There’s a promising up and coming artist emerging from Sweden. Boy In Space is the vessel through which Robin releases his electro-pop/indie/hip-hop influenced tunes. The latest two singles 7UP and Cold are destined to get stuck in your head and leave you wanting more from Boy In Space. We caught up with him as he visited New York City this month.
Boy In Space comes from a musical family where his talent and passion could fully develop. “I got started in music just through my family. I feel like everyone in our family is kind of musical. My uncle produces music, my mom is a songwriter, my dad was in a rock band. It feels very natural to branch out into that. Since I was really young I have been singing my whole life. Like really annoying. I think that’s how I got started in it and then when I got older I realized it was something I wanted to work with. It was the only thing I was good at really. At school I was quite bad because I had a lot of problems concentrating. It was one of those things that I noticed I was good at and I really liked it. It was either become a Rockstar or have my own pizzeria. It’s my plan B.”
Since the early days of writing, Boy In Space has collaborated with different producers, refined his sound, and come into his own as an artist. He places emphasis on not letting his music feel “stiff or stale”. He expresses it as, “It feels very alive and just doing what I love is the right way to explain it.” He is currently collaborating with a producer who goes by the name Unheard.
The unique sound of Boy In Space seems to flow naturally for Robin. He’s able to quickly nail down ideas before fine tuning with other elements. “I start off with the melodies. Usually for me when I write my best songs they usually come really fast and come naturally so I get the natural build of the song. The thing that can take longer is usually the lyrics. Sometimes you might lose that little spark and think ‘hmm maybe we should wait to write that second verse’ when we actually feel energized and want to do it. We kind of had the first verse, chorus, and the pre and everything for 7UP on the first day. I think it took like two hours. It’s not always like one hour it’s usually like one to two.”
Working with Unheard helps to provide feedback throughout the process as they bounce ideas off each other. Their natural connection is helping to usher in this next wave of new music from Boy In Space. The latest single Cold has already earned over half a million streams on Spotify within a week of a its release and it was actually the first song the duo ever wrote together. “I think we have a great connection and I have a few different producers I work with. When I work with a producer I really want to know them and be friends with them so it’s not just like a work thing. We have a mutual understanding of what we want to do so it doesn’t take up all my time and in the end we don’t use it.”
The dreamy intro of Cold segues effortlessly into the trap beat that complements and contrasts the high pitched vocals. In contrast to his previous single 7UP where he was aiming for a singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran-esque ballad when stripped back, Cold takes on a different front.
While he is still based in Sweden, his music has been taking off in the US. His top streaming cities include New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles, based on Spotify data. He’s close to hitting a million monthly listeners on the platform. With impending success, Boy In Space is excited about the numbers, but doesn’t remain hyperfocused on stats. “It is so crazy. You can just see numbers on Spotify or Apple Music, but I think it’s cool when you see comments and they’re from Brazil or Netherlands or wherever and you’re like ‘woah’. I try not to expect anything so when anything happens I’m like ‘woah that’s great’. If I got like one stream I would think ‘yeah one listener that’s amazing’. I think I have had that mental state before where I was thinking this is going to be big it’s going to be that and I think that kind of ruins it after a while. You have to just be happy for the response you get and the time people take to listen to your music even if it’s just ten people or millions of people.”
Humble and with a long way to go in the music industry, Boy In Space is paving the way for his own niche sound. While he’s not quite prepped to hit the road in the U.S. once he is his live show is going to be just as mesmerizing as his songs. Even though he talks about his Plan B pizza shop, Boy In Space is ready to take off. He said it best during our interview, “I’m the weirdo in music. This is my space.”
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