Galantis’ first chapter: the journey, the inspiration, and the romance

by: Valerie Lee May 15, 2014

How long does it take to fall in love? Minutes? Days? A lifetime? For Galantis, all it took was six months. Six months to sweep waves of strangers into fans and transform a curious lusting to a full on love affair.

For most, the fascination began with a series of favorable tweets and mix features from notable friends and fellow producers commending a mysteriously mischievous track titled “Smile.” Hints of the Swedish couplet’s daring production techniques in combination with their acute sense of balance in mastering the rushing house music formula and infectious lyrical hooks placed Galantis in a prime position to revive and refresh the electronic bubble.

That just only scrapes the surface. Individually, Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklow each have catholicly exhaustive musical resumes with experiences ranging from touring with The Fugees, to punk rock, to Britney Spears – all impressive collaborations and experiences accredited to their previous familiar monikers, Miike Snow and Style of Eye. Altogether, the two have racked over 17 years of experience in the studio, songwriting, producing, and constructing their fine tuned ears across several different genres of music.

“All my roads led up to this – right here, right now,” Christian surmised in conclusion to exploring his impressive history in Miike Snow and as an individual artist. It seems hard to fathom that an artist who lists 400 shows and playing Coachella’s Outdoor Stage in 2012 as some of his fondest memories could feel unsure for his return to Indio’s premier festival two years later.

The duo’s self-titled EP officially touched down on Beatport on April 1st, just 12 days before Galantis was slated to not only to perform at both weekends of the hailed Southern California festival, but debut on Coachella’s Gobi Tent stage. “We didn’t know what to expect,” Linus explains with brazen honesty. With plans set to immediately leap into a six-stop North American tour after their Indio introduction, a spotty crowd would have been the Galantis nightmare. “Then, we played “Smile” as the first track and heard not only the vocal from our monitors, but the whole crowd singing along.”

How could their audience resist? In early November, we stared deeply into a fantastically bizarre creature’s eyes while hearing the first enchanting drips of “Smile.” Listeners were instantly hooked onto the unconventional soundscapes and breaths of catchy, uplifting lyrics which have proved to be a warmly welcomed theme throughout Galantis’ following EP releases.

Christian and Linus’ perceptive ability to strike their audience’s sweet spot wasn’t merely serendipity. “We start with the song instead of the track,” Christian illuminated, referencing both of their heavy songwriting backgrounds as a major advantage for their Galantis creations. “It needs to feel like it’s growing. We try to create sounds that are hard to recreate,” Linus chimed in, with a telling smile. “That’s how you stay original.”

The duo has previously explained their unmissable vocoded vocals as a purposeful intertwining of distorted male and female vocals to further fuel the air of mystery that surrounds the duo – just one of the many examples of quirky manipulations and efforts that sets Galantis to succeed in 2014 and for many years to come, despite their newcomer status. “There’s always something you love in music that’s been [the popular] – some stuff you love, some that is old,” Christian reflected before proceeding to note break beats, 60’s music, and even country as instances of their inspirations. “We take small blocks of what we like, and create Galantis.”

“It’s a sweet deal,” Linus encapsulated as the two donned their signature leather jackets and prepared to take to the stage for their final tour performance.

Though Galantis’ first chapter may be coming to a memorable end, the duo doesn’t plan to bask in down time. A follow up album is not only in the works, but coming sooner, rather than later. Already well on its way to completion with elements of songwriting thus finalized, the album plans to introduce tight-lipped collaborations but remain “well within the Galantis world” – wherever that fantastical world may be.

A natural enthusiasm exudes from Christian and Linus as they speak about their histories, the present, and future hopes for their collaboration. Beyond embodying an utopian collision of talent and an intuitive ear for sound, Galantis’ success has undoubtedly blossomed from the duo’s unrestrained passion for their music and their art. The love for their work has effortlessly translated in a short span of a mere few months.

Their audience has received their alchemic concoctions with explosive reactions, a remaining constant easily distinguished by decorated fans thronging to the dance floor littered with Seafox posters, masks, and homemade shirts. Los Angeles’ electrifying energy lay thick over the crowd, long before the cheeky lyrics of “You” were drowned out by countless voices chanting along to the already familiar words. Though the night may have come and gone, whether you were first enraptured by the two when simply perusing Soundcloud, when attempting to escape the blazing heat of Coachella, or feeding a craving curiosity during an evening on the first Galantis tour, there’s no denying it: Galantis has charmed us, infatuated us, and sparked a relationship that is set to last.