Avicii conquered QVC Marinefield Chiba last weekend where fans had long awaited for the Swedish superstar’s very own show in Japan. But he couldn’t have made it a success without his longtime friend, prodégé and rising artist friend from Sweden, Otto Knows.
iFLYER caught up with Otto Knows for a quick chat before his set on Sunday in Tokyo. But before we go into the details let us recap for those who are familiar or not yet famliar with him because, believe us, he is one talented young producer who has already hit many milestones during his career.
Born in Stockholm, Sweden he looked up to worldwide artists such as Eric Prydz, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and Steve Angello. With a strong passion in music and special bonds and connections with big artists he made his way into the music industry starting off with remixes. These soon caught the attention of Axwell, Sebastian and many more leading him to work with these mega stars.
You all already know Otto’s hit single ‘Million Voices’ being made at a studio room right next to where Sebastian Ingrosso & Alesso were making their smash hit anthem ‘Calling.' He’s also the mastermind behind Britney Spear’s ‘Work Bitch.' Such production recognition led him to releasing singles such as ‘Parachutes,’ ‘Next To Me’ and ‘Dying For You’ all which have been staple anthems of his sets.
He grew up with Sweden’s top dance/electronic music artists who broke barriers and created groundbreaking music. And let’s not forget he’s known Avicii since they were 10 and they’ve been making music together ever since. That’s one special bond.
We put the spotlight on Avicii and Otto’s musical career path and his perspective on music.
You’re here as the supporting act of Avicii’s Osaka and Tokyo shows! Welcome! What have you been doing in Japan so far?
I actually landed two days ago but I had so much work to do so I had to stay in the hotel room in Osaka, unfortunately. We took the train here today to Tokyo but that’s all I got to see in terms of sightseeing.
What about Japanese food?
Last night we had amazing food. Barbeque thing. It was really good. And sake of course. I love sake. We actually have sake in Sweden as well in like the Japanese resaurants. But this one was better and it’s also good when you don’t see any English on the bottle too cause it feels like you’ve had authnetic sake.
What’s the whole story beind this collab track featuring Avicii?
Actually, I went to LA last year around Febuary to visit Tim. Just to visit him and hang out and have a good time for two weeks. But those two weeks ended up being in the studio every day because that’s how we enjoy our time. I brought these chord progressions to him, so I initially started of the idea and he loved it. So we started working on it together and we had this super talented girl called LP from LA.
We wrote the melody and everything and then I took it home with me. Afterwards I continued to work on it and then sent the final version to Tim. He said he loved it and it would be a great summer song.
How did you find LP?
Tim was supposed to have a session with her. And then he just casually invited me to the session as well because the more people the more fun. So basically they were supposed to have a session just the two of them, but I jumped in so it was definitely a very spontaneous process.
The lyrics have been a key motif of the collab track. In the eyes of Avicii it seems he is shedding light on his emotions toward retirement from the touring life. How do you view the lyrics in your perspective?
I mean the lyrics we both wrote are based on the same feelings when it comes to home. You really enjoy to come home often after you’ve done so many things. You always enjoy going back home. So to actually understand that you have everything you wish for at home was basically the idea we worked around and it fits really good with the feeling of the song too. Everything is there for the song and the artwork too. Turned out be a great combination.
Home would be Stockholm?
Yeah, Tim lives in LA and he loves it there as well but even for him Stockholm is always gonna be his home.
You and Avicii have been together for more than 10 years. What are the craziest and most memorable experiences you've had with him?
I mean we’ve been making music since for 10 years now and it’s always been so inspiring and exciting to follow his journey.
I could be like to my parents ‘Look at him! He’s done it and so am I.’ and the chance of doing that was pretty small but we ended up on the same road eventually.
Are there any tracks by Avicii that you wish you had produced?
I think the whole scene and that was such a groundbreaking song and it changed the sound over a night. It’s a beautiful song. He’s just a genius. It’s just so special and it has a different energy to it. I was just so impressed by it. All of the songs by Avicii have obviously impressed me, but when it comes to the timimg of the release and how one Youtube link ended up being a huge smash hit song of the year, ‘Levels’ is just on a whole new level.
I mean it is one of my favorite but I hate to pick favorites cause there's so many of my favorites. Definitely pops up in my mind first.
Going back to your roots, Imogen Heap’s 'Hide and Seek' Otto Knows Remix is what put you forth in this scene. How do you pick tracks to remix?
I just made that one. It was actually Tim who I showed the idea to and he was like you need to finish this. So I would say that was one of my first songs I actually finished till the end. Tim also helped me too. That was the first song that people got to hear from me. And I like the vocalist basically and it was a beautiful song.
