Christian Karlsson | |
|---|---|
 Karlsson performing in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Lars Christian Karlsson |
| Also known as | Bloodshy boy |
| Born | (1975-07-14)14 July 1975 (age 49) Loftahammar,Kalmar, Sweden |
| Genres | Electro,big room house,K-pop |
| Occupation(s) | DJ,percussionist,remixer,record producer |
| Instrument(s) | DAW,piano,guitar,turntables |
| Years active | 1990s–present |
| Website | www |
Lars Christian Karlsson (born 14 July 1975), also known by his stage nameBloodshy, is a Swedish DJ, percussionist, record producer andremixer known for his work with the musical groupsBloodshy and Avant,[1]Miike Snow,Ingrid, andGalantis.[2] He started his international music career as one half of theelectro pop duoBloodshy & Avant withPontus Winnberg,[3] producing and co-writing tracks forpop stars such asMadonna,[4]BoA,[5]Kylie Minogue, andKaty Perry.[3] Bloodshy & Avant notably co-wrote and producedBritney Spears' single "Toxic",[3] which earned them aGrammy Award forBest Dance Recording in 2005.[6] While continuing to work with Bloodshy and Avant, Karlsson also became a member of theindie pop band Miike Snow around 2007.[7]Miike Snow, the group's debut album, was released in 2009,[5] and peaked at number 11 on theTop Electronic Albums chart in the United States.[8] Miike Snow won the 2011European Border Breakers Award,[4] and their second albumHappy to You reached No. 1 on theBelgian Heatseekers Albums Chart[9] and 43 on theBillboard 200.[10]
Karlsson is also a member of a band called Galantis together withLinus Eklöw.[11] Their debut self-titled EPGalantis was released on 1 April 2014,[12] and they debuted their live show atCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival two weeks later.[13][14] The duo won Coachella 2014's Best Dance Music Moment fromBillboard, beatingCalvin Harris andChromeo with 52% of the vote.[15] Galantis had international success with their single "Runaway (U & I)" in October 2014,[16] which received a nomination forBest Dance Recording at the58th Grammy Awards.[17] Galantis released their debut albumPharmacy on 8 June 2015,[18][19] and that year the duo was named Best Breakthrough Artist at theInternational Dance Music Awards.[20] Karlsson continues to tour with both Galantis and Miike Snow, the latter of which released their third album,iii, in March 2016.[21]
Christian Karlsson began focusing on music at age thirteen, recollecting "I come fromskateboard culture, so it waspunk rock, and I got intohip hop when hip hop got into skateboarding. I had never done anything else but music."[18] He began working in the studio mixing and producing music as a teenager, and held stints with Swedish pop groups such as Goldmine, who at one point opened for theFugees.[4]
Early in his music career, Bloodshy began working with his childhood friendPontus Winnberg onelectronic music andhouse music.[3] Karlsson adopted the moniker Bloodshy, and began working avidly on songwriting and producing with Winnberg asBloodshy and Avant.[4] The duo scored their first success working with American singer-songwriterChristina Milian[4] for her late 2001début album.[22] The duo were then commissioned to work with Englishpop groupSugababes.[5] Their subsequent collaboration withMs. Dynamite resulted in several tracks on her 2002 albumA Little Deeper, including her hit début single, "It Takes More".[5]
Bloodshy and Avant co-wrote and produced two songs onBritney Spears' 2003 albumIn the Zone: "Showdown", and the hit single, "Toxic",[3] which two years later won at the47th Grammy Awards asBest Dance Recording,[6] also winning a 2005ASCAP Award for most performed song.[4][23] Bloodshy and Avant subsequently produced all three new songs on Spears' 2004Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, and also produced the theme song for herBritney & Kevin: Chaotic reality series in 2005.[5]
After working with Spears, the duo continued to work with high-profile pop stars such asKaty Perry,[3]Kylie Minogue,[18] andSky Ferreira.[4] In 2005, Bloodshy and Avant co-wrote and co-produced two tracks withMadonna for herConfessions on a Dance Floor album.[4] They also produced tracks for Ms. Dynamite's 2005 releaseJudgement Days.[24] Bloodshy and Avant worked with Spears on her albumBlackout in 2007, collaborating on songs such as "Piece of Me" and "Radar".[5] In 2007, forKylie Minogue's 10th studio albumX, Bloodshy and Avant co-wrote and produced songs such as "Speakerphone".[5] Bloodshy and Avant again helped Spears on her 2008 albumCircus, producing tracks such as "Unusual You".[5] Also that year, Bloodshy and Avant produced few songs forSouth Korean pop starBoA's English débutBoA,[5] and the following year they produced "Chocolate Love" for theK-pop girl groupsGirls' Generation andf(x).[5]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Miike Snow - "Animal" on VEVO (21 November 2009) | |
