Interview with Christian Karlsson

You may know him as 1/3 of Miike Snow, 1/2 of of Bloodshy & Avant, or more recently, as part of duo Galantis with fellow Swede Style of Eye. But regardless of how you know Christian Karlsson, one thing is for sure: from song writing to DJing to performing live, he's a man of many talents. We got a chance to get to know Karlsson better as he gears up to play at Bang Bang this Friday. Grab your $10 pre-sales HERE, and read on to get up to speed on what R rated video he's soon releasing, which of his heros he got to work with, and where he recently relocated to...

We hear you used to be in Swedish hip hop group Goldmine and toured with the Fugees. Please tell us more about this!

I was very young when I got started with Goldmine, so it was a very big deal for me to get on this tour. I was 15 when I toured with the Fugees.
Goldmine is where I learned how to produce.

You've been creatively involved with a wide variety of genres - pop, electronic, indie, etc. We bet your music library is pretty eclectic. What are you listening to at the moment?

Well, I'm always listening to all types of music. I have my hour of exploring Hypemachine and Beatport in the morning, and when I eat my breakfast, I listen to 60's music. I have my ways of listening to all types of music everyday.

While producing as Bloodshy & Avant, you worked out of a studio based in an old fire station in Söder, Sweden. Are you currently living in Stockholm? Do you still work from this studio?

I still work out of the studio in Sweden. I just relocated to Los Angeles, so I work out here now, but the old studio is still there for when I go back.

Having had experience with writing, producing, and remixing music - which is the most enjoyable for you?

I do love writing the most, I mean, remixing someone else's music can be amazing, but writing is so much more fun for me. Starting from scratch, writing melodies...I also LOVE to make beats, because that's where I came from.

Aside from being involved in all aspects of song creation, you also have experienced the world of DJing as well as performing live. What are the notable differences for you? Which do you prefer?

I love doing live shows, of course, but the challenge of DJing is that every night is so different. Different crowds, different rooms...I change my set up all the time.
I do love DJing and what it brings to the table, and that's perfect for when I want to challenge myself. When you play live, you're pretty much playing the same stuff all the way through. I do really enjoy DJing. I love it.

Miike Snow has had official remixes from well respected artists such as Tiga, Alex Metric, Sinden, and Felix Da Housecat. What was the process like of reaching out to work with these artists? Was it easy to decide between the three of you who would rework the songs of Miike Snow?

Almost everyone who's remixed Miike Snow was a friend of mine or became of a friend of mine. A lot of people wanted to remix this music, and be a part of it. We also did a lot of swaps, where I did stuff for them, and they did mixes for me. It was fun getting to have my music remixed, and it was equally fun returning the favor.

Between Bloodshy & Avant and Miike Snow, you've worked with an impressive collection of artists over the years. Who would you want to collaborate with that you haven't yet?

Hmm...I don't know. That's a hard one. It used to be Madonna & Depeche Mode , but I've worked with both now. So, I don't know!

Your new project with Style of Eye, Galantis, just released its first single "Smile" earlier this month, yielding a lot of positive feedback. How did you and Linus link up? Do you have plans to release a Galantis album down the line?

Linus has been my friend for many years. We used to link up in the studio when we were off tour, listen to each others music and play stuff for each other.
One day, we decided we wanted to take it farther and become Galantis. We do plan to release an album in the upcoming year.
Expect big things out of Galantis, like we do!

You've recently had gigs in Indonesia and LA, are about to make your debut at Bang Bang in San Diego, and are still riding the waves of Galantis' first release. Anything else in the pipeline that you can tell us about?

Well...more hot releases from Galantis! There will be a R rated version of our new video coming out soon.