So normally you would remix songs by preference?
I mean it was not a really good version of it but when it comes to remixes, people ask but sometimes I don’t say yes to many. Sometimes you actually ask if it's possible because you like the song too much.
Why would you turn down offers for some remixes? Is that to focus more on original content?
Yeah, exactly. I want to focus more on my original songs for now. It takes as long to make a remix as opposed to an original song and I just have so much music in my soul and computer that I want to make songs, not remixes. But sometimes its very inspiring to do a remix and just a fun thing to do.
You recently tweeted that you were blasting the new Eric Prydz album. In what way has he been influential to you?
When I got into electronic music he was together with Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello, the guys I lived up to and that I wanted to be like them. I tried to dress like them and just wanted to be like them. When I was 16, I would even sneak into clubs in Stockholm just to see them because they would play there often for 300 people. It was very underground then.
Potentially, can we see an Otto Knows and Eric Prydz collaboration happening?
I actually thought about that. He’s one of the very few artists that I would like to work with in the music scene. He’s definitely one of those artists that I would love to spend time in the studio with. Cause when you have such a guy that meant so much to you in my career it would be very interesting to work with him.
You also have a special bond with Sebastian Ingrosso. Is he a brother figure to you?
He’s also one of the reasons why I do this. He was my idol that I got in contact with at a very early stage, and when I say early I mean really early. I didn’t have any music back then and I was definitely not a musician. I was just very, very dedicated to music and DJing and everything so much. I got in contact with him and we both live in Stockholm and so I got to help him out in the studio and stuff. I mean this sounds like too be good to true and he’s been a huge inspiration. He took me under his wings and I’m really thankful for all that he has done for me and what he still does for me now.
Where is this studio going to be?
It’s going to be in Stockholm.
Is it complete?
Yeah, it’s pretty much done. The speakers are not there but everything else is pretty much in place. Just the desks; that’s another thing we’re waiting for.
Any special features to the studio?
No, we, me and Sebastian, have a pretty similar taste but Axwell has quite a different taste and we try to manage and mix them.
What's the mood of the studio like?
We thought about that a lot. We didn’t want it to look like a hospital, We wanted it to be a cozy, and very chill and have an old antique vibe to it. A place I could even sleep and that I would want to spend a lot of time in.
Have any friends or producers visited?
No one has been there yet. It’s been very exclusive.
So maybe we can also expect an Axwell Ingrosso & Otto Knows collab track happening...
The reason why we built this together is that we want to see other people during the day. We don’t want to just lock ourselves in and go mental. Helping each otehr is always good and you never know if it’s going to be a song together. We don’t have any plans at the moment but Axwell and Ingrosso makes their stuff and I make my stuff but not really planning anything together but you never know…
Dream music festivals?
I really wanted to play at Coachella for a long time. It’s been in my mind for along time and I think it’s a really cool festival to play at. But there’s also another one in Sweden I really want to play at called "Way Out West" cause it’s been around since I was a kid. It’s an all-genre music festival and located in the 2nd biggest city in Sweden. It’s like a Swedish version of Coachella. I hope I can play there one day. It’s incredible.
Why do you think Coachella is so special?
The vibe looks awesome but I think because it’s more of a career defining moment.
Festival season is upon us. Name 3 tracks you personally like for the festival season?
I think that obviously ‘Back Where I Belong.’ I’m really loking forward to play at festivals. Also it's one of my newest songs so it’s always fun to see the reactions.
And what else is there. There’s a new song from Axwell Ingrosso called 'Thinking About You,' I saw Sebastian playing it and it sounded really good and I made a remix of this Swedish artist. I’m going to be playing a lot in Sweden this year. I have like 6 shows, or 7, I think and so I did a remix for my absolutely most favorite artist in the world, Håkan Hellstrom, who sings in Swedish haha. So, really looking forward to playing that one. It’s called 'Din Ti Kommar.' It’s on Spotify and stuff. Even though you might not understand the lyrics it has a really strong feel to it.
And as Otto mentioned, his brand new track with Avicii already has had very high reactions as seen from the iTunes charts! It now sits as the No.1 Track before Calvin Harriis & Rihanna's 'This Is What You Came For'. The Japanese crowd seems to have really gotten into the song!
iFLYER caught up with Otto Knows for a quick chat before his set on Sunday in Tokyo. But before we go into the details let us recap for those who are familiar or not yet famliar with him because, believe us, he is one talented young producer who has already hit many milestones during his career.
Born in Stockholm, Sweden he looked up to worldwide artists such as Eric Prydz, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and Steve Angello. With a strong passion in music and special bonds and connections with big artists he made his way into the music industry starting off with remixes. These soon caught the attention of Axwell, Sebastian and many more leading him to work with these mega stars.
