The Story Behind Dirty Loops' INSANE Pop Song Remakes | Jonah Nilsson

Jonah nilson is a world-renowned vocalist and keybordist best known as the frontman of dirty Loops how did Dirty Loops come about the idea was there from the very beginning and I think it was Aaron who said like let's do pop songs and but let's mess them up since then dirty Loops has released several original Studio albums and Tor the [Music] world they completely dominated the musical corners of YouTube with their funky covers of chart topping songs [Music] tell me more about the the film scre thing how did that come about I always been interested in

film and characters why things feel different when music is added and how does emotions sound like and with his solo work Jonah worked closely with the late great Quincy Jones They managed you as a solo artist right they did and then then eventually we started with dirty Loops I've sang in a couple of tribute shows here's Jonah nilson I like to start this by asking this question and it's it's about going back and it's uh what's your first memory of music oh actually it's the funny thing that you asked that because I just uh told

someone that like today um uh my first memory is a bit of a sad one but it's it's a very very very Clear memory and it's um when I was about nine maybe or something 10 or nine Lion King the lion king was just released on in the cinema and I went to see it with my sister and my brother and um there was this piece by Hans Zimmer when Mufasa dies and um there's this beautiful piece of music that was just stuck in my head and then my grandfather passed away and we went to

the funeral and that for somehow miracul ously was playing in my head the the music from From the from the film was playing in my head so I could really hear it was kind of like putting emotions to what I was feeling and that music was precisely it so yeah yeah it was very very strong memory for me yeah it's a beautiful soundtrack though love it whole the the of course on Zimmer's work also Alon John's songs uh on that sound is everything just worked and also movies is great it's like a Perfect perfect storm

of of great things comeing together like when did you first start to play music because we know you of course as an amazing pianist amazing vocalist and I know you you play all kinds of instruments when did that kind of that obsession with music when did that start I think uh I started singing very early in choir um because both both my parents are choir leaders uh in church so I started singing very young young uh I don't even remember when it Was just straight away uh and uh I found that very fun and yeah

I was very serious about it like as a kid too but it was classical music so not the kind of stuff I'm I'm doing right now this was just classical and then I think around when I was 11 or 12 I heard this piece a piano piece by chopan fantasy impromtu um and I just heard it one summer and I'm like what's that I I want to know what that is and I asked my dad he's like it's fun to see Impr prom to like I want to play it and he's like I think I

have the the music for it somewhere I can I can show it to you and I'm like okay so so I practiced for that summer even though I didn't know how to play piano and I learned like two pages of it uh over summer wow how old were you I think 11 or 12 years old yeah that's that's yeah I just wanted to play that nothing else I guess but yeah I was I'm kind of like that if I get a bit obsessed then I I just do it Till it's there but you you started

actually so singing like your using your voice was your first instrument that's that's interesting I I feel this might just be from where I grew up we're neighbors I guess I'm I'm grown up in in Norway and but but in my kind of environment it was singing for some reason that was like being a young boy that was not something you did like that that was that was kind of the girls were doing the singing the Boys we wanted to play guitar maybe the piano maybe other instruments that was cool but singing was like and

and that like it's sad that that I didn't start singing earlier because maybe I I think that to some extent being a great singer is you you need some genetics right because the pipes you need the pipes but I I also think it's people underestimate how much you can also practice singing and when it comes to controlling your your voice you have of course an amazing Control of your voice but to some extent you probably have amazing pipes that you're born with but I think youve practiced a heck of a lot as well yes yeah

that's very correct I think that's very underestimated for sure and I think my gift that I was born with is that I I think I I was born quite musical but I I I didn't have I didn't have much skill until more later in life but because I got obsessed with it but I am I'm not sure if I got like the most Like gifted singing voice either I think I worked very hard to get to where I am with my voice today but not not knowingly if that makes sense I was just like I

