Galantis

Galantis
The duo performing at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival 2014.
Background information
Origin	Sweden
Genres	Big room house, progressive house, indie dance, electro house
Years active	2012 (2012)–present
Labels	Big Beat Records Atlantic Records
Website	www.wearegalantis.com
Members	Christian Karlsson (Bloodshy) Linus Eklöw (Style of Eye)

Galantis is a Swedish electronic music production and songwriting duo consisting of Christian "Bloodshy" Karlsson of Miike Snow, and Linus Eklöw aka Style of Eye.

Members

Christian Karlsson

• History: Grammy winning Christian Karsslon (of famed producing team Bloodshy & Avant and Swedish Indie-pop band, Miike Snow) is a main-stay in the pop world. ^[1] Karlsson has co-written and co-produced tracks for artists such as Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Kylie Minogue and Madonna, to name a few. Specifically, Karlsson co-wrote the Britney Spears single, “Toxic”, which eventually earned an Ivor Novello award (for songwriting and composition) and a Grammy for Best Dance Recording. ^[2] Karlsson is also a founding member of Swedish artist collective and record label INGRID.

Linus Eklöw

Linus Eklöw: Otherwise known as established electronic dance music producer Style of Eye, he also co-wrote and produced Icona Pop's international No. 1 smash "I Love It" ft. Charli XCX.

• History: Style of Eye, the Stockholm-born and -based DJ/producer resides in the techno genre and comes from the underground scene. He explores a range of musical styles, from techno to house via distinct percussion and minimal, floating melodies. After growing up in a jazz and soul oriented family and playing a drumkit at age 10, Linus transitioned to electronic music after getting his first computer aged 15 and making "weird downtempo dubbeat and trip hop". DJing upbeat drum and bass followed at 16, and Linus moved into studio production with releases and remixes on such labels as Classic Recordings, Tiny Sticks and Rabid Records.^[3]

History

2007–2012: Early career

The duo initially met by chance at Karlsson's Robotberget studios in Stockholm, sometime in 2007. In 2009, Karlsson's band Miike Snow asked Eklöw, who produces and DJs as Style of Eye, to remix their song "Animal". After that, the two Swedes started hanging out in the studio together, playing each other songs and scraps of ideas. Explaining what drew him to Eklöw, Karlsson says, "He's an amazing programmer and designer of soundscapes. It was artsy, in a way. He was different."^[4]

There were many unfinished ideas that the pair fiddled with and then abandoned, but it wasn't until sometime in 2012 that things really came together, when they stopped the loop-based and software-centric approach common in modern dance music and switched to Karlsson's usual method of beginning a song on guitar or piano. The duo figured out their own approach—once they create a foundation with a simple arrangement, they build it up with stirring keyboards, monumental drums, imploring vocals and inventive flourishes. "We keep the song naked, and when we feel like we have the right one, we put some clothes on it and see how it feels," says Karlsson.^[5]

"We realized, this is Galantis, this is our band," Karlsson adds.^[6]

2013–2014: "Smile" and "You"

The duo signed to Atlantic Records' dance imprint Big Beat Records in mid-2013. Recording in a studio in the Swedish archipelago in the Baltic Sea, the duo began to focus heavily on their artistic direction. They opt to combine the excitement and big energy of electronic dance music with meaningful songwriting.

The first composition they agreed upon was "Smile". After that, their direction became clear. "We felt the urge to fill the dance world up with songs and with songwriting. That created our sound," says Eklöw.^[7]

Christian Karlsson has said: "We always start with the song. We use guitar, piano, and bass lines we don't keep to figure out which clothes we're going to put on each melody and lyric. I think that's different than a lot of others in the dance scene. They have a beat they love and then force a top line on top of it. I feel like that makes it sound like a remix. I'd rather do it our way, it's more fun too."^[8]

Their first single with Big Beat Records, "Smile", was released that following November. Its controversial video premiered on Stereogum.^[9] "Smile" received several remixes from various artists, and an extended mix by dance music heavyweight Kaskade.^[10]

"Smile" also marked the first instance of the "Seafox", a creature that is the brainchild of visual artist Mat Maitland. The "Seafox" is the Galantis mascot of sorts, appearing in all their videos, cover art and even their live show.^[11]

In February, the duo released their second single "You".^[12] The track was subsequently played heavily at Winter Music Conference,^[13] becoming the 8th most Shazamed track at the festival.^[14] Their debut self-titled EP Galantis was released on April 1, 2014.^[15]

2014–present: "Runaway (U & I)" and international breakthrough

Galantis has had international success with their single "Runaway (U & I)", which debuted on October 5, 2014. The single is the lead single from their upcoming album Pharmacy. The song subsequently shot to the top of Spotify's Global and US Viral charts^[16] and became a Top 10 Spotify track in the Netherlands, Belgium and Finland. In America, the track peaked at number 1 on the Billboard Twitter Emerging Artists chart.^[17] "Runaway (U & I)" has been certified Gold in Finland, 3× Gold in the Netherlands and Platinum in Norway and Sweden.^[18] Galantis released the single "Gold Dust" on February 19, 2015 through Sterogum and reached number 1 on Hype Machine's Popular Chart.^[19]

