Kleerup

Iris

Four years have passed since Swedish producer, songwriter and musician Andreas Kleerup was named as one of the world’s hottest producers by NME. The reasons were obvious: his self-titled debut album was a Top 10 hit in his homeland, but its influence impacted upon a tidal wave of artists who desperately tried to recreate Kleerup’s ability to meld retro elements into a pop sound that was both futuristic and innately melancholic. It resulted in him winning big at the Grammis with the prestigious awards for Newcomer of the Year, Producer of the Year and Composer of the Year. Even Lady Gaga was enamoured by Kleerup, and subsequently commissioned him to remix her track “Alejandro”.

His collaboration with Robyn, ‘With Every Heartbeat’, kick-started the trend – a huge international hit (#1 in the UK and a Top 10 hit in numerous other territories) that also won the adoration of discerning music fans. Other guests on the album ranged from the then newcomer Lykke Li through to the legendary Neneh Cherry. Not only did Kleerup demonstrate a surfeit of talent in his own right, but he could expertly judge and apply it in others too – and his ability to combine those two traits is a rare and compelling strength.

A common trait amongst other like-minded musicians is a desire to explore every possible facet of their creativity. It’s something which Kleerup shares. He could’ve simply taken the easy route and watered down his approach for the masses, but as the kind of guy who can reference both King Crimson and Boards of Canada in the same sentence it can’t have been too appealing an idea. Instead, he scored a stage adaptation of former Nobel laureate Harry Martinson’s sci-fi poem “Aniara”, the accompanying album of which earned him a Grammis nomination, and also fronted his Fleetwood Mac and Thin Lizzy-inspired country-rock sextet My and My Army on their debut collection “Thank God For Sending Demons” which garnered yet another Grammis nomination. 

Kleerup had spent the early part of 2014 experimenting on new ideas and technology, and had begun to sketch out some basic ideas. But then tragedy stuck with the death of his mentor Christian Falk. “He really was like family, friend and mentor – he was everything,” sighs Kleerup. A year prior, Kleerup had hit upon the sort of bouncing, insistent bass groove that Falk himself had mastered so well. Perhaps as a subliminal way of addressing his loss, Kleerup revisited the idea and soon had something strong enough to share with kindred spirit Susanne Sundfør (Björk, Röyksopp, M83) who added the mesmeric topline. And so the upcoming single “Let Me” In was born – a song which captures the adventurous spirit of Kleerup’s earlier work while pushing the Eighties influence to a new level.