want to sing like this and now I'm going to just copy people and try to interpret interpret how to do things with my voice and then just uh probably did it the completely wrong way in the beginning and then all of of a sudden you're in a in a band singing and yeah it was just something that was really For fun but um just happened I guess this is interesting so you you say that you've never deliberately practiced practiced singing like techniques and stuff well I guess it's hard for me to say in a way

because I'm I was G I grew up with a father who is a choir leader and who knows everything about the voice and my all my all my relatives are basically on Dad's side are musicians so yeah there's a lot of vocal coaches too like my aunt is a vocal coach and Everyone's very gifted in singing and so it's been kind of a a a topic to talk about too yeah and uh very natural for me in a way so I got a lot for free from there but I guess I've I've practiced only in

the sense to um I need to record this for for this song like a um thing and I don't know how to do that so I'm just going to record myself until I hear myself kind of sound like that which is practicing but I just didn't know that I was because I just wanted to do it I Didn't really go like okay now it's practice time like I did with a piano was more like practice time now I'm going to go all in on practice but vus was way more like I'm not a singer that's

how I felt I always felt I'm not a [Music] singer why is that why what and I think this is I think this is more often boys than girls I think girls identify as singers but boys often they're like I'm A Pianist but I somebody has to sing right so and I can do it but I'm like they kind of how they like they're ashamed a bit of like I'm not a singer and they kind of hide behind that as well it's kind of a crutch it's like don't don't judge my singing because I'm not

a singer you judge my piano playing because that's what I am do you understand what I'm saying I feel like that's something a lot of uh professionals do absolutely well the way I see it is that um I think there are people who really really are singers and I think there are people who really really are dancers but I think in my case like with same with piano players bass players uh I think I don't really see myself as any of it I feel like I'm a a Creator I want to create something from the

beginning till the end and singing for me is a tool nothing else I don't see myself as a singer only or I don't see myself as even a piano player Only I feel like these are tools that I need but then there are others like singers like Mariah Cary Whitney Houston those are singers like who are absolutely crazy at at what they're doing but I'm more what I love to do is to sit behind and like create and create What I Hear up here and singing has become a very important tool in order for me

to express what I want to say this is interesting but what do you identify with the most like let's say You had to to kind of write down what what's your number one instrument in a sense what would you put at number one I I think if you would ask me that question a couple of years ago I probably would say piano but I I'm I guess it's either piano or vocal so I'm not really sure anymore I feel like it's been leaning more to vocals uh because I feel like I'm more potentially recognized for

my singing rather than um my piano playing but I'm not entirely Sure what people think but um yeah that's what I say I think you're I think you're recognized for both and also I think to me mostly for the Creator part and I guess that's probably what you want the most like your arrangements and being an innovator in that sense but we will get to that we'll get to that let me maybe I can talk about how I first heard about you and uh it was yes it was in 2011 uh and I think you

know where it was on YouTube uh and a friend of mine a Drummer who I played in the band with he he showed me like you have to see this this incredible band just like look at what they're doing listen to what they're doing and he showed me you guys did this incredible uh cover version of uh Circus by Britney Spears wow I was just like my mind was blown it was like it was extremely inspirational but also like scary in a sense because it was you guys were at completely another Level than what we

we were doing and we thought we were okay but like you guys had you guys had had it nailed so and and I want to like how let's go back to the start of dirty Loops how did Dirty Loops come about well um it started with uh the drummer Aaron he came up to me one day in school we all went to this school in Stockholm called I guess you call it the Royal Music Academy or Royal College of Music and um he came up to me one day not really knowing he's heard That I

possibly sing but it didn't really know he KN knew I was playing piano because we played sometimes together and he he asked me if do do you want to get together with uh Henrik the bass player and just you know just the three of us and and jam on or like come up with fun ideas on original pop songs like pop pop songs like the the chart basically the top 100 and just let's just take a Justin Timberlake song or whatever and just do something fun with It and I was like yeah absolutely and then

uh do you sing like a little like that just for fun and we got together a couple of times in school and just hit it off and the concept was already there there I guess Aaron came up with it you know just change change the the pop songs uh because there was there was no real Forum or no situation where you could do that in as a musician in Stockholm you could do it for fun I guess but there was no no place or any Professional place to do that um here so we just got