EP

Christian and Linus said: "When we started Galantis, we set out to challenge each other and experiment with all of the sounds and ideas that we find exciting. We built a studio on a small island in the Baltic Sea and our surroundings became a source of inspiration for the EP."^[20]

The first song, "Smile", has been featured by Kaskade, Diplo, Tiesto, Dada Life, Steve Angello, and radio legend Pete Tong, who featured it as an Essential Tune. Their single "You" follows with a piano and vocal hook with the custom "Galantis filter", which blends male and female vocals together. Their song "Revolution" contains synths and a beat with an intended message of never giving up on your ambitions. "Help" follows and builds a piano melody into an anthem of resiliency. "Friend (Hard Times)" pairs a vocal with a deep house groove, while "The Heart That I'm Hearing" contains synths and a skittering rhythm.^[21]

Tour

Coachella

Galantis debuted their live show at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 12, 2014.^[22] Their performance came less than two weeks after their first release. In a Billboard Poll which asked fans to vote on Coachella 2014’s Best Dance Music Moment, Galantis beat Calvin Harris, Flume, Chromeo, Disclosure and Girl Talk with 52% of the vote.^[23] Their performance garnered praise from Dancing Astronaut, LA Times and Billboard, among others.^[24][25][26]

Dubbed 'Seafoxchella', their live set debuted original songs and remixes from such genres as Pop, Electro, and House music. The duo played an hour-long set at the Gobi Tent, with live controllers, visuals, and seafox stage set. Highlights included their single "Smile", as well as remixes to their other tune, "You."^[27][28]

Following the second weekend of the festival, the duo kicked off their first live tour with a string of dates in North America.^[29]

Past concerts

2014

• Coachella 2014 - Empire Polo Club, Indio, CA, US
• 9:30 Club, Washington, DC, US
• Royale, Boston, MA, US
• The Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY, US^[30]
• SAT, Montreal, QC, Canada
• Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL, US
• El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, US
• Life Is Beautiful 2014, Las Vegas, NV, US

2015

• Ultra Music Festival 2015, Miami, FL, US

Awards and achievements

In 2015, Galantis was named Best Breakthrough Artist at the 30th International Dance Music Awards.^[31]

Discography

Albums

Title and details	Track listing
Pharmacy First studio album Released: June 8, 2015 Record label: Atlantic Records Producer: Christian "Bloodshy Karlsson", Linus Eklöw	"Forever Tonight" "Gold Dust" "In My Head" "Runaway (U & I)" "Dancin' to the Sound of a Broken Heart" "Louder Harder Better" "Kill 'Em with the Love" "Call Me If You Need Me" "Peanut Butter Jelly" "Firebird" "Don't Care" "You" "Water"

EPs

Title and details	Track listing
Smile (Remixes) Type: Remix EP Released: January 27, 2014 Record label: Big Beat Records, Atlantic Records Producer: Christian "Bloodshy Karlsson", Linus Eklöw, Bart B More, Dem Slackers, Marco V, East & Young, Danny Howard, Kaskade	"Smile" (Bart B More Remix) [Radio Mix] "Smile" (Dem Slackers Remix) [Radio Mix] "Smile" (Marco V Remix) [Radio Mix] "Smile" (East & Young Remix) [Radio Mix] "Smile" (Danny Howard Remix) [Radio Mix] "Smile" (Kaskade Edit)
Galantis EP Type: Studio EP Released: April 1, 2014 Record label: Big Beat Records, Atlantic Records Producer: Christian "Bloodshy Karlsson", Linus Eklöw Charts: No. 72 Dance/Electronic US	"Smile" "You" "Revolution" "Help" "Friend (Hard Times)" "Heart That I'm Hearing"
You (Remixes) Type: Remix EP Released: May 26, 2014 Record label: Big Beat Records, Atlantic Records Producer: Christian "Bloodshy Karlsson", Linus Eklöw, Tom Staar, Wax Motif, Ivan Gough of TV Rock & Jebu, Still Young	"You" (Tom Staar Remix) "You" (Wax Motif Remix) "You" (Ivan Gough & Jebu Remix) "You" (Still Young Remix)

Singles

Year	Album	Peak positions					Certification	Album
		SWE [32]	AUS [33]	FRA [34]	NLD [35]	NOR [36]
2014	"You"	—	—	—	—	—		Galantis EP
	"Smile"	—	—	—	—	—
	"Runaway (U & I)"	25	4	23	1	12	ARIA: Gold[37]	Pharmacy
2015	"Gold Dust"	—	—	—	—	—
	"Peanut Butter Jelly"	—	—	—	—	—

As featured artist

• 2012: "Jumbo" (A-Trak featuring Galantis)

References