Carl Garsbo, better known as Kasbo, is an electronic record producer and DJ from Gothenburg, Sweden. When Carl returned home to Gothenburg at the end of 2015, the producer couldn’t sit still. He had just toured with Counter Records labelmates ODESZA and dropped a new single ‘World Away,’ eager to get back into the studio and write his next chapter.
Arriving on Foreign Family Collective and Counter Records, Garsbo’s debut studio album ‘Places We Don’t Know’ is an amalgamation of emotive moments told through music that will make you want to dance as much as cry. Since release, it’s garnered more than 93 million streams to date and has seen tremendous support across streaming platforms. Garsbo also earned wide-spread praise from the likes of The FADER, Complex, Highsnobiety, NYLON, The 405, and Billboard, who selected him for their 2018 ‘Ones To Watch’ list. That same year, he released a masterful collaboration with house producer Shallou and an official remix of Ed Sheeran’s hit track, ‘Happier’.
He’s since been busy on the road, applying his vision to ambitious live shows and premier festival performances at Coachella, Life Is Beautiful, Firefly, among others. Following a fully sold-out headline tour in North America, he again supported labelmates ODESZA for a string of dates in Europe and recently took to the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheater as direct support on Big Gigantic’s Rowdytown.
Kasbo just released his new album ‘The Making of a Paracosm’ via Foreign Family Collective/Counter Records. For the special occasion he shares 5 tips to be focused in the studio.
1. Make sure you’re comfortable and have everything you need
This has always been a key thing for me. It took a long time for me to be able to work out of cars or in hotels because I needed to have everything where I wanted it. For me, having a good MIDI keyboard, a nice speaker set up, a computer mouse, and a good chair is crucial. A guitar doesn’t hurt either but it’s all up to what you work best on.
2. Shut off your phone, and maybe even turn off the internet
There’s nothing worse than distractions, or interruptions when you’re trying to get into a production flow. I love to work at night, sometimes even until 6 am because at that point everyone else is asleep and I don’t get hit up or bothered. The goal for me in the studio is always to get to the point where I forget about the time. If I look at the clock and it’s 11 pm., and 5 minutes after that I look again and it shows 3 am I know I just made a banger. It’s impossible to get to that point if you’re always getting interrupted by people calling or texting you.
3. Bring snacks and drinks
My personal go-to’s are dark chocolate and Pepsi Max. But snacks in general are just helpful to keep your energy up and keep you alert and engaged with what you’re doing. Some people like to drink alcohol in the studio to be more present but I’ve found that just makes me sloppy and not critical enough for me to make the right decisions
4. If you can, have equipment around you that excites you
There’s always been the discussion about hardware gear and whether or not it’s just for elitist people who claim to “really hear the difference” between analog and digital. I don’t really care much about that, you can pretty accurately emulate analog sounds and feels if you know how to use your digital FX right. HOWEVER I am absolutely crazy about analog gear, not because of the sounds necessarily, but because they are extremely fun. Keeping up inspiration and engagement is key in the studio, and having gear you have fun with and that is exciting to you is a great way to jumpstart that.
5. Don’t have too many expectations or put too much pressure on you
If you go into the studio with a clear set idea of what you’re supposed to do and you aren’t able to come up with anything like that you’ll drive yourself crazy. Making music is all about happy accidents and that’s hard to control. Try things out, if it works then great! If not, it’s no big deal. Don’t try to steer the direction too much. As cheesy as it sounds, making music is almost more that you’re “Discovering” the music, rather than making it yourself. So just go wherever the creative process takes you.
Kasbo’s ‘The Making of a Paracosm’ is now available via Foreign Family Collective/Counter Records. Stream and buy here.
Follow Kasbo: Facebook | Instagram | Soundcloud | Spotify