together and did it and just yeah went from there so so so the idea from the very beginning was uh to to create like cover versions of pop songs but do in your style did you guys know that you were like you had the same taste in music or or like because like the concept of dirty Loops to us now is very like specific we kind of have we know what you guys are about in a sense how was that back way back when I think Me and Aaron knew that we liked we we really

liked um Pat matini and we had that very much in common and uh we like uh I think we liked a couple of fusion things ja Fusion stuff that we both um I enjoyed a lot so I think we had similar taste in a lot um but I we I didn't know much about Henrik I knew that he was a absolute crazy bananas base player and could play any scales and everything very clever intelligent um Musician and which I definitely was not back then atast I think it was a fantastic Clash um the three of

us uh trying to figure out what we want to do wanted to do who had the idea of because that was kind of the stroke of Genius was to to to to record it and back then to us at least it felt like very high quality I think now of course times have changed and now a lot of people are doing like high quality stuff on YouTube but back then I I felt like you guys you You you you did something unique that wasn't the norm I think that was one of the reasons why you

you guys exploded to the scene yeah I guess we uh I I the idea was there from the very beginning and I think it was Aaron who who said like let's do pop songs and but let's mess them up and then I guess I wrote arrangements and uh we figured some stuff out together and then um usually I would write uh chords and Court structures and uh would come up with a Like a way to do them together and uh then uh we would record it just for fun and it was like a thing that

we did um but we had no idea even when we put up the first thing on YouTube we we kind of did it as like maybe we can put something up for fun and see if we can get a gig or or something that would be fun and like like do it because I I think it's pretty pretty cool what we're doing and then just from the first video it kind of took off really completely Unprepared that it would happen so yeah and that's and and then what what like how did you guys understand that

things are working of course the views and the numbers but did it like did it CAU on did you get get like interest from labels or or other like I know eventually you you you you're dead but how how quickly did that happen very quickly I think in a couple of days the first person called and um yeah and it was um I feel like the the the the the Person the next person after the next person was more more it got more and more crazy kind of and then one one night I got a

call from Andreas Carlson who is a a very amazing um songwriter wrote a lot of things in in the '90s written his bear and all kinds of stuff and he's become he was a part of chyon right with with the Denis pop Max Martin he was like early chair on days yes yeah legendary guy fantastic dude I Love him and um he kind of took us uh over to over to to go meet labels and stuff uh so it's kind of he already moved to the US by by then or yeah he's been living he

he had been living there for years I think um yeah and been doing things all over there but we were just three nerds from Sweden who just didn't know anything about anything so we just came straight from the studio with like long hair and like not yeah not knowing what to do and it was like He had to kind of fix us up um because yeah I I've seen some pictures of of Andreas Carlson and it's it looks like he cares about it looks yeah he looks very polished looks good yeah he looks good so

I think that he knows how Hollywood like what works in La I guess very very true yeah yeah absolutely he he knows what he's talking about and what he's doing so yeah it's um yeah it was an experience out of the ordinary I think he polish you guys up And then you you went to play like demo gigs for for labels or did you yeah we were we were kind of we had had our eye on a couple of things I I flew over to to meet with him myself first and then we had meetings

with different labels and then I had a meeting with David Foster who is a a huge producer and songwriter as you might know so I went over to his house and he kind of tested me out uh in all ways mattered like how would you arrange this song how would You um you know can you sing this sing sing one of these things and then he knew that I was very into Brian mcnight the singer and then while I was there my first time meeting David Foster or anyone for that matter he just so I

invited Brian mcnight he's coming right like in a second so he came in there with his two very talented son Sons and we all sang together and it was absolutely yeah nuts like yeah so so David Foster did he Sit with the piano to people who don't know David Foster they they have to get out get out from under the The Rock they're living under and and my like my favorite David Foster piece I think that is actually Winter Games he he you heard winter games I love win people go to Spotify search Winter Games

