Swedish artist Boy in Space discusses his new single “Cold” with producer unheard, painting vivid emotional landscapes through music, and crafting his live show with soul.
Stream: “Cold” – Boy in Space, unheard
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/656178617″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=true&visual=true&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”300″ iframe=”true” /]Boy in Space’s quiet confidence is incredibly refreshing; there’s not even a glimmer of false modesty when he speaks. He believes in his own music which gives you good reason to too. “Cold,” which serves as the follow-up to Boy in Space’s incredible track “7UP,” sees the artist born Robin Lundbäck expand his sonic horizons through a collaboration with producer unheard, while still keeping a firm grip on his own distinct style.
It’s too bright outside
cuz I’m low on the phone
You say do or die
So I talk ’til I drop
You said how could I
Have a heart made of
stone while sipping wine
Oh, oh when we synchronize
It’s exactly what I thought when I fantasized
Playing games with my mind
Making us collide
And we know how it goes
when we’re out at night
That unique style has see him rightfully already garner a devoted fanbase, who are hooked by his enthralling lyricism and endlessly atmospheric production. Atwood Magazine delved deeply into Boy In Space’s last release “7UP,” touching on his ability to “cleverly combine the wistful romanticism of a coming-of-age movie with the emotional sincerity of a hard-hitting drama to create something truly special.”
Somewhat paradoxically “Cold” sees Boy In Space and unheard deliver a soaring summer anthem, that feels perfectly made both for scorching summer days and seemingly endless August nights. Boy In Space’s R&B influences are more evident on “Cold” than ever before; with the end product being a silky, stylish track that feels effortlessly cool. Boy In Space’s individuality is by far his biggest selling point, and his ability to combine his own sonic stylings with his own idiosyncratic influences to create mind-blowingly brilliant pop music is unprecedented.
Atwood Magazine spoke with Boy in Space about his new single “Cold” with producer unheard, painting vivid emotional landscapes with his music, what the future holds for him and more!
And I don’t know
How we make it out when make out on the low
Even if it rains you’d rather make it snow
Both you and me we know we gotta let go
Laying on the ground wondering why it’s so cold
How we make it out when make out on the low
Even if it’ rains you’d rather make it snow
Both you and me we know we gotta let go
Laying on the ground wondering why it’s so cold
Stream: “Cold” – Boy in Space, unheard
A CONVERSATION WITH BOY IN SPACE
Atwood Magazine: Your new single “Cold” has just been released; how did the track originate?
Boy in Space: Through my label I heard of this producer called Unheard and he sent me the track to the song. I have to like a track for me to actually write on it so I listened to and I was kind of into it. I was like “yeah, this could definitely be something.” But at that moment in time, I had a really bad cold. I was just sort doing nothing; just trying to get well. But my label were like “Hey, you should get this song going because you’ve been sick for like 2 weeks.”
So I got into the studio and at the beginning I didn’t really want to write it. But then it went so well. I just started singing melodies over it and I think I finished almost the whole song in around an hour. And it’s called Cold and I had a cold so it’s pretty fitting.
For me, personally, when I listen to some your songs, I feel such a heavy sense of nostalgia. 7 Up, sunsets, friends. When you’re in the creative process, do you ever think about what listeners may take away from your songs? Or is it something you try to not think about?
Boy in Space: Like you said, I’m trying to almost like paint a visual picture of a moment in a cinematic sort of way. I don’t know; I just want people to visualise something cool so they can actually see the song. I feel like a lot of songwriters just write words that you can’t really see and I think it’s harder to feel something from the song then. If you actually talk about the environment and stuff like that, I think you’re definitely going to connect better with people.
“7UP” is such a beautiful song, what feelings or emotions were you trying to encapsulate with that song?
Boy in Space: I went for like a singer songwriter vibe when I wrote it and it was initially just sort of me playing the guitar. With Unheard (producer), we just had the thought of what if we put a cool sort of trappy urban vibe into a singer songwriter type of way. Almost like Ed Sheehan or something like that. So that’s what I was going for, a very like dramatic and sweet melody.
I love the narratives you create within your music; the production on your songs is so invitingly atmospheric. How’s the creative process of working with producers to craft that distinct sound?
