Keeping it as simple as a Scandinavian can, Kygo is casually dressed in a white tee and cream coloured hoodie with black shorts, sneaker and his signature black snapback. The Norwegian DJ, who shot to fame after his mix of Ed Sheeran's I See Fire went viral, humbly introduces himself as Kyrro G?rvell-Dahll. Now, the 26-year-old has had two new albums, multiple chartbusters and he's traveling the world.
We caught up with Kygo just hours before he took the stage at his debut Mumbai concert at the MMRDA Grounds earlier this week, and spoke to him about everything from his music to his fashion line:
GQ: How has your life is changed since I See Fire?
Kygo: It's definitely changed a lot. I'm travelling more. It's a great, busy lifestyle. In and out of hotel rooms, in and out of airports. I'm having a lot of fun. I can do what I love for a living. I can make music every day. I dreamt about this for many years so I guess I'm just very happy.
So, do you have any great or horrible experience while you've been on tour?
It's always hard to pick one great experience... I love going to new countries in general. It's always fun to see new cultures and I'm so lucky I can do that. I can travel around Asia, I can go to South America, go to Africa. However, I haven't had a bad experience. I've been lucky that way.
Do you have any memorable stories with fans that you have met?
My Japanese fans are very dedicated. They wait at airports, with flags and all. It's a very cool experience because it doesn't happen much in Norway, which is where I am from. The first time I experienced that was pretty crazy.
So tell us something about your latest albums Kids in Love and Stargazing.
I've been working on Kids in Love for a year-and-a-half. The title track is probably one of my favorite tracks I've ever done because it has this '80s retro vibe and I'm super inspired by those old-school tracks in general.
You've collaborated with a lot of great artists like Ellie Goulding, John Legend and Selena Gomez. What was it like?
It's always great to get an opportunity to work with these people. I've been listening to their music for a long time. Ellie actually remixed one of her tracks like four or five years ago, and I've been wanting to work with her ever since. John Legend is super, super talented. There are so many people I've been so lucky to work with and I've been wanting to work with for a long time. So to just go in a studio is just very fun for me.
You were the first house music producer to play at the Olympics last year. How did that feel?
That was surreal. I never thought I was going to play at the Olympics. The stadium had 90,000 people present, and hundreds of millions of people watching. It's hard to describe what I was feeling. It was a surreal and magical experience to be such a part of a big event.
You played piano since a very young age and then went on to pursue a degree in business and finance. How did you make the switch to being a DJ?
I guess I was always into music. I started playing the piano when I was six and began composing old melodies. So music had been my dream since I was 14-15. Later, I got really into electronic music and I started producing house music. But even at that time, there were so many people doing exactly what I was doing, so I didn't think I had the chance of a breakthrough. So I started studying because I thought music was never going to take me anywhere, but I was still dreaming about it. I sat in my bedroom for hours on end, producing music everyday just for fun because I loved it. Suddenly, while I was still studying, my music began getting a lot of attention online and music blogs started writing about my tracks. I understood that I had a chance at that time and just went for it. I had to quit studies to pursue this full time, but I'm pretty happy I did that.
You've been to India before. What is it like playing in India?
I've done two shows in India now. I played at Hyderabad on November 24 (this year), and I played at Goa Sunburn two years ago. So far, it's been great. The crowd knows their music and they love electronic, so I'll definitely be coming back.
Were you surprised when you learnt about your Indian fan following?
A little bit, yeah. I've heard from a lot of other DJs that have played here that the crowd here is great and the fans are very dedicated. But you always have to experience it with your own eyes before you can understand it.
Have you heard of any Indian artiste and are you willing to collaborate with them?
I'm not that familiar with any Indian artiste, but I'll definitely check them out. I hear a lot of music on the radio and can tell there's a lot of talented people out there. It would be cool to mix two different worlds.
Where do you draw inspiration from for your music?
I listen to a lot of different music and am always on the lookout for new artists, new sounds and new styles of music.
You have your own fashion line, Kygo Life. Tell us something about that...
Kygo Life is something that I've been working on for the last year and a half. We make clothes as well as speakers and headphones. It's very fun and challenging for me to do that on the side and I'm going to continue to do so.
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