I think it was like the the official uh hyn for the 1980 something it's amazing Canada he's Canadian right David Foster I think yes but a huge Legend in music he's done a lot of things so yeah so but he sat on his piano and he was or he wanted you to sit on the piano and then he kind of threw out ID yes exactly we went back and forth basically and then yeah that was basically it for for starters so and then um Aaron and Henrik was also coming over so we did a showcase

we organized a pretty solid event i' say where we played live for all these people and um David Foster especially to because he Was the chairman of um Universal bve at that time yeah so uh he ended up after hearing us play and everything uh hopefully went well and then um he signed us ended up signing us to to his label and that's how we started off released lopfi our first record yeah I remember I remember great record should listen to that one as well uh but okay so that that's yeah that's insane and that

all this happened of course it was some years there but from like the First Videos went live on YouTube then quickly you you you guys went to LA but you you guys still lived in Sweden though and you I know you're located in Sweden now you've always been living in Sweden or yeah I have always been I've been periods in uh Los Angeles uh living there for a little bit but not for that very that not for crazy long um but I've been um it's it feels like sometimes I've I don't even know where I

live CU it's been a lot of traveling so but yeah I've been living based here I'd say all my life really why is that though like I I think for myself uh I think that I have missed some opportunities probably by choosing to to live in Oslo Norway and I'm still considering I'm still quite young maybe maybe it's it could be interesting and smart like careerwise to move to different place because for example if you want to want to succeed in Tech you have to have a tech tech startup I think it's probably easier to

Succeed or like a high higher likelihood of succeeding if you move to Silicon Valley uh and I think the same goes for music to some extent have you thought about that absolutely I feel like I've been close to moving a lot of times but it's just never really happened I um I guess you grow also as as you grow older you kind of get very comfortable in in what you're doing and where you want to where you want to be and you know uh close to loved ones and uh so I I think There's absolutely

a possibility that that I've missed out on opportunities but I think I would have missed out on opportunities here too speaking from my heart so um yeah yeah I I think I think it's been a good choice for me and and the argument against it is that the world is has become very small you could as you said yourself you you could in in in a couple hours you could be most mostly everywhere in the world and and uh like what we we're doing now we can Connect we can we can talk over the Internet

the internet has changed everything so I think that it's easier at least today uh to be located anywhere and I think that will only be only get easier in Easter I think where you are located is less and less important but I just wanted to hear your thoughts about it because it's it's something that I I've thought about myself and uh yeah oh well definitely you're right of course there's there's a lot of opportunity Over there and uh who knows I might have uh it might be times where I might have to move over to

do things I don't know um but I I feel more comfortable doing those decisions now I I I feel like it's more possible now things in general but it is but it is and also with your I guess with your standing today I think being uh unrecognized like be being being someone who's yet to be signed and yet to be discovered I think maybe for them it Makes even more sense to move to to where things are happening I guess for you it's a bit different now because a lot of people know who you are

that that's why I called you for instance and I think that you you you probably don't that's kind of the the some of the positives of of uh having made it in quotation mark I think it's a right it's a constant struggle and I guess you don't feel it maybe yourself that you have made it but but you have yeah you Have you have that's just how it is but you guys with with dirty Loops you you contined to to to make music and you you recently released a new album uh beagle right beagle yes

great it's a great album I something that I thought about when listening to that album is was that you guys had some it sounds like you have some drops like almost like EDM drops in there what was going on it was like there was some buildups and some uh drones and then and the kind of a kind Of an EDM inspiration in there [Music] for sure I I would I would say I could say like I think this record is the is the record that I've been the least involved in um wow and I I

think a lot of the the ideas like the inspiration for the actual songs has come from um from um Aaron and Henrik and um I think of I've I've more touched certain parts of the songs but a lot of that uh The Inspirations and and everything that's Happening in the newest record I think is um definitely from from the guys which is awesome it's really unique it sounds a bit different this explains it of course what you're saying now because it sounds like U uh like you're kind of pushing the sound uh forward in your

