capturing nature fits black metal in general.
6.With this project you record everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to work solo?
6. I do like working with other musicians. I am in a couple of bands at the moment, actually! Though, for Soreeyes, I prefer to keep the writing and production process to myself. I think that capturing my own sound is something that I trust only myself with. I have no issue with any piece of the process of making a record. However, I am definitely open to performing my material with a live band in the future.
7.The album is going to be released on 'Morbid And Miserable Records', can you tell us a little bit more about the record label?
7. Morbid and Miserable Records is a relatively new Toledo indie label by co-founders Brandon Collins and Jason Wilcox. I met Brandon prior to the formation of the label, as he is long-time friends with my cousin-in-law. We all went to an Opeth concert together and had a great time so I kept in touch with him and when he formed the label I told him I definitely want to drop material with him. Brandon is an extremely kind, intelligent, and professional soul. He also has some of the nicest faces I've ever seen. Just sayin'.
8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of post black metal and blackgaze?
8. I'm blessed by the existence of internet to have the chance to have people all over the world from South Korea to Puerto Rico enjoying my music. I think the general consensus from blackgaze fans on "Sleep Waves" is that it's a strong start to Soreeyes and that people are excited to hear more from me. I think Album #2 is really going to excite people with the massive melting pot of influences from psytrance to neofolk, all while having black metal at the center. I have enjoyed promoting my music from the ground up, which has been done mostly on international Discord communities. The promotion has kinda gotten out of my hands at this point, though. Way more people than just my friends are checking the music out, which excites me.
9.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician during the future?
9. I think in the future I'll be sticking to metal. I've messed with pop rock and electronic stuff and it hasn't gotten far. I've been writing in a post-hardcore/skramz band recently and lightly injecting my black metal influences into that environment. Of course, black metal is a writing comfort zone for me, but I also really enjoy writing grind music. I would love to be in a deathgrind band or make a project if I had time and the right people.
10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
10. It's hard to figure out where to start on the insane myriad of influences that encompass my musical brain... The first musical influence in my life was probably Wilco. My dad would play "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" in the car on repeat. I loved that album as a young child and still do. It reminds me of rainy days and secondhand cigarette smoke, alongside the depression and darkness, of course. The first metal band I ever got into was Dragonforce when I was about 10. They were always a force of pop-metal to be reckoned with.
As a teen, I discovered a lot of 70s prog rock like Kansas and Rush, power metal like Blind Guardian and Helloween, and finally Meshuggah. Meshuggah definitely blew my mind at first and made me want to focus on rhythm guitar, honestly, aha. "Destroy Erase Improve" is amazing. I've had a prog interest ever since then, I've only been getting into Opeth recently actually. Most people start out with Opeth or Dream Theater, but I jumped straight to Meshuggah, haha. I've also had phases with death and thrash metal like Revocation, Black Fast, Destruction, Sodom, Kreator, Coroner, Atheist, Cynic, Morbid Angel, Death, etc.
My interest in black metal didn't really take off until I heard Oathbreaker's album "Rheia" in 2018 or 2019. I can't totally remember when it was. I had known about the classics like Mayhem and Venom, and Gorgoroth and such. I also enjoyed myself some Celtic Frost and early Kreator. But Rheia really got me into the more modern black metal stuff and then I made my way back into the timeline, discovering Emperor, Leviathan, Xasthur, Carpathian Forest, Lantlôs, etc.
My favorites as of late have been Numenorean, Jupiterian, Morbid Angel, Oathbreaker, Black Breath, Code Orange, Carpathian Forest, Isis, Spiritbox, Your Arms Are My Cocoon, Cattle Decapitation, etc.
11.What are some of your non musical interests?
11. My non-musical interests still contain music at times! Mostly film and videogames are inspiring to me. Kirby, the Nintendo character, has always been a life inspiration to me with his childish innocence and drive for life no matter the circumstance. I recently got Kirby tattooed on my right calf. Other games like The Elder Scrolls, Xenoblade, Metroid, Super Mario Bros, Runescape, Worms, Tetris, etc. were an influence on me artistically. As far as films go, I am a big fan of poppy-action-sci-fi such as Terminator, Aliens, Robocop, Avatar, The Matrix, etc. Star Wars aint too bad, either.
12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
12. My final thoughts are that I can't thank you enough for letting me type about my life and music like this. It brings me comfort knowing that people will read this and get to know me a little bit better. I love life and people, even if it doesn't seem like it sometimes, haha.
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