Finnish electronic musician and producer, Axel Thesleff, incorporates xylophones, drums pads and more exotic instrumentation to build magical music. Axel is consistent with his focus on emotion and telling a story behind each piece of music he creates. With his hit single, ‘Bad Karma’, reaching over 500 million streams across all platforms, his new single, ‘Find My Way’ is a wonderful slice of glistening electronica, with shimmering synths, hard-hitting drums and pitch-shifted vocals combed to give an incredibly powerful effect. Check out our interview with Axel Thesleff as you enjoy his captivating music video for ‘Find My Way’.
Can you describe the current directions of your project?
The main directions of the project right now is music, videos, and the live show. There’s lots of new music to be released this year and more is in the works for next year. We’re also focusing on video content like music videos and ’studio live’ videos which highlight the live show in a cool way. The video content will bring an added depth and dimension to the project. And then there’s the live show which keeps getting better every year. This year I’m working closely with an amazing visual artist to add live visuals to the performance which I’m really excited about.
What was the inspiration behind your single, ‘Find my way’? Is there a message you’d like listeners to take away from it?
The song came to me when I was in a bad mental state in order to lift my spirit and give that jolt of power to overcome the situation. I hope the song could inspire someone to not give up on life and trust that you’ll find your way if you just keep trying and never give up.
What is your favorite thing about touring?
Definitely connecting with people. It’s great to feel the music together and share the experience and meet new people. It’s also just great to play with the electronic instruments I use. Every show is a culmination of passion and hard work and at that moment it’s just about enjoying the fruits of your efforts. The way I play live requires a lot of preparation and practice, I make it so that there’s lots of room to just focus on playing and the music itself and minimize all the hassle of controlling clips, triggering stuff, fiddling with knobs and faders etc. It’s really fun to jam with.
What are you intentions behind your music?
I try to be as honest as I can to the feeling or mindset I have in the moment and put it into a form of music that I resonate with in order to interact with my inner world that way. So it’s very personal to me but I try to make it so that it’s relatable to others as well. I want to be part of the power of music in people’s lives that can heal everything, but also have fun doing it!
What’s your go-to snack when you’re on tour?
Almonds or nuts! They give you a lot of energy and good nutrients in a dense form and is easy to carry around.
Your previous single, ‘Bad Karma’, has gained over 500+ million streams across all platforms; have accomplishments like these changed the way you view your art? Why or why not?
Yes and no. It’s made my audience a lot bigger so there’s some pressure that goes with it that wasn’t there before but nothing major. In most ways I continue doing what I’ve always been doing and make music I would like to listen to myself. Bad Karma is just one song out of dozens that I’ve done, it just seems to appeal to a lot of people, which is not a bad thing.
Which song of yours was your favorite to create and why?
Every song is different so it’s almost impossible to compare. I’m always enjoying every step of the process. Usually, the creation goes really smoothly, but sometimes I might get stuck a little bit. I guess my favourite songs to create are those that have several breakthrough moments in the production process, where the song expands into new levels after being stuck. It’s always very rewarding.
LISTEN TO ‘BAD KARMA’ BELOW
If you had any advice for young people that want to begin creating music, what would it be?
Just have fun with it, be curious, explore and experiment, listen to a lot of music, don’t look down on other artists, be open-minded. If it feels like work, in the beginning, you’re not doing it right. You shouldn’t have any pressure of being awesome in the beginning, just keep doing it and you’ll get good at it. The main thing is loving the process. Don’t make getting to ”the top” an obsession – that shouldn’t be the reason you’re making music.