You all already know Otto’s hit single ‘Million Voices’ being made at a studio room right next to where Sebastian Ingrosso & Alesso were making their smash hit anthem ‘Calling.' He’s also the mastermind behind Britney Spear’s ‘Work Bitch.' Such production recognition led him to releasing singles such as ‘Parachutes,’ ‘Next To Me’ and ‘Dying For You’ all which have been staple anthems of his sets.
He grew up with Sweden’s top dance/electronic music artists who broke barriers and created groundbreaking music. And let’s not forget he’s known Avicii since they were 10 and they’ve been making music together ever since. That’s one special bond.
We put the spotlight on Avicii and Otto’s musical career path and his perspective on music.
You’re here as the supporting act of Avicii’s Osaka and Tokyo shows! Welcome! What have you been doing in Japan so far?
I actually landed two days ago but I had so much work to do so I had to stay in the hotel room in Osaka, unfortunately. We took the train here today to Tokyo but that’s all I got to see in terms of sightseeing.
What about Japanese food?
Last night we had amazing food. Barbeque thing. It was really good. And sake of course. I love sake. We actually have sake in Sweden as well in like the Japanese resaurants. But this one was better and it’s also good when you don’t see any English on the bottle too cause it feels like you’ve had authnetic sake.
What’s the whole story beind this collab track featuring Avicii?
Actually, I went to LA last year around Febuary to visit Tim. Just to visit him and hang out and have a good time for two weeks. But those two weeks ended up being in the studio every day because that’s how we enjoy our time. I brought these chord progressions to him, so I initially started of the idea and he loved it. So we started working on it together and we had this super talented girl called LP from LA.
And we wrote the song in one day. It was a really good day in the studio.
We wrote the melody and everything and then I took it home with me. Afterwards I continued to work on it and then sent the final version to Tim. He said he loved it and it would be a great summer song.
How did you find LP?
Tim was supposed to have a session with her. And then he just casually invited me to the session as well because the more people the more fun. So basically they were supposed to have a session just the two of them, but I jumped in so it was definitely a very spontaneous process.
The lyrics have been a key motif of the collab track. In the eyes of Avicii it seems he is shedding light on his emotions toward retirement from the touring life. How do you view the lyrics in your perspective?
I mean the lyrics we both wrote are based on the same feelings when it comes to home. You really enjoy to come home often after you’ve done so many things. You always enjoy going back home. So to actually understand that you have everything you wish for at home was basically the idea we worked around and it fits really good with the feeling of the song too. Everything is there for the song and the artwork too. Turned out be a great combination.
Home would be Stockholm?
Yeah, Tim lives in LA and he loves it there as well but even for him Stockholm is always gonna be his home.
You and Avicii have been together for more than 10 years. What are the craziest and most memorable experiences you've had with him?
I mean we’ve been making music since for 10 years now and it’s always been so inspiring and exciting to follow his journey.
From the start we used to celebrate every single success or step and yeah it’s just been incredible to see him grow from a regular teenager to a huge megastar. Very inspirational for me. To be honest, I don’t think I would be pursuing this career now if it weren’t for him because he showed me and everyone that anything is possible.
I could be like to my parents ‘Look at him! He’s done it and so am I.’ and the chance of doing that was pretty small but we ended up on the same road eventually.
Are there any tracks by Avicii that you wish you had produced?
Yeah of course. Definitely ‘Levels.’
I think the whole scene and that was such a groundbreaking song and it changed the sound over a night. It’s a beautiful song. He’s just a genius. It’s just so special and it has a different energy to it. I was just so impressed by it. All of the songs by Avicii have obviously impressed me, but when it comes to the timimg of the release and how one Youtube link ended up being a huge smash hit song of the year, ‘Levels’ is just on a whole new level.
I mean it is one of my favorite but I hate to pick favorites cause there's so many of my favorites. Definitely pops up in my mind first.
Going back to your roots, Imogen Heap’s 'Hide and Seek' Otto Knows Remix is what put you forth in this scene. How do you pick tracks to remix?
I just made that one. It was actually Tim who I showed the idea to and he was like you need to finish this. So I would say that was one of my first songs I actually finished till the end. Tim also helped me too. That was the first song that people got to hear from me. And I like the vocalist basically and it was a beautiful song.
So normally you would remix songs by preference?
I mean it was not a really good version of it but when it comes to remixes, people ask but sometimes I don’t say yes to many. Sometimes you actually ask if it's possible because you like the song too much.
Why would you turn down offers for some remixes? Is that to focus more on original content?