it's still the same dirty Loops pushing the boundaries uh challenging your ear and being like Oh wof I didn't expect that which I love I think a lot of people all your fans that that's what They come to love with you guys but I I I was thinking that hm this sounds almost like EDM was fun of course done in your own way like still with a lot of jazz some classical music in there I guess that's prob that's probably me yeah I love it but I also saw that uh it seems like you guys

now are releasing this yourself you're doing this this independent is that correct yes that's correct um it's kind of Worked um it's it's been it's been a nice thing to have something very special in precious to do just the three of us kind of uh made it feel a bit more special somehow and I think it's worked out for us very good so far so I feel like that's been the way for us to go and who knows what happen What happens in the future but it's just been very good for us right now to

have it that way um it's worked out very good yeah yeah so what is like the is it like a Business uh business aspect of this that you you feel like the the the music because the music industry is changing yeah 100% it is it is yeah is it kind of your answer to that change or is it that let's test this and see how it feels I think I think it's more let's test it I think we've been a a band that is very bad at having plants I think we're very SP spontaneous ban

and I think that's that's part of our charm in a way that it's of just you Know oh we do this that happened and that let's do that and this turned out like this let's go for it a little bit like that um yeah and I think it's it's the same with this but I I think it's just a um a feeling that I think this is what's working for us right now and we're going to go for whatever it's working but um like I said we we don't know for the future that much but

um yeah yeah how how is the creative process uh now you you you you you told Me that uh Henrik and and Aaron was more in charge of this EP but uh is it is it like one of you have an ID or is it that how does it work when you it's not like this these are not Beatle songs it's not like one guy sitting down play there's like different parts and the parts are also often very different which is kind of the Magic in my opinion yeah um I think it has changed a

lot and it's different through every song but I think I think in the beginning I I for the First record that we did I kind of um I got a lot out of me like a lot of songwriting a lot of arrangement a lot of stuff and um I think as time passed I think um in terms of writing songs I think my uh especially now my confidence in writing songs has gone down quite a lot uh because I'm uh I think because I I'm uh I've been way more into arranging and um writing other

types of music like classical music for example because I'm I'm writing for film right now by the Way wow yeah talk about that after yeah we can talk about that too and um then I I I released myo thing too and I think after all of that it's kind of um I've had a bit of I've hit a rough patch writing songs um okay and to be completely Frank this is interesting okay so uh so you because from what I understand and you kind of confirm it you used to be kind of the the the

main driver and the main songwriter of the group right I wouldn't call myself the Main driver but I think I was I was writing way more um and I think we all were writing more natural being the The Pianist and the singer I think that that is natural because it's hard for the for the drummer maybe unless you're Phil Collins it's it's it's uh it's often you your job is mostly to to figure out the groove and and and and help out with Arrangements I guess but but if you don't know the chords and you

don't sing yourself it's it's often hard to to Write well yeah I guess I think it's been Aaron is I even though he he's actually is a pretty good piano player I've heard him start playing like classical stuff like he he he's started practicing that kind of stuff so but I think he's such a Visionary in his head I think he can he can still write Melodies and stuff and sort of uh get his idea out and I think he can do more than he dares to admit to even me and to anyone um but

um I think He's a very con a good conceptional sort of writer um in that sense and I think for for the later songs that we've been creating I think my role has been way more to to listen to a demo and then like see okay what can we do here what can I add to make this uh what can what do I hear on the on this and then just applying my world onto it which has been very fun but I think it it's been working way more like that lately yeah but you you

so you say that you you Feel like you have right now or the last couple of last year last couple of months you have like a bit of a low self-esteem when it comes to songwriting which I find fascinating because you've done like if you it's it's it's it's very I think it's nice to hear because I think it that shows that it can happen to to all of us in a sense but you you mentioned your solo work and and from how I saw it from the outside uh it kind of happened around Co

that you decided That like tell me about that Journey because being part of a band it's always like a uh I guess it's a when and how to kind of to go solo is is a is a kind of a difficult task to some extent is I guess it's often easy to push it maybe next year maybe the year after right what made you do it and why during Co yeah it's a funny story or it's it's an interesting one because I um I started it with dirty Loops kind of hit a a rough patch

