Tobtok, is one of the latest, and dare we say it, exciting, producing exports from Sweden. Born Tobias Karlsson, music flows through his veins. Although just 21, he is becoming somewhat of an old hand when it comes to French House and Nu Disco.

To today, and he lists Nile Rodgers as his biggest influence musically, although many of these influences come away from music and just through life. Having been diagnosed with cancer and told there was a 50% chance he would lose his hearing during treatment (he had a different operation at 7 years old to remove a cyst from his ear drum), Tobtok now grabs every opportunity with both hands. “When I heard that, it was the worst thing I had heard in my life. If that happened, I couldn't do music anymore. Basically, when I started my treatment with chemo therapy, my hearing instantly got worse. So during the period whilst I was being treated, I couldn't work on music at all, I could barely listen to music because my I had my headphones on and my head would get really bad. So I was really afraid I would not be able to make music again.”

Thankfully, his hearing came back within weeks of finishing treatment, and Tobtok celebrated a year in remission last year with the release of his track ‘Savanna’, a track he started writing the day of his year check-up. His internal filename? ‘Happy’. Most recently Tobtok, and his remix of Years & Years – Real, caught the right attention, featuring on Kitsune, arguably THE label of Nu Disco and French house. It was a dream come true for Tobtok, and a tick off the bucket list after being a fan of Kitsune and what they represent for years.

What is music to Tobtok, aka Tobias Karlsson: “Music for me is the most powerful tool to express feelings and thoughts, and it’s like a global language that everyone can understand and relate to,” Never a truer word spoken.

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