We were lucky to catch up with Synthsie recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Synthsie, thanks for joining us today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

I was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder in 2020 and it has become the most misunderstood and mischaracterized disorder online and IRL. It’s still so bewildering to me to hear people spout ignorant and oftentimes offensive things about my disorder so casually. I can’t tell you the many times people would reference the movie Split as an example of DID. That movie has been the bane of my socialization. I don’t know where people get the idea that movies are ever accurate when they co-opt mental disorders as a plot device but they are never accurate. So many people people have argued with me that they are. It’s shocking.

My disorder consists of having multiple parallel consciousnesses each with their own unique way of viewing themselves and experiencing the world.

║○ Each of these consciousnesses makes up one entire person.
║○ Each person is referred to as an alter.
║○ Each alter is capable of “fronting” or taking control of the body.

When an alter takes control of our body it is called a “switch” or “switching”: where they are switching places with whomever was previously at the front.
When this occurs, amnesia takes place.

It takes a few minutes to stabilize and for the previous alter to communicate to the fronting alter what has been happening.

║○ Each alter has their own name, age, gender, and perceived appearance.
║○ Each alter has their own roles, talents, abilities, tastes, personalities, memories, etc.

The entire group of alters is known as a “System”

Our system has a name, it is: Lux

In our system:
○ Some alters speak english while others speak only spanish, some don’t speak at all.
○ Every alter has their own unique handwriting.
○ There is an entire imagined landscape known as an “inner world” where alters live out parallel lives to this one while they are not at the front.
○ Every alter has their own favorite music, movies, books, food, etc.
○ Every alter also has their own sets of dislikes, beliefs, political opinions, religious views, etc.

WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?
It means that first and foremost: We are a literal group of people, and should be treated as such.
It means that throughout our interactions you may get to meet some of our alters and experience firsthand just how diverse a system can be.

SHOULD I BE SCARED TO OFFEND OR TRIGGER YOU?
Not at all, contrary to “tiktok” or social media, it is not your responsibility to make a “safe” environment for us, it is our responsibility to know how to handle each situation. While it helps when you know what’s happening you should not feel the need to walk on eggshells around us. DID is our responsibility not an aesthetic.

THAT BEING SAID, IS THERE ANYTHING I SHOULD WORRY ABOUT?
The only thing you should worry about is which alter is at the front and to treat them with respect just like you would anybody else.

Just ask, “Who is at the front right now?” if you want to know.

Don’t be rude and ask things like “Which one is this” or “what are you”. It’s rude to treat people like they’re less than people in general right? Same goes for each person in our system.

Besides that, no, not really.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always had a love for music. When I was about 8 or 9 my parents bought me a Yamaha PSR 170. You know that keyboard that goes “DEEJAY!” and says “EXCELLENT!” I fucking loved that keyboard. I still have it somewhere I think.

Anyways, I started making music and learning how to produce about the age of 14. One day my dad took me to one of his friends who had a recording studio. There they showed me FL studio 4. I immediately asked for DVDs blanks (it was the 2000’s) and I managed to rip the entire DAW and install it in my computer at home. I didn’t know anything about music production at the time but I knew that I had to have this.

Over the next few years I would enter into contests online and would begin acquiring a collection of loops and samples. This was before any sample services like splice even existed so gathering sounds was challenging back then. I remember going to acidplanet.com back in the early 2000’s to download their weekly 8-pack loops where they would give out free samples. I would often stay up late in front of my CRT monitor windows XP computer just making music. It was awesome.

In my early 20s is when I got my first official start into the music industry. I began interning at Rock Canyon Studios in Provo Utah. I would absorb everything I could and the more I learned the more responsibilities I would be given. Eventually I got hired on and ultimately became the studio’s manager.

As much as I loved working behind a big console in a professional studio, I wasn’t completely satisfied. I wanted to be on stage. I wanted to perform. I wanted to travel. I wanted to get out of the control room and out into the world. So I did.

I was in a lot of old projects. Some got further than others. In a vaporwave project I did with my ex I even went viral. I don’t wanna mention it by name though because it’s in the past now. But I did learn a lot each time a project was created. I learned a lot of dos and don’ts and it molded me into the artist I am today. I’ve been in magazines, in the news, on television, and have hundreds of shows under my belt and I’m excited to use all my experience in this new project, Synthsie.

So I am a music artist through and through. I make dreampop, hyperpop, webcore, basshouse, drum and bass, house and more. I love creating music. I even joke and tell people that I’m the worst pianist ever because I know how to play really well but I don’t know any songs. I literally know all sorts of theory and techniques for the purpose of composing and spend all my time making music. I love listening too of course. I keep myself on a steady diet of electronic music radio stations while I work on visuals and stuff.

A big thing that I feel sets me apart from many other artist is my ability to have the whole package. I can make music, design graphics, animate, 3D model, script websites, do illustrations, album art, do recording, mixing, mastering, video production, and even stage lighting design! Because we have DID, we have many alters with different interests in the entertainment industry and because of that we have an undying thirst to learn everything there is to know about creating. I feel I pair great with my indie record label where every effort counts.

The thing I’m most proud of is how much I have grown as an artist. I remember thinking in 2015 “how am I gonna do better than this?” And now looking back my music now sounds 10X better and I hope in 10 years from now it sounds another 10X more. I never stop growing and that’s honestly one of the biggest reasons I love music. I can do it for the rest of my life and there will always be something new. While a lot of sad folks wish to live short lives I wish to live well past my hundreds and make music for the ever changing world.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Yes. Because there is such awful media that misrepresents Dissociative Identity Disorder, I want to make media that more accurately represents my experience with DID. Everything I make is a metaphor for DID.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part about being an artist for me is the reaction I get from other people. I love it when a song clicks with a person and I see their faces light up when something happens that really resonates with them.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://synthsie.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/synthsie
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/synthsiejunk
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@synthsie
• Other: discord server: https://discord.gg/QWfkTAgq5a

Image Credits
Art by Lux