to where we didn't really Work together we we couldn't really figured out what to do um it was I think around 2015 16 or so that's when I started working on my solo record and made a lot of it um yeah I started make making a lot of that music and I started touring myself as a solo artist with with another band like with my own band and um kind of was was feeling very good about doing that and it was very fun and then we started talking meon and Henrik Again and like shouldn't we

just you know what do you think about this we send over some demos and then we came up with work out that song yeah and we would just realized that this is probably this is something good this is something like very fun and amazing [Music] me with your we decided to release that and after that it kind of got difficult for me to promoters and different people around the globe were were more like oh We want to have the latest dirty Loop stuff so I think my solo thing never had the chance to really get

released or like to start or to so I and I was jumping on the dirty Loops train so it was very hard to balance them it was impossible to balance them really and and then we started to started to do more things and I was doing during Co when it really hit I was out with my solo uh record like I was I was gonna I was touring with it so I had to go home This was planned this was planned so maybe I I'm obviously remembering wrong because I I remember it as it uh

came during covid but did happen it came out yeah like it came that the solo record was released 2021 I think yeah1 that is absolutely after Co but I was still touring and I had like released one song I believe um yeah already and I was still touring and doing things myself um yeah and um then I uh during covid everything just like dropped as you know So and when it started getting not in Sweden though not in Sweden not in Sweden though that's true that's true no we were crazy over here so um yeah

so then I start I I figured out that I just need to finish the record at least so I finished the record but never got the chance to really tour it and do things um with all the songs I see and and then after the solo work you you hit the like a wall when it comes to songwriting yeah think so yeah but now Now you say this and this is also interesting now you say that you are you into more classical music and into film scoring which is like I could have of course you

are like like of course I feel like that's kind of the the the the like the how the careers go is that they they they start out they they have like some young fresh especially if if they're as talented as as you are and it's often like very technical music and then Eventually you go into emotions and you just want to create like beautiful art and both things are cool and I guess you probably are hopefully you're doing both but tell me more about the the film scoring thing how did that come about and how

like did did someone call you or did you call them no so I've always wanted to do it like forever I've always been interested in film and uh um characters and you know I'm been interesting how I'm interested in why Things feel different when it music is added and how does emotions sound like and all of that I put that a lot in like anything that you probably heard me do I there's I'm trying to interpret an emotion and see how that like Court wise or in any song I'm trying to do that uh and

uh so it's it started when I finally got the opportunity um and Andreas Carlson actually um yeah H called me about a a project so I I started working on that Project when um uh which I can't really tell you much about um okay and then uh but he called me about something and then uh that introduced me to a producer a film producer who liked to what I did on that and hired me for something that's um being in in that is in the works right now um so I can't really talk too much

about it but I'm doing it I'm doing yeah that's great but let's we can talk around it then yeah is it because are are you scoring yourself Like do do you know uh because it's a different kind of skill I I would guess and one thing is to be an amazing musician yourself you play a lot of instruments but kind of knowing when like this is a flug we need a flugal horn over here like I can like and then write the notes for the the flugal horn player I think that that is a different

skill or it is it is definitely is a a whole world A Whole New World to to expand and to explore and uh my God but I've been um I've been a it's come very natural to me I've been growing up in choirs and orchestras with my dad and and Mom and it's been I've been around that music since forever it's very very natural um to me so I I took an interest kind of early so I always been curious what they're doing so I've been what um people in the orchestra are doing so I

took an interest for that very early like even when I was younger I was Studying and I I was also studying film scoring in in school and arranging for orchestras and yeah that um and then what do one use during the like I I I used to use celus cilus cilious yes yes yeah that's that's that's a good one um okay yeah that's a very good one um absolutely um so you can you can yeah you can write everything down and you know fig I I used cilus most of the time yes uh do but