Yeah, exactly. I want to focus more on my original songs for now. It takes as long to make a remix as opposed to an original song and I just have so much music in my soul and computer that I want to make songs, not remixes. But sometimes its very inspiring to do a remix and just a fun thing to do.
You recently tweeted that you were blasting the new Eric Prydz album. In what way has he been influential to you?
When I got into electronic music he was together with Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello, the guys I lived up to and that I wanted to be like them. I tried to dress like them and just wanted to be like them. When I was 16, I would even sneak into clubs in Stockholm just to see them because they would play there often for 300 people. It was very underground then.
Eric Prydz, his melodies are just stunning. He was just the boss back then and I think he’s really cool cause he does this thing where he doesn’t get carried away. He’s very true to himself and what he likes and his fans are very very dedicated so yeah he’s an awesome dude and I just love his music.
Potentially, can we see an Otto Knows and Eric Prydz collaboration happening?
I actually thought about that. He’s one of the very few artists that I would like to work with in the music scene. He’s definitely one of those artists that I would love to spend time in the studio with. Cause when you have such a guy that meant so much to you in my career it would be very interesting to work with him.
You also have a special bond with Sebastian Ingrosso. Is he a brother figure to you?
He’s also one of the reasons why I do this. He was my idol that I got in contact with at a very early stage, and when I say early I mean really early. I didn’t have any music back then and I was definitely not a musician. I was just very, very dedicated to music and DJing and everything so much. I got in contact with him and we both live in Stockholm and so I got to help him out in the studio and stuff. I mean this sounds like too be good to true and he’s been a huge inspiration. He took me under his wings and I’m really thankful for all that he has done for me and what he still does for me now.
Actually, we are moving into our new studio next week. Axwell, Sebastian and me built a studio. He’s brought up this idea 8 years ago. And now it’s been a cool journey and I’m still learning for them.
Where is this studio going to be?
It’s going to be in Stockholm.
Is it complete?
Yeah, it’s pretty much done. The speakers are not there but everything else is pretty much in place. Just the desks; that’s another thing we’re waiting for.
Any special features to the studio?
No, we, me and Sebastian, have a pretty similar taste but Axwell has quite a different taste and we try to manage and mix them.
What's the mood of the studio like?
We thought about that a lot. We didn’t want it to look like a hospital, We wanted it to be a cozy, and very chill and have an old antique vibe to it. A place I could even sleep and that I would want to spend a lot of time in.
Have any friends or producers visited?
No one has been there yet. It’s been very exclusive.
So maybe we can also expect an Axwell Ingrosso & Otto Knows collab track happening...
The reason why we built this together is that we want to see other people during the day. We don’t want to just lock ourselves in and go mental. Helping each otehr is always good and you never know if it’s going to be a song together. We don’t have any plans at the moment but Axwell and Ingrosso makes their stuff and I make my stuff but not really planning anything together but you never know…
Dream music festivals?
I really wanted to play at Coachella for a long time. It’s been in my mind for along time and I think it’s a really cool festival to play at. But there’s also another one in Sweden I really want to play at called "Way Out West" cause it’s been around since I was a kid. It’s an all-genre music festival and located in the 2nd biggest city in Sweden. It’s like a Swedish version of Coachella. I hope I can play there one day. It’s incredible.
Why do you think Coachella is so special?
The vibe looks awesome but I think because it’s more of a career defining moment.
I say to myself I won’t go there until I’ve played Coachella. So, I haven’t been yet. I’ve actually had the opportunity to go two years in a row but I said that I wouldn’t go until I was part of the lineup. I want to be in Coachella when they want me there.
Festival season is upon us. Name 3 tracks you personally like for the festival season?
I think that obviously ‘Back Where I Belong.’ I’m really loking forward to play at festivals. Also it's one of my newest songs so it’s always fun to see the reactions.
And what else is there. There’s a new song from Axwell Ingrosso called 'Thinking About You,' I saw Sebastian playing it and it sounded really good and I made a remix of this Swedish artist. I’m going to be playing a lot in Sweden this year. I have like 6 shows, or 7, I think and so I did a remix for my absolutely most favorite artist in the world, Håkan Hellstrom, who sings in Swedish haha. So, really looking forward to playing that one. It’s called 'Din Ti Kommar.' It’s on Spotify and stuff. Even though you might not understand the lyrics it has a really strong feel to it.
And as Otto mentioned, his brand new track with Avicii already has had very high reactions as seen from the iTunes charts! It now sits as the No.1 Track before Calvin Harriis & Rihanna's 'This Is What You Came For'. The Japanese crowd seems to have really gotten into the song!
