EXCLUSIVE: Interview with State of Sound

Every day feels like summer when you’re playing State of Sound’s upbeat tracks. It’s impossible not to be in a good mood while listening to the Swedish duo’s music, with a distinct tropical vibe carrying through their work. After the release of their debut single “Higher Love” last year, they’ve been climbing up the charts with some bangers. With millions of streams (and counting), State of Sound is sure to have you in a state of bliss.

We chatted with State of Sound about beginnings, milestones, and future projects!

How would you personally describe your musical sound? 

State Of Sound! Since we evolved our sound during a really long period, soul-searching our musical identity, we really feel that there really are no better words to describe our sound.   

What’s the story behind the name “State of Sound”, and are were any other names that were almost chosen? 

Before we came up with ”State Of Sound” we half-seriously called ourselves ”Masters Of The Universe”. HAHA! But we felt we couldn’t really carry that name, so we came up with State Of Sound. We feel that our sound is our home and as long as we stay in the State Of Sound we can do whatever we want. It gives us a lot of musical freedom which is what you always strive for when you’re writing & producing songs.

When you first started making music, were there any artists that inspired your sound? 

We met in 2010 and we both came from two very different sides of music. Joakim was really into metal growing up and I grew up with a lot of Greatest Hits albums like ABBA, Bee Gees, Michael Jackson and The Beatles. So we found a lot of inspiration from each other since we came from different backgrounds but still had a mutual love for writing songs.  We were also inspired by other duos starting out. Like Simon & Garfunkel & Wham. Two is a magic number.   

A year ago, you released your debut track “Higher Love” that has since received 16 million streams, and gold status in Sweden! How did it feel to have such a significant positive reaction for your first release, and how do you think your sound has evolved since? 

It felt great! We were really excited that what we had been evolving for such a long time got great reactions from the start. It’s of course very satisfying when you’ve spend so much time in a studio in a dark basement to come out into the world and share your work.

What would you say is the most challenging part of the music production process? 

The idea for the song. If we have a great idea we know that the rest will come naturally. It can be anything. A beat, a hook, a chorus even a title. We know that if we both feel the original idea for the song is great we just keep on working until it’s done. And we know that we have to keep the inspiration on a high level to keep on coming up with great ideas.

Last month, the two of you released your remix of Bryan Adams’ “Heaven”, giving it a modern twist. What did you enjoy the most about reworking such a classic song? 

Making it our own. It was the most challenging part as well. Heaven is such a great piece of music so we really work hard to try to match our track to the quality of the song. We wanted it to sound like we wrote it. 

Are there any artists you’d like to collaborate with? 

We love a lot of our fellow Swedish artists. Avicii, Tove Lo, Axwell & Ingrosso, Zara Larsson.  

If you could pick any city in the world for a tour stop, where would you go and why? 

A combination of where the sun is shining and people love music. So maybe Miami, Los Angeles, Ibiza. 

Are there any projects you’re currently working on that fans should stay tuned for? 

Yes! We are finishing up an EP that will be out later this year! We’re really excited about it. And to start playing live. 

Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans? Thank you for listening to our music and giving us the inspiration to keep going. And come see us live when we start playing! It’s gonna be a blast. 

Thank you for listening to our music and giving us the inspiration to keep going. And come see us live when we start playing! It’s gonna be a blast. 

You can find State of Sound on Facebook, Instagram, and Soundcloud.

Are you excited for State of Sound’s upcoming EP? Let us know by tweeting us at @CelebMix!

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