right but right now yeah very technical very nerdy for the Casual Listener yeah but I um recently actually now unless it's something that I just need to remember up here um I'm just recording everything in my door in uh in qbas um so recording everything what I kind of hear and then at another stage it's GNA have to be orchestrated perfectly on paper um or in or whatever probably get help yeah exactly and that's interesting now because I I also played around with this uh Hans simmer has some some instrument packs oh yeah Yeah yeah

wow they're good they're able to un I think I hope and I believe that they's still use for for talented musicians and amazing orchestras but the the the software is getting pretty close it is getting really really good I I really agree I think there's some things that are still really hard to do especially from what I imagine at least it's very hard to um to to do to program or to even record certain things that are that just real players can do and of Course there is an emotion there there when actual real people

are sitting and playing together um that's just you can't really get away from and also actually if you want to get something really really good with like a Han simmer pack or something it takes a lot of work to get it there with articulations and and stuff and it's like if if you record something with a real Orchestra is just going to be there and also they contribute like There the reason why amazing musicians like they contribute something that you are not able to contribute in the sense that's why you need them so so I

think that 100% my cousins they are violinists they're they're quite famous in classical I don't know if you have heard of them but like there's something that happens when I I've been lucky growing up when they they come to family events and of course when they were young they they they used to play and it's like Yeah it's it's like it hits you it's it's I it's good luck AI good luck absolutely yeah yeah exactly good saying yeah love it yeah so but but your solo work uh I I couldn't like this I saw immediately

and I I know that you you know a lot of there's to me there's like this uh group of super talented musicians that exists in the world and I find it fun and fascinating that it seems like you all know each other I I I I have like I Enjoy thinking that you guys have like this secret WhatsApp group and it's like Jacob Collier anomaly wolf peek Lis Cole uh what's this young Justin Lee Schulz this young people people the people who are interested in and following me I guess you guys are into the same

type of uh you know about these guys and this group of people is there such a WhatsApp group or how do you guys get to know each other well I the I don't have a WhatsApp Group I don't think I'm invited to it in that case but yeah um well we know each other from just having met each other on a different events um um I think I met Jacob the first time on Nam 2015 and I think we've been friends ever since and it's just absolutely wonderful to yeah to be able to to have

such wonderful friends and and um yeah it's just you know you're interest like you said your interest so so interested in the same thing and you go through the same Emotional process which I think maybe people don't talk that much about but it's it's a very emotional process that you have to go through as a Creator in all kind all different it doesn't only apply to music I believe um and you kind of support each other doing that and you're kind of rooting for each other uh I'm definitely rooting for Louis CLE and for for

Jacob Collier and all of these like how can one not root for these guys like to me that is you have to because You are in that group as well in my opinion you guys are thank it's it's bald like you dare to do your own thing and you dare to innovate and like what Jacob CER has done is is basically effing Revolution he's getting like O2 Arena to to sing in in per like in pitch and it it sounds great they're contributing he's kind of completely innovating how a live show can and and should

be and how can you how can one not root for that absolutely you're so Right yeah yeah that's definitely obvious but I find that fun but you there's no secret WhatsApp group I guess it's just that you thinking I guess you guys understand each other at at like some at a level that this sounds very elitist but I I would guess that when you meet Jacob you like Jacob he he gets he gets drawn to you in a way where you know you know what I know and the rest of the people here they probably

don't like There some type of like Magnus Carlson the Norwegian chess player great he also said this when he he after match with a with Russian guy is Ser kakin and he's like Pro Putin it's like they're they they really don't like each other but after after after games after a game that they played they talked and people were like why did you talk with this guy and he he just said he's the only guy who understands me that that was his resp So he had like he wanted he just needed that he just needed

that contact and I don't think it's the case with you and Jacob of course I think you guys have a lot of love for each other but but I think maybe that you guys got got drawn to each other in in the first place because you you know like you know and I know and and that's kind of fun finally find someone who because if I you can call her play me something I most of it complet I I enjoy it I think I get a lot Of it but there's lot of a lot of

