Kasbo Dishes on His ‘Surrealist’ and ‘Organic’ New Album, The Making of a Paracosm

nov 9, 2020

If you've ever listened to the music of Swedish producer Kasbo, you know his music is something special and unlike anything else out there.

Just last month, he unleashed his sophomore album, The Making of a Paracosm, showing a new sense of sophistication in his ability to shape sounds. Featuring collaborations with fabulous artists including Ourchives, Frida Sundemo, Florian Rosetti, Noomi, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, Nea and Freja the Dragon, these 14 new tracks provide a sense of escapism with fairytale-like, anthemic soundscapes—and we are obsessed.

So when we got the opportunity to ask him a little more about these stunning songs and what they truly mean, we jumped at it. Keep reading to find out what Kasbo had to say about crafting The Making of a Paracosm.

Sweety High: Is there a main theme or through-line to the tracks on The Making of a Paracosm?

Kasbo: The theme is based around me attempting to create my own "Paracosm" through music, which is essentially a very detailed imaginary world. All of the songs both sonically and lyrically circle this theme, even though the narrative progresses as the album goes on.

SH: What does the album title mean to you?

Kasbo: What I mean with the title is basically that this album is me attempting to create my own imaginary world, and hopefully in that process, I can let people visit that same world, as well as create their own.

SH: When you have an emotion or idea in your mind, what's your process of translating that to sound?

Kasbo: It depends on the feeling, but I tend to always sit down with a synth patch or at a piano and play around with chords until I can feel that rush of adrenaline. That's usually when I've found something that I feel expresses the emotion I want. Lately, though, I've been starting a lot of songs with drums, which is an entirely different approach, focusing more on what energy you're after rather than emotion.

SH: How would you describe this album in five words?

Kasbo: Organic, electronic, emotional, surrealist and nostalgic.

SH: Were there any collaborations on this album that you were particularly excited about?

Kasbo: Tim of Vancouver Sleep Clinic is someone I've been wanting to work with for a while. We toured together in 2018 and became great friends, and have been talking about working together for a long time. His voice paints a very vivid picture, which is something I'm always after when looking for vocalists to work with.

SH: What does it mean to you that listeners can interpret your music in so many ways, depending on their own personal experiences and what they take to the track?

Kasbo: I love that, I feel it's the purpose of art. The more room for interpretation, the more people can apply the art they are consuming to their own life, which makes it that much more impactful.

SH: How do you feel your music has grown since your first album?

Kasbo: I feel it's a lot more mature and defined. When making this album, I knew exactly what I wanted to do in terms of theme, concept and just the audiopicture. I also just knew a lot more about production and recording techniques so I could venture into different spaces that were completely unexplored prior to that.

SH: Is there anything else you'd like your fans to know?

Kasbo: That I miss them all so much! I haven't played a show since October last year and I'm going insane. I can't wait to see them all when this pandemic is over.

Obsessed with discovering new music? Click HERE to listen to our favorite new tracks of last week.