Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with The Sweet Kill
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
I was in the high chair and I would notice the song structure patterns of music like verses come before choruses and then there’s a bridge and I found myself looking forward to the choruses. Then when I was 6 years old my mom took me to where she was raised in Venezuela and her friend’s son had the Kiss album destroyer which I couldn’t stop looking at and begged him to play as much as the adults would tolerate. When I can home, I would sneak the radio under my pillow and pretend to go to sleep and then search for Kiss on the radio until I found The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Police, Joan Jett, ACDC, Def Leopard, Judas Priest which were more than what I bargained for
How did your passion for creating music begin?
I wanted to create the feeling that all my favorite bands did from scratch, however it took me awhile to eventually pick up an instrument but when I started playing bass along to my favorite bands, the secrets of songwriting became unlocked
What’s the story behind your current music project?
The Sweet Kill is a darkwave/post-punk project born from the collision of beauty and brutality. The name emerged after a music executive described Pete Mills’ sound as “violently beautiful,” inspiring the reversed phrase “beautifully violent”, The Sweet Kill. After securing the @thesweetkill handle across social platforms, Mills later learned of an unrelated 1970s slasher film entitled “Sweet Kill”. Beyond its poetic edge, the name carries a profound personal weight: the project was originally written for a former bandmate who died by suicide. What began as a tribute evolved into a requiem for the death of his former self and a hymn for rebirth, honoring the daily battle between light and darkness that defines the human condition. The Sweet Kill stands as an anthem of resilience choosing to confront the shadows rather than be consumed by them.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
THE SWEET KILL, stands as a gothic-rock tour-de-force, a dark presence in a world of cold wave synths and brooding guitars. Spawned to be a beacon for those lost in the shadows of life, I use my baritone voice to guide listeners through sonic terrains stretched over wind-swept moors and crumbling Gothic ruins. To penetrate the chambers of the soul, where despair and longing collide my goal is to pulls at the heartstrings, and evoke desolate beauty of a long-lost romantic era echoing the laments of London After Midnight, Sisters of Mercy and Joy Division. In my studio Shadow Zone Sound, I use this medium as a vessel for exploring the dark edges of the human condition—where every note, every lyric, searches for meaning in the spaces between life and the infinite unknown. Albums Darkness and Nowhere bear this unmistakable mark. Mills muses, “Nowhere questions the final analysis of the soul’s journey between life and death, are we eternally drifting in the ether or, are we never lost and always found?”
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
Be prepared to suck and never stop until what I hear in my mind if exactly what I want to share with the world.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
Pro Tools FOREVER, Logic, Ableton, Arturia, 1973 Les Paul Gold Top, 1969 Fender B-Pass, 1975 Ampeg SVT, 1986 Gallien Kruger 800RB, 1999 Matchless brave, more and more guitar pedals, Neumann mics for drums, bass, vocals.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
I don’t know if Kite is considered Indi because they do sell stadiums in their homeland I hear. But the song I love on repeat from them is Closing my Heart
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
All of them, my music expression is very close to my heart. The vehicle I delver in is dark and gothic but the longing for love, aggression mismanaged and struggles of growing up in a world where I’m told what to do and how this never intuitively suited me is all mirrored in my music.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
The duality of the contradictions of life, no matter what hardship befalls people there are others (me) that have gone through these tough moments and to know they aren’t alone and advocating for yourself by asking for help or to talk is the best gift you can give yourself.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Never stop writing the longer oi live life the more beauty I see and the more inspired I become. I also started listening a lot of classical and film composers, these gives cinematic orchestrations me so much inspiration
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Venue: Headline Wembley Stadium 3 nights in a row!
Festival: Headline WGT
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
I just collaborated with Engelbert Humperdinck and I learned so much producing, mixing, engineering a Living Legend. We did 15 songs for his new album and I am so inspired. I would love to have collaborated with Ian Curtis to understand the darkness and maybe prevented that fateful night.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website, Spotify, IG, links)
all social media is @thesweetkill
www.thesweetkill.com
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
The dream is coming to life as we are getting ready to play a couple festivals this year. Amphi in Germany and Absolution in the US!
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I really pour my heart into every lyric, melody and message of every song. I love to connect with anyone that this resonates with! (I’m an extrovert)
If you want here you can add a representative YouTube video to insert below the interview 🙂
Link
Don’t Cry (latest release)
