Kasbo talks being a musician growing up in Sweden and his up coming Australia Tour

Do you like your beats brushed with a touch of melancholy while still making your feet move? Then you probably should check out Swedish beat smith Kasbo. His debut album Places We Don’t Know has already accumulated more than 26 million streams on various platforms, and music giants Spotify and Apple Music has really thrown their weight behind the project. He was even recently included in Billboard Dance’s ‘One To Watch’ chart. Kasbo will be heading to Australia this week for his debut run of dates and this coming Friday he will perform in Melbourne at the Northcote Social Club (check below for more info on other dates). We caught up with the producer for a quick chat before his arrival…

Hi Carl! Thanks for chatting with us today, you recently wrapped up your first headline tour, the recap video looks amazing! How did it feel to be selling out shows off your own back?
Thank you! It was pretty surreal, especially when you could hear everyone sing every lyric to every song of stuff you made in your bedroom back in Sweden.

Can you give us a little background on yourself? How did you get into writing, and what drew you to the style we all know today?
I have been playing guitar since I was like 11, and since then always played music with friends. It wasn’t until i was 16 that I got into producing, just since i found it easier not having to rely on other people to do music, I always seemed to be the one who was most keen. I think i’ve always just really gravitated towards more emotionally driven, dramatic music. Music that takes you places, that’s always been the most interesting to me.

How was it being a musician growing up in Sweden, did you find your country/city nurtured your creativity?
I feel like it did, especially my schools, they always let me stay after hours to play music with my friends and stuff and really laid no restrictions on that front, so it was really stimulating. This past year I’ve also just come to find Sweden extremely inspiring, there’s a feeling I get here that I can’t find anywhere else in the world.

If you were going to show a new friend around your hometown, what would you do?
Probably get some tacos and beers and sit down at this huge beautiful park called Slottskogen, probably bring a bluetooth speaker as well. Then maybe go to Studio HPKSM to catch whatever show they have going on that night and then maybe head out to some (for lack of better word?) underground club out in the woods or something, gothenburg is full of them. This is all assuming the weather is good though, so maybe has a 10% chance of actually happening.

Next month marks your first Australian tour! Have you made any extra plans during your stay?
We’ve set some off days to do some touristy stuff, visiting some radio and also doing a few sessions. I wish i was staying for longer though!

During your tour you’ll be playing Splendour in the Grass, which is arguably our most celebrated indie music festival. How do you like playing festivals in comparison to the more intimate events?
It’s super fun, you get to catch a ton of different acts play, and take in the atmosphere. And you get to play a ton of new people that you’d ordinarily wouldn’t.

You’ll be playing Splendour sideshows in both Melbourne and Sydney, for you, what makes a perfect performance?
Being able to immerse the crowd and make them forget the outside world i think. 

Your live show is also visually very beautiful, who was the the curator behind the creative?
For the most part i’m very specific about the visuals and often times have pretty set directions with the designers i work with. Most of the stuff in my visual show is made together with an Australian designer named Omid Vojdani, he really understands a lot of what is my aesthetic. 

Finally, what is an interesting fact about you that your fans many not know?
I’ve never been to Australia before!!! Or seen a koala.

Thanks again and have a great tour!
Thank you!

Tickets available from: http://bit.ly/KASBO_AUS
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/175395216379726/