Swedish artist Kasbo has captivated the world of dance music, amassing over half a billion streams across his discography.
Photo Credit: Kasbo – Official
He has received the prestigious P3 Gold Award for ‘Dance Artist of the Year’ in Sweden and has earned recognition from well-known media outlets including Billboard, The FADER, and Stereogum. Kasbo’s versatility allows him to shine as a live performer, DJ, and producer.
Kasbo has recently unveiled his third album, ‘The Learning of Urgency.’ This follows his acclaimed second album, ‘The Making of a Paracosm,’ which was released four years ago under ODESZA’s Foreign Family Collective and Counter Records. This latest offering is a reflection of Kasbo’s personal journey, revealing the internal struggles he faced due to the immense pressure he put on himself to continuously succeed.
In celebration of his latest release, Kasbo has curated a special list of his top 10 tracks that served as his creative muse during the album’s creation process.
1. Moby – ‘Porcelain’
“‘Porcelain’ is just one of those tracks that never loses its relevance. The chords and melody language are so clearly 90’s to me. The ’90s rave culture has obviously inspired so much music that’s been released lately, especially in dance music. However, I feel like the whole trip-hop scene has gotten a lot less shine, but to me, there’s such a clear ID in that entire sound that I wanted to take inspiration from on the album.”
2. Giovanna – ‘Dream World (Tom Demac Remix)’
“This is one of those tracks that I feel really nails that melody language from that 90’s era, while still feeling current and new. It weaves the past and present in a really elegant way, which is something I really wanted to do with my record ‘The Learning of Urgency.’”
3. Pryda – ‘Allein’
“Eric Prydz is obviously a legend and has inspired so much of dance music today. For me, this track is his best one. It has this pure euphoria of the progressive house scene in 2012 but does it in a really tasteful way. That scene sort of became a bit too big for its own good, I feel, and developed and commercialized into something that, looking back at it, can sometimes feel a bit silly. For some people, I think this has left a sour aftertaste when they hear the word progressive house. However, there’s SO much good music from that time. Progressive house has been a massive inspiration behind my album and ‘Allein’ is one of those tracks specifically. You reach this feeling of true euphoria, all while still avoiding the many gimmicks of that scene.”
4. Makebo & Amonita – ‘Back To The Roots’
“This is such a wonderful remake of perhaps one of the greatest songs ever, Bitter Sweet Symphony. It has a lovely house angle to it which again, like other tracks on this list, really marries that feeling of 90’s nostalgia whilst still feeling modern and fresh. I always love playing this one out.”
5. Ólafur Arnalds – ‘Woven Song’
“It’s hard to pick just one song out of Ólafur Arnald’s catalog that inspired the album because his entire project has been a huge inspiration to me. Ólafur blends classic piano with electronic and interesting samples to create a truly unique audio picture. ‘Woven Song’ is one of those that I listen to religiously and always manages to calm me down and center me. I’ve always had this love for calm and ethereal music and tried to incorporate that into my music. In dance music, I find it exciting to have those juxtapositions super energetic moments, contrasted with feelings of calm. There are definitely some moments on the album that, to me, resemble Ólafur’s work, like the song ‘The Learning of Urgency’ for example.”
6. RÜFÜS DU SOL – ‘Innerbloom’
“Another iconic dance track. What I love about this song is that it takes its time, something I feel isn’t too common in dance music nowadays. Being the TikTok generation, people want their kicks, and they want them quickly. But I feel like we lose so many moments if we’re only consuming music that way. Some moments need to be built over a longer period of time. ‘Innerbloom’ is a testament to that. I think this song gave me confidence in not always giving the big reveal away from the get-go. Letting a track breathe and build, and then lead the listener to a climax at the end.”
7. Ben Böhmer – ‘Beyond Beliefs’
“Ben Böhmer is amazing at pairing two of the styles of music that I hold so dear, dance music and ambient. He has a lot of moments on this track, but also this entire record that feels like it could be a part of an ambient album, but then seamlessly weaves it together with dance music. He was a huge inspiration behind how to do that myself.”
8. Max Richter, Grace Davidson – ‘Path 3 (7676)’
“Similar to ‘Woven Song,’ this is one of those tracks that just centers me. With this album, I wanted to have moments that really allowed you to slow down and hopefully forget about the world for a second. ‘Path 3’ is one of those tracks for me. It has this eeriness to it that, for some reason, just channels this very genuine feeling in me. Fear is probably one of the most primal feelings a person can have so when this track rides that line while pairing it with this beautiful melody I feel like you reach this feeling that is very honest. I think in the same way that fear is primal, a feeling of wanting to dance is too, which is why I believe pairing more emotional melodies with dance music can really help you channel feelings you haven’t explored before, which is what I tried to do with my album.”
9. Jon Hopkins – ‘Luminous Beings’
“Jon Hopkins is a master at his craft. One of my all-time favorite artists, there’s always this perfect balance of grit, groove, and etherealness to his music. This song just feels like you’re floating on a cloud through space. A beautiful combination of ambience and dance music in one.”
10. Sigur Rós – ‘Untitled #3 – Samskeyti’
“Sigur Rós is probably one of the bands that has played the biggest role in my life and both consciously and subconsciously influenced my music, this album is no different. They have a way of channeling feelings that are larger than life, a big catharsis. I think in a lot of ways in life, music has been therapy for me and a way for me to release certain feelings. When I make music, that feeling of release is important for me in knowing if a song has something or not, do I get that release or not. Without Sigur Rós, I think my qualifications for what makes a good song when making it would look wildly different.”
Kasbo’s ‘The Learning of Urgency’ is out now via Foreign Family Collective. Stream and download here.
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