Sheena Beaston

Erik Hassle: A Passionate Pop Beast Among Boys

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

Beastly Bits #29

Seasons change, people adjust, but one thing remains constant...it's the morning bits! Pumped and primed to bring you a tasty selection of news and info, we remain steadfast.

 

On to the next, on, on, to the next one...

 

Chew Lips announce a new set of UK dates for their tour in support of debut album, Unicorn. Check out the list of shows here.

Nicky Digital has video footage of the "jewet" between Gonzales and A-Trak that I still can't stop raving about. Watch the clips from last Thursday's performance here. Amazing!  

EXIT Festival has announced their first round of acts for the July event in Serbia. Here's the rundown.

Diplo's remix of Private's My Secret Lover is being used in the Prada SS10 Women's Ad Campaign. Check out the clip here. Hot!

 

Copycat remixed Erik Hassle's Hurtful with smashing results. Get ready to feel...get ready to dance. Free download of the fix is yours below.

 

Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore and Yoko Ono form a supergroup/trio. More details here.

 

Pitbull performed on Lopez Tonight, and I'd be lying if I didn't say his live band absolutely crushed it! Watch the performance here.

 

mp3: Erik Hassle - Hurtful (A Copycat Remix)

Erik Hassle: Acoustic, Covered and Mixed

Having found a safe little niche in the music world, Sweden's Erik Hassle easily slipped into Beastonia with his "cooler than thou" and refreshingly rad take on what we like to classify as pure pop perfection.

With a voice that cuts clear, even when summoning his best dirge-sung tones, this 21-year old star in the making has long been on my, and many a blog's technological-tongues over the past year. Having already introduced you to him a number of times prior, any bit of new information is extremely well-received, and thus, likened to be shared. And so we do.

Last week, Erik played on Jo Whileys BBC Radio 1 show, and struck a scintillating chord with his live rendetion of Rihanna's Russian Roulette. Also parlaying his intense fandom of Quentin Tarantino, you'll note that the backing track for his cover is none other than Nancy Sinatra's (Bang Bang) My Baby Shot Me Down, which is heavily used in the filmmaker's work, Kill Bill. Such a fitting tribute and accompaniment to Erik's dulcet demeanor.

More generosity spews forth with Penguin Prison's remix of Hassle's Hurtful, which is yours for free below. Additionally, check him out singing the same song while strolling the streets of Soho and Brixton in the video here.

 

mp3: Erik Hassle - Hurtful (Penguin Prison Remix)

mp3: Erik Hassle - Russian Roulette (Rihanna Cover - Live)