Self Deception

THE BEGINING

Singer Andreas Clark sent a message to the wrong person in 2004. The person who received the message was drummer Erik Eklund, and it turned out that they both loved the same type of music and both were currently looking for new band members. In early 2005, Andreas and Erik started the project that they decided to call Self Deception. The name came from discussing that they both previously played music in various projects that did not truly represent them, and the words Self Deception came up.

Through common friends, Erik found guitarist Gabriel Rauhofer and bassist Nicklas Wester. The band recorded their first demo and began to spread their music through various online music forums.

FIRST LABEL

Self Deception signed their first record deal in 2007 with the label Rooster and recorded the album "Restitution". The first single from the album was "Relationship Redrum," and the video was recorded at the old abandoned Beckomberga mental hospital in Stockholm.

After extensive touring and writing of much new material, bassist Nicklas Wester left the band because of personal issues. After searching for a musician that could grow with the band, bassist Patrik Hallgren chosen to become a new member of Self Deception.

Self Deception signed a new contract with Ayam Music Group and started working with manager Linnea Sundquvist. The band was now ready to record new music and decided to work with the Swedish pop producer Joy Deb, who is now more known as songwriter for the Eurovision Song Contest winner, "Måns Zelmerlöw - Heroes".

OVER THE THRESHOLD

Summer 2011, the band recorded their second album entitled "Over the Threshold" at the famous Studio 301 in Stockholm. The album included "Can't Have it All," a duet with Linnea Deb, who is also a well-known songwriter from the Eurovision Song Contest. The single "Over the Treshold" became the radio debut for the band. The album also included one of the band's most played songs, "The Shift." Self Deception toured around Scandinavia and played with bands like Takida, Young Guns and Lower than Atlantis.

THESE WALLS

In 2012, Gabriel Rauhofer announced that he wanted to leave the band and guitarist Ronny Westphal became a new permanent bandmember of Self Deception.

In 2013, Self Deception went separate ways with the Ayam Music Group and decided to lock themselves into the studio to work on new material. They started working with Erik Eklund's brother, J-Pop producer Nicklas Eklund, who became a major part of the band’s writing process. Self Deception would also work with producer Dino Medanhodzic (Smash in Pieces, Normandie, Hardcore Superstars, Adept, Guy the King). The EP "These Walls" was recorded in early 2014 at Studio Radionika with Dino Medanhodzic producing.

Shortly after "These Walls" was recorded, Self Deception signed a contract with the record label Ninetone. "Killed Our Love" was released as the first single from “These Walls” and reached many milestones, including first place on iTunes "Rock Top List," and entered the Swedish Digilist (P3). In January 2015, the band made a cover of Alesso & Tove Lo's song “Heroes,” and the song saw great success through various streaming services.

SELF DECEPTION ALBUM

In 2016, Self Deception recorded their third full-length album together with the Swedish producer Patrik Frisk (Takida, Coroded, Plan Three, Yohio). The first single was called "Runaway Train" and released on September 30, 2016. Several of the follow-up singles from the album were added to popular playlists around the world.

In 2018, the band decided that it would end their collaboration with their current record label and agreed to move forward on their own. After writing and recording new material with Nicklas Eklund in the fall, the band decided to "crowdfund" their upcoming album. It only took 4 days for the entire album to be funded, showing that their popularity is still extremely high and growing.

ENDORSE THE ART

Choosing to go toward a harder sound in their music, new songs were recorded as the band returned to collaborate with producer Dino Medanhodzic. Self Deception will release a number of singles in the spring of 2019 which will then followed-up by an EP entitled "Endorse the Art". The EP’s name comes from the fact that it was funded by fans.

VIRUS

In March of 2020, just as the Covid-19 pandemic stunned the world, Self Deception released SHAPES. A full length album that is an extension of Endorse The Art. The album title came from the work names of the tracks, named after different shapes. Probably influenced of the guitarist Ronny’s studies at the Royal Institute of Technology – KTH.

After the release the band locked themselves in the studio focusing on writing due to all live shows being cancelled. As a result of this RESHAPED saw the light of day. A remix album of SHAPES, including an alternative version of Smoke You Out featuring Kee Marcello (Europe) and Gabriel Keyes (Crashdiet) that was highly appreciated showing that the mix of modern rock and 80’s glam was a great fit! Self Deception has always strived to try new things and always evolving in their music. In early 2021 they released their first song in their native languish Swedish, covering Victor Leksell’ Svag. The song hit right in the hearts of the Scandinavian fans and was played on Swedish radio P4 among other places.

YOU ARE ONLY AS SICK AS YOUR SECRETS

The band continued working with Nicklas Eklund as an co-writer and producer and their cooperation grew stronger and today he is like the bands fifth “secret” member.
But after having developed their workflow for years, the band felt tired of the repetitive process of writing and wanted to try something different. With the release of "The Fall" in 2021, Self Deception entered a new era of music creation.The crazier ideas that were put in, the more they loved it.
The band released several singles under 2021 and 2022 and the idea of putting together an new album was born. One the new singles Fight Fire With Gasoline found its way onto the Spotify Global Metal Charts for weeks and entered many major lists on both Spotify and iTunes. The album is named You Are Only As Sick As Your Secrets and will be released February 2023.

You Are Only As Sick As Your Secrets thru-line being: Alway try something new and never dismissing an idea. ”We feel like we've finally figured out how to really express ourselves through our music and become the artists that we’ve always wanted to be”. Uncensored, no rules, create whatever the f**k we feel like, only the sky is the limit!