Boy in Space: Actually it’s been quite easy for me because I only work with people that I know really well. So people like Unheard and my brother, and then like to other producers that I work with that I know really well. All the producers I work with all kind of understand my idea of what I want to do with a song.
It’s much harder when you’re like jumping from session to session because then they’re like used to doing a lot of like regular pop, which kind of sounds a little bit bland. So I think it’s just about finding those people that you actually know and they actually know your vision and know what you like.
It sounds like it did but did finding the right people to work with all come together quite naturally at the start?
Boy in Space: Yeah, it has happened very naturally. Like I started working with my brother so obviously we’d see each other all the time. So it’s been very very natural actually.
In your bio you say that you always write your best songs in under an hour. What’s your typical songwriting process look like? How do you typically start a song?
Boy in Space: I’ll usually start with the melody and I don’t really know what to call it, but I call it word pooping. You just like mumble words when you’re trying to visualise something. You’re basically just trying to get all the puzzle pieces of a song together but it’s usually the melody first.
So I’ll try to get like a good build with melodies so it builds into the chorus because I do like a big chorus.
When something emotional happens, do you typically feel the urge to write about it straight away or do you let the feelings linger for a while?
Boy in Space: I get writing right away; I think that’s the best way to go. Like if you do that, there’s nothing stopping you from changing stuff afterwards if there’s something you’re not pleased with. So I’ll just try initially to get something finished instead of being too slow and taking like maybe 4 days to finish a song. I like the fast process. It might just be me as well because I have like no patience at all.
You were born in a small town in Sweden; how do you think being from there has affected your music, and you as an artist?
Boy in Space: I think its definitely affected me pop-wise because of Swedish pop. I don’t know, it’s not like I’m on the country side and there’s bluegrass music everywhere and everyone’s drinking moonshine. It’s still like a city and it’s still up to date with music. So I don’t really know how it’s affected me but I think it’s given me a great platform to be able to express myself through music: just playing in bands and stuff like that.
Where did the idea for your moniker come from? And when did you realise that you wanted to release music using one?
Boy in Space: I think that I’ve always known I wanted to have my own project, like in the back of my head I always knew I would do it some day. I had a band before Boy In Space and it was creatively pulling me in directions in places I didn’t want to go. When that project ended it felt so good and natural to just start my own project so I was able to do what I really really loved.
So I think that’s just what Boy In Space is; it’s just a space to be creative and have fun with no pressure. It just allows me to do what I love with the people I love.
So far, you’ve only put out single tracks on Spotify. When you’re looking to put a body of work, what do you want that to mean to both yourself and your fans?
Boy in Space: We’re working on something right now actually. I think the vision is to release an EP. Whether that’s in the fall now or in the beginning of next year, we don’t know yet. But it’s definitely coming and I think it’s going to be amazing because I really love the songs.
When you’re looking to craft a creative project like an EP, are you looking to create like a narrative within that? Or is it just sort of like songs you like the most?
Boy in Space: I’m very much like a song kind of guy. I listen to songs but not that many projects. We definitely have like a red thread throughout the sound of the EP but necessarily there’s not like a story that follows through the whole EP. But it’s definitely about love; I’ll tell you that straight off the bat. But I think my vision for the EP is to just make it feel like a studio album so it doesn’t feel like comprised or cheap at all.
I just want to release an EP that will like blow people away and have people think like “he’s serious and actually a great songwriter and he actually wants to make like hits.” I think that was like my vision, just to start with a bang and then see what happens.
In what ways does the creative process of working on new music now, or some of your latest releases, feel different to how it felt when you were originally working on music?
Boy in Space: I think the thing that has changed is like the more time you spend on a project, you kind of understand more what you want to do. I think the biggest difference is like now I’m kind of like finding myself within Boy In Space and with that, I never wanted to find Boy In Space and be like I only do this. I’d rather do like a lot of different things but I also think right now we’re finding the right style and figuring out how we want to approach things. Like it’s going to come together as well with the live set so I think we’re like almost there. We’re still in the midst of finding the whole project but it’s getting there gradually.
You cite a pretty diverse line up of artists as inspirations. Could you possibly take us through a few of them, and what is it specifically about each one that you particularly admire?