| Miike Snow - "Pretender" (Official Video) |
Bloodshy and Avant encountered and befriended American vocalistAndrew Wyatt in 2007, formulating the idea for a future collaboration.[4] Bloodshy and Avant soon formed the bandMiike Snow with Wyatt,[3] andMiike Snow, the group's debut album, was released in 2009.[5] The first single to be taken from the album was theelectro-pop "Animal", released on 17 February 2009.[25] "Black & Blue", the album's second single, was released on 15 October 2009,[26] while the third single "Silvia" was released on 22 January 2010 in the UK.[27] The album peaked on number 11 on theTop Electronic Albums chart in the United States.[8] Continuing to mix and perform with Bloodshy and Avant while with Miike Snow, in 2010 Karlsson worked withSky Ferreira to produce singles like "One", which was released in August.[28] In 2011, Karlsson alone co-produced two songs for Britney Spears' 7th studio albumFemme Fatale, "How I Roll" and "Trip to Your Heart".[5]
In July 2011, Karlsson co-founded the Swedish artist collective and record labelINGRID along with Miike Snow,Peter Bjorn and John,Lykke Li,Coco Morier andDungen.[29] Beyond INGRID, Bloodshy and Avant own Studio Robotberget, a studio based in Stockholm.[30] They also run a label called Ändersson with signed artists and musicians including Little Majorette,Sky Ferreira and Meadow.[31] Miike Snow won the 2011European Border Breakers Award.[4] On 24 January 2012, Miike Snow released "Black Tin Box", a collaboration with Swedish singerLykke Li.[32] On 13 March 2012, Miike Snow released their second albumHappy to You. It met with a largely positive response in publications such asAllMusic[33]Rolling Stone,[34] andNME,[35] with a mixed review fromPitchfork Media.[36] It charted well, reaching No. 1 on theBelgian Heatseekers Albums Chart[9] and 43 on theBillboard 200.[10]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
| Galantis - "Smile" (Official Video) (Nov 20, 2013) |
Karlsson is a member of a band calledGalantis together withLinus Eklöw, which they formed around 2013.[11] Karlsson and Eklöw had first met by chance at Karlsson's Robotberget studios inStockholm, sometime in 2007. In 2009, Miike Snow asked Eklöw to remix their song "Animal". Afterwards Karlsson and Eklöw, both based in Sweden, started hanging out in the studio together, playing each other songs and scraps of ideas.[37] In 2012 they stopped the loop-based and software-centric approach, switching to Karlsson's usual method of beginning a song on guitar or piano. "We keep the song naked, and when we feel like we have the right one, we put some clothes on it and see how it feels", says Karlsson.[38] Christian and Eklöw said: "when we started Galantis, we set out to challenge each other and experiment with all of the sounds and ideas that we find exciting. We built a studio on a small island in the Baltic Sea and our surroundings became a source of inspiration."[39]
Galantis signed toAtlantic Records' dance imprintBig Beat Records in mid-2013. Their first single with Big Beat Records, "Smile", was released that following November.[40] As the first composition they agreed upon,[11] "Smile" received several remixes from various artists, and an extended mix byKaskade.[41] "Smile" has also been featured byKaskade,Diplo,Tiesto,Dada Life,Steve Angello, andPete Tong, who featured it as an Essential Tune.[42] Its controversial video premiered onStereogum,[40] and featured the first instance of the "Seafox", a band mascot created by visual artistMat Maitland.[43]
In February 2014, the duo released their second single "You".[44] The track was subsequently played heavily atWinter Music Conference,[45] becoming the 8th mostShazamed track at the festival.[46] Their debut self-titled EPGalantis was released on April 1, 2014.[12] Galantis debuted their live show atCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 12, 2014,[13] about two weeks after they released their debut EP.[14] In aBillboard Poll asking fans to vote on Coachella 2014's Best Dance Music Moment, Galantis beatCalvin Harris,Flume,Chromeo,Disclosure andGirl Talk with 52% of the vote.[15] Their debut performance garnered praise fromDancing Astronaut,Los Angeles Times andBillboard, among other publications.[47][48][49]
