Galantis

Galantis is a Swedish electronic dance music production, songwriting and DJ duo consisting of Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw. Karlsson is also known as Bloodshy as part of two other musical groups, a duo ("Bloodshy & Avant") and a trio ("Miike Snow"). Eklöw is known as Style of Eye. They are best known for their 2014 single "Runaway (U & I)" and 2016 single "No Money". They have worked with The Sea Fox for many of their music videos, including the official video for "Runaway (U & I)". The Sea Fox has also been featured on many of their album and EP covers.

Members

Christian Karlsson

Grammy winning Christian Karlsson (of famed producing team Bloodshy & Avant and Swedish indie pop band, Miike Snow) is a mainstay 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. 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.^[1] Karlsson is also a founding member of Swedish artist collective and record label INGRID.

Linus Eklöw

Otherwise known as established electronic music producer Style of Eye, he also co-wrote and produced Icona Pop's international number one hit "I Love It" featuring Charli XCX.

Style of Eye, a Stockholm-born and based DJ and 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.^[2]

History

2007–12: 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."^[3]

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- 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 thcentricey 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.^[4]

"We realized, this is Galantis, this is our band," Karlsson adds.^[4]

2013–14: "You", "Smile", Galantis EP, "Runaway (U & I)", and international breakthrough

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 music with meaningful songwriting.

Logo of Galantis

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.^[5]

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."^[6]

Their first single with Big Beat Records, "Smile", was released that following November. Its controversial video premiered on Stereogum.^[7] "Smile" received several remixes from various artists, and an extended mix by dance music heavyweight Kaskade.^[8]

"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.^[9] The duo also refer to their fans as Seafox Nation and can often be seen using #seafoxnation on their social media sites.

In February, the duo released their second single "You".^[10] The track was subsequently played heavily during Ultra Music Festival and Miami Music Week,^[11] becoming the 8th most Shazamed track at the festival.^[12] Their debut self-titled EP Galantis was released on April 1, 2014.^[13]

Galantis has had international success with their single "Runaway (U & I)", which debuted on October 5, 2014. The single is the second single from their debut album Pharmacy. The song subsequently shot to the top of Spotify's Global and US Viral charts^[14] 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.^[15] "Runaway (U & I)" has been certified Gold in Finland, 3× Gold in the Netherlands and Platinum in Norway and Sweden.^[16] Galantis released the single "Gold Dust" on February 19, 2015 through Sterogum and reached number 1 on Hype Machine's Popular Chart.^[17]

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."^[18]

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.^[19]

2015: Pharmacy

Galantis released their debut album Pharmacy on June 8, 2015.^[20] The album was available for pre-order on April 20th, 2015. The album features the four singles "You" (from their first EP), "Runaway (U & I)", "Gold Dust", and "Peanut Butter Jelly." The 13-track album is the first LP from Galantis. The duo uploaded each song to their YouTube channel with alternate artworks for each track. The seventh track "Kill 'Em With The Love" is the only track with the seafox from the album cover. Whilst "Firebird" shares one with their most recognizable single "Runaway (U & I)".^[21] On May 21, 2015 Galantis began their summer tour in support of Pharmacy which ended on August 6, 2015.^[22] There were 22 dates on the tour in total, with various performances in multiple continents including Europe and North America, and each performance was for some kind of music festival.^[23]

2016-present: No Money & Love On Me

On April 1, 2016, they released the single "No Money" which became their first single to debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[24] On August 5, 2016, they released the single "Make Me Feel", from the movie "XOXO". On September 30, 2016, they released the song "Love On Me" in a collaboration with Hook n Sling from their second album.

On September 30th, 2016, Galantis released the single "Love On Me" followed by a music video for the track on October 4, 2016 directed by Dano Cerny.

Tour

Coachella

Galantis debuted their live show at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 12, 2014.^[25] 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.^[26] Their performance garnered praise from Dancing Astronaut, LA Times and Billboard, among others.^[27][28][29]

Dubbed 'Seafoxchella', their live set debuted original songs and remixes from such genres as pop, electro, and house. 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."^[30][31]

Following the second weekend of the festival, the duo kicked off their first live tour with a string of dates in North America.^[32]

Past concerts

2014

• Coachella – Empire Polo Club, Indio, CA, US^[33]
• 9:30 Club, Washington DC, US^[34]
• Royale, Boston, MA, US^[35]
• The Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY, US^[36]
• Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL, US^[37]
• El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, US^[38]
• Life Is Beautiful, Las Vegas, NV, US^[39]

2015

• Ultra Music Festival, Miami, FL, US^[40]
• Road to Ultra: Thailand, Bangkok, Thailand^[41]
• Ultra Korea, Seoul, South Korea^[42]
• Electric Daisy Carnival, Las Vegas, NV, US
• Electric Forest, Rothbury, MI, US
• Electric Zoo Festival, New York, NY, US
• Ultra Europe, Split, Croatia
• Lollapalooza, Chicago, IL, US
• Squamish Valley Music Festival, Vancouver, Canada
• Paradiso Music Festival, Quincy, WA, US
• Djakarta Warehouse Project, Jakarta, Indonesia^[43]
• Nocturnal Wonderland, San Bernardino, CA, US
• Holy Ship!, The Caribbean
• Snow Globe Music Festival, South Lake Tahoe, CA, US
• Lights All Night, Dallas, TX, US

2016

• Electric Daisy Carnival, Las Vegas, NV, US
• Ultra Music Festival, Miami, FL, US^[40]
• Sunset Music Festival, Tampa, FL, US^[40]
• Beyond Wonderland, San Bernardino, CA, US
• Together Festival, Bangkok, Thailand
• Life In Color, Houston, TX, US
• Neverland Raveolution, Manila, PH^[44]
• Tomorrowland, Boom, Belgium
• VELD Music Festival, Toronto, Canada
• Untold Festival, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
• Mysteryland, Amsterdam, NL
• Creamfields, Daresbury, UK

Awards and nominations

Discography

• Pharmacy (2015)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Galantis.

• Official website
• Galantis on Facebook
• Galantis on Twitter