We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Big Swede. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Big below.
Big Swede, appreciate you joining us today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?
I have always been into different kinds of music. It’s about exploring different styles, sounds, instruments and also vibes of people and places/countries. For me it is impossible to stay in one particular genre. The rules are, there are no rules! A lot of times people can’t get their heads around me being all over the place musically. It is sometimes hard to present my catalog to publishers etc. because there is a lot of material all over the place and it is hard to grasp it. Also, it can be confusing when somebody goes to my social media for my rock stuff and the first song they hear is an edm track and the next a distorted big beat track and the next some experimental stuff. For me it is all about being creative and experimenting – doing it the BS way! Another thing is that social media and Tik Tok video clips seem to have become more important than the music. Nothing matters as long as you collect a lot of likes…..! There is some kind of formula that you are supposed to follow and you need to release a song every month or whatever and post about something everyday….. It becomes ridiculous when you start following these formulas. Sign of the times – That’s for sure! For me creativity really doesn’t work that way. I hope there will continue to be room for experimentation in music in the future… That’s where the cool stuff happens. Follow your intuition.
Big Swede, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a Producer, Songwriter, Composer, Engineer, Sound Designer, Multi-Instrumentalist, Drummer, DJ, Remixer and now reside in Las Vegas. I mainly concentrate on my own songs/catalog but also record/produce other artists, mix and master songs and do a lot of remixing. I have my own record label Big Swede Studios. It is used for my own projects: Big Swede, Refurbished, Protecto, X-World/5, 3 Of A Different Kind, Tweek Show, Prune Bros and Kill Vegas. Earlier years my life was all about the drums and I did many gigs/sessions. My first gig at 15 years old was with Swedish punk band Slobobans Undergång and I just did a remix for their anniversary album a few months ago. I have been playing a lot of drums recently and wanna do more drumming again. I’m also exploring the DJ decks and different ways of being creative in the electronic music space. A goal is to go out and play my own music live if at all possible. I also started a new DJ duo called Kill Vegas with Teddy Rotten fusing tech house, drum & bass and mainstage. We have been finishing songs and looking forward to being out there playing. It’s a process to get it going. The Big Swede catalog consists of around 1250 songs. My music has been used all over the place, including over 400 episodes of television and many commercials. Highlights would be NCIS, CSI, The Mentalist, Lie To Me, Mercedes. Other credits include: Van Halen (Concert Intro & Programming), Kiss (Samples), Tommy Bolin (Whips & Roses 1 & 2 – Mixing) and many collaborations including Reeves Gabrels (The Cure, ex-David Bowie), Oscar Hernandez (Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Celia Cruz), Jimmy Z (Eurythmics, Etta James), Rod Jackson (Slash’s Snakepit), Greg Hampton (Alice Cooper, Ron Wood), Miles Evans (Sting, Quincy Jones), Johnny Griparic (Slash), Ebbot (The Soundtrack Of Our Lives), Howie Simon (Winger), Les Hemstock (Hemstock & Jennings), Papa Dee, Bo Svenson (actor: Kill Bill Vol.2, Inglourious Basterds, Walking Tall) and many more.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
It’s a beautiful thing to start with nothing and create a piece of music. It drives me. Making something out of nothing. You have to love the process. It is open and uncertain. Later that day you have something to listen to. Try different things and make choices along the way. I never know how it will end up or if anybody is going to like it…. lol. It’s all about choices! Sometimes there will be guest musicians or a vocalist which will add to the overall feel of the final song. My best stuff happens when I follow my intuition – including guests – and when I’m open to whatever comes my way. Guidelines & restrictions can screw things up! Mistakes can lead to something new. Learning takes you through it all. I hope AI doesn’t take it all away from us……………
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
A lot of my music is created all by myself from idea to finished song but I also love featuring friends/people/talent on my songs. My rock album Refurbished had 17 A-list performers from the rock world. I made scratch versions with drums, bass, guitar and my vocals (yep my vocals sounds hilarious) when writing the songs. It was all replaced by my amazing friends. My two records inspired by downtown Los Angeles (BS In A Downtown Lounge, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2) featured incredible musicians from the jazz, r&b and latin world. My Electronic Core District albums and Best Of BS Hip Hop albums are all me.
I like to feature people I know, meet or bump into. To be creative with what’s around me and make something out of it.
The video/short documentary movie for my song Downtown Art Dreams was just accepted by two film festivals – in Madrid and Berlin – and I actually won in Madrid – Best Music Video. It features spoken word from well known DTLA artists / painters Gronk (The Smithsonian, LACMA) and Tanner Goldbeck (Icon Motosports, Powell-Peralta) together with Jimmy Z (Eurythmics) on harmonica.
At the moment I’m getting inspired by Las Vegas.
I have several upcoming songs which have interesting blends of guests. First one will feature Ebbot (The Soundtrack Of Our Lives), Jimmy Z (Eurythmics), Johnny Griparic (Slash), Papa Dee, Michael Martinsson (Dilana) and for the first time Bickram Gosh (one of India’s finest tabla players who’s credits include George Harrison). A cool blend of incredible musicians!
The second one will feature Patrick Stone (Hairball), Michael Devin (Whitesnake) and Quist (Bryan Ferry). I also have something new coming up featuring Howie Simon (Winger, Starship) who has played on many of my songs.
I still love the process. Grateful for all the amazing talent that has come through my studio. I feel like I barely got started!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bigswedestudios.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigswedestudios/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigSwedeStudiosLA
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/big-swede-a70333176
- Twitter: https://x.com/bigswedestudios
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/BigSwedeStudios
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/big-swede-1
- Other: IMDB – Stefan Svensson (aka Big Swede):
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0841186/
Image Credits
Main photo:
Mats Ågren
Additional photos:
1. Rush Varela
2. Big Swede
3. Mia Stromberg
4. Mats Ågren
5, Mattias Eriksson
6. —
7. Rush Varela
8. —
9. Kill Vegas
10. Big Swede