Galantis has had international success with their single "Runaway (U & I)", which debuted on 5 October 2014.[16]Rolling Stone opined that the song was "riding high on unapologetically major-key synths and pitched-up vocals", also writing "the summer anthem added an organic touch to the undeniable earworm qualities of the best Scandinavian pop."[50] The song reached the top ofSpotify's Global and US Viral charts[16] and became a top 10 Spotify track in the Netherlands, Belgium and Finland. In America, the track peaked at number 1 on theBillboard Twitter Emerging Artists chart,[51] andBillboard ranked the song at number five on its "The 10 Best Electronic/Dance Songs of 2014" list.[52] Furthermore, "Runaway (U & I)" received a nomination forBest Dance Recording at the58th Grammy Awards,[17] receiving a second Grammy nomination as well.[14]
Galantis released the single "Gold Dust" on 19 February 2015 throughStereogum, which reached number 1 on Hype Machine's Popular Chart.[53] In April 2015, Galantis released their single "Peanut Butter Jelly", whichRolling Stone called a "retro, funky slice ofdisco revival, with the kind of unforgettable, sing-along vocal hook destined for clubs, parties and spin classes."[50]Time magazine wrote that the "infectious" track "samples the 1960s soul singerBettye Swann, lending major retro vibes to its pulsing contemporary beat."[18]
On May 21, 2015 Galantis began their summer tour in support ofPharmacy, which ended on August 6, 2015. There were 22 dates on the tour in total, with various performances in multiple continents including Europe and North America.[54] Galantis released their debut albumPharmacy on June 8, 2015.[18][19] The duo uploaded each song to theirYouTube channel with alternate artworks for each track.[55] Karlsson was touring with Galantis at the end of 2015 as well, with plans to hit venues inLas Vegas and other North American cities.[14] In 2015, Galantis was named Best Breakthrough Artist at theInternational Dance Music Awards.[20]
On March 4, 2016, Miike Snow releasediii. With the band, Karlsson performed singles from the album onJimmy Kimmel Live! on March 1, 2016. In addition, the band announced a tour in 2016 to promote the album, to take place from March 3, 2016 to July 29, 2016.[21] Specific dates includedSXSW,[56]Coachella, theGovernors Ball Music Festival andLollapalooza, as well as others.[21]
Karlsson is known for writing and producing a mixture ofbig room house,progressive house, and otherelectronic music genres. He uses similar approaches in his different musical groups, stating that withGalantis, they "always start with the song. We use guitar, piano, and bass lines we don't keep to figure out which clothes we're going to put on each melody and lyric. I think that's different than a lot of others in thedance scene. They have a beat they love and then force a top line on top of it."[57] Karlsson furthermore stated that with Galantis, "A Galantis song sometimes has been only on a piano for two years before we even start putting akick drum in it ... there's no Galantis song that starts with a beat or a track."[50]
As of 2016, Karlsson is based inBangkok with his family.[3] He was diagnosed withattention deficit hyperactivity disorder as an adult, and his condition is the main focus of the 2023 Galantis single "Bang Bang! (My Neurodivergent Anthem)".[58]
| Year | Award | Nominated work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | ASCAP Awards | "Toxic" | Most Performed Song | Won |
| 2005 | Most Performed Song[23] | Won | ||
| Grammy Awards | Best Dance Recording | Won | ||
| Ivor Novello Award | Most Performed Work | Won | ||
| 2007 | Swedish Government | Bloodshy and Avant | Music Export Award | Won |
| 2008 | Swedish Music Publishers Association Awards | Biggest International Success | Nominated | |
| 2011 | European Border Breakers Awards | Miike Snow | Border Breakers[4] | Won |
| 2015 | International Dance Music Awards | Galantis | Best Breakthrough Artist[20] | Won |
| 2016 | Grammy Awards | "Runaway (U & I)" | Best Dance Recording | Nominated |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
