It's no secret that our crush on Erik Hassle continues to develop at a monumental pace. Ever since first laying ears (and eyes....oh that hair!) on his luscious arrangements and unique vocals, it's been a storm of Swedish songs flooding our every listening experience. And rightfully so. The 21-year old has a bona-fide bangin' debut album and the schooling chops to keep listeners' piqued with his every move.
Sitting and talking with the lanky singer is a treat that goes far beyond throwing on his album and losing yourself in his modern melodies. Hassle's got a lot to say and he's not afraid to spill on his earliest and most unique music situations, along with how to be a successful pop star. Let's get to the good stuff!
SB: Erik, welcome to New York City! How long will you be in the states?
EH: This time I’m here for two weeks, but I’ll be coming back here in April
SB: Very cool! So, if you just want to start talking about how you got in music, because you’re a young kid, but the buzz around you has been so huge and everyone’s so excited to hear what you’re going to do next. That said, growing up in the very late 80s and early 90s, what influences did you have?
EH: I grew up in a really small village 2 hours south of Stockholm, and my hippie parents – Im the youngest and I’ve got 4 siblings – I was their late kid. They were getting older and not as wild as they used to be, and we bought a house south of Stockholm in a little small village, and they decided to build a venue in our garden with the idea to invite their friends who are musicians, my parents were a bit into that business, to come there and perform for the village.
SB: Oh, that’s kind of bad ass!
EH: It was, because it became really hardcore quite fast. The people from the village came to our garden and had a picnic and got really drunk and started having sex in the toilets