Boy in Space: I think with Khalid, it’s just the way he’s very freely spoken, like the way he moves and the ways he does things is just really cool. You can see it’s from him, like he actually wants to do it. I feel like a lot of the acts you see, you can tell that a manager has totally told them to do something. I really admire people like that and people that are actually in the studio working and writing stuff as well.
I think that goes for all the artists that I do like, I think it’s something I can really relate to because I am a songwriter and I want to be able to express myself in my own kind of way. I think that’s what I gravitate to, whether that’s with like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers or Khalid. It doesn’t really matter, it’s just cool when you can express yourself in your own way. It doesn’t have to be like super edgy or super out there; it can still be pop and it can still be still be played on the radio. I just like it when an artist has actually done it and it feels like it’s authentic.
When you listen to a song, what it is that you typically gravitate to first?
Boy in Space: First I listen to melody, that’s the first thing I listen to. Then I think it’s lyrics then production. Sometimes though if there’s like horrible production it makes it harder to listen to because I’m quite picky. I’ve been very spoiled by working with a lot of great producers so sometimes like bad production can just like ruin a song for me. Especially if it could have been an amazing song if the production didn’t ruin it.
When you patronize
It’s like knifes to my throat
You’re so satisfied
When I dig in the dirt
You’re in paradise
And I know that you know
I can’t sleep at night
Oh, oh When you’re by my side
I just move how you move cuz I’m petrified
Setting traps in my head messing with my mind
When you talk yeah you talk but I know you’re lying
Why you so icy cold my tears can’t drip
Sitting awake alone tattoos I miss
If I was to call your phone I know you’d click
Babe you can have the throne I call it quits
– “Cold,” Boy in Space & unheard
Your first song came out last year and you’ve just released “Cold.” How have the feelings surrounding putting something out changed since your debut track?
Boy in Space: I’m very confident in my music but I think the nervous part about it is whether people will recieve it well and whether it be added to playlists and stuff. I’m still in that sphere of not having made it. Like I’m still in that process of trying to be seen and trying to like breakthrough to the point where I can go out and sell out a show or something like that. There’s definitely hope surrounding it, like I really hope that it’s going to go well and people actually love it as much as I do.
You mentioned the live side of things, how’s the process of working on it and what do you want fans to experience when they come to see you live?
Boy in Space: I have a proper band and I’ll probably pick up a guitar as well when I play live shows. I want people to feel like it has a soul, it’s just going to have like a vibe and some kind of depth to it. So it’s not just like a backing track with me jumping around and just singing; it’s going to be something that’ve put together and thought about.
That’s so sick! So many times when I’ve seen just like the artist and a DJ, it’s been really disappointing
Boy in Space: Yeah, there’s like huge artists that just do that. Like they’re playing huge festivals and they don’t have a band. I understand it if you’re doing a certain type of music like EDM or some kind of hip-hop then I get that. But I feel like a lot of people take the easy route with that because it’s cheaper and stuff like that. So I’d rather make a great show so people want to come back and see me.
You recently released a remix of 7UP from Tiger Tom, how did that come about? It sounds incredible.
Boy in Space: That’s actually funny because Tiger Tom is actually my brother. So that’s how it happened. We were looking at a couple of remixes and I wasn’t too into them. So I was like you need to have a go at this, like I knew he could do it well and he was like super hungry for it as well because he had the idea of of starting to artist project Tiger Tom where he can just like produce and be like free. Kind of like Boy In Space but more EDM vibes.
It was like super natural, and he just like sent me the bounces and stuff. Then I kind of gave him feedback; it was super cool. I love that remix, it’s like super unique.
Finally, what do you hope the future holds for you as “Boy in Space” and what parts of the future are you excited about the most?
Boy in Space: I’m excited to build a fan base that I can have a great relationship with and talk to each other. Like they’ll come to the shows and we’ll all have a good time. Yeah, that’s what I’m looking forward to the most. I think that’s the goal. Once I’m there, I’ll see what happens. I’ll always continue writing music and performing, whatever happens though. I think that’s the vision for it.
— —
:: stream/purchase “Cold” here ::
Stream: “Cold” – Boy in Space, unheard
— — — —
Connect to Boy in Space on
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
? © Eva Pentel
:: Stream Boy in Space ::