things that he does that get lost on me probably right but you I think there's very few things he does that get completely lost on you you you kind this the minor small things you like I saw what you did there I think that's probably why you guys get drawn to each other that's my hypothesis at least Yeah Yeah well yeah absolutely I mean it's um I guess I see it more as um as as you would get him like you just said like I Uh I I get where you're doing and I feel what

you're what you're saying and I feel feel what you're expressing like um that's that's how I feel with uh both Louis Cole if we're talking about these two prodigies um both Louis Cole and Jacob CER that I feel I feel what um what they're trying to what they're saying um with with the music and it's really speaking to me and and I think think what's Mutual is that they might feel the same thing about certain things That I have done and that's where we connect it's not always has to be very technical exactly what it

is it's it's Journey it's a journey of like of course it gets nerdy it gets nerdy at one at all points uh but you know um I think I just that I think for you it's I I don't know but I think for you it's probably uh because the technical stuff it's it's kind of your base that that's just your base so you can I guess you you but to to us um [Music] us that we're not Undead we're like deadly people we we we we we justce it's like it's Technical and it's nerdy and

I and and I love it like I love that I love being like when people are able to take me on a ride where I'm like like I did not expect that I think that's what draws me to some extent to to Jazz and to to what you guys are doing when it's when people are like when I can kind of surrender because I have this uh when I Listen to music I I tend to always it's hard for me to turn off the analytical part of my my mind like I kind of unfortunately I

always analyze I know what to do like oh yeah smart or I didn't like that yeah but when I listen to you guys Jacob anomaly loose Cole then it's like I I Just Surrender I'm I'm I'm I'm on like I'm on this ride you're in control just take me wherever I'm enjoying my I have a great time I think that's what what I love about that And I think that's also why a lot of your fans I think it's it's like an overlap with Jacob CER and with all these guys and I think the what

they have in common is that they are like above normal interested in in music and they're they're probably musicians themselves a lot of them and be taken for a hell of a ride and that's why why why they come probably yeah yeah yeah I'm I'm just happy that people enjoy that and that you're because you know You U as a Creator I I think it's good if you're not focusing too much about if you want to give people a ride you don't want to think about what they want you want to think about what you

want what you think is beautiful is what's beautiful as CH I want said um and I I really agree with that I think that's a very very good way of seeing it like you're trying to create whatever you hear um and what what's good to you that people will latch on to that yeah but That's that boldness that I talked about is that the the mainstream and the the industry of music uh I think are mostly interested in what people want that's kind of how they approach it and I think pop music to to a

large extent that is their their main like what what do we believe how can we manipulate the trends what is the trend right now and then we try to latch on and what happens then is that you always you often get followers right and I Think that that's what's happening in the modern music industry when you see this long I've talked about this before but you have these long lists of writers and producers before it wasn't that way right in the 70s it was like one or two songwriters one producer and they they locked themselves

in the studio for a year or two and they come came back with something that were were either super great or or or it failed but they were bald they had to take that chance but Now I feel like uh the record labels they they are risk averse so they don't like they have no incentives uh in taking that risk so what they do is that they they they they think that if they just put enough talented writers and producers uh on the song that there's a higher likelihood for it succeeding but I what I

believe is happening is that each individual writer and each individ indidual producer are probably amazing in their own rights but what's H what's Happening is that they kind of cancel each other out so you get this Bland uh this Bland stuff that is like pop music that just comes up and what what is happening is that everything just in my opinion kind of sounds the same and then of course the sist is kind of slightly changing but then everybody jumps on B again and I think that there's to me it's I find it strange and

confusing why more people are not doing Their own thing because when people are doing their own thing and they succeed everybody for example I use Billy eish as an example often when she came kind of her in phinius came out of out of nowhere and I really don't believe her like B phus sat down and were like hm how can we What do the audience want how can we manipulate the the world and how can we make something successful we don't like I think they were just like we want to do this this is interesting

Oh this sounds strange let's do this and then they come came up with something that sounded like completely different and of course a lot of people started to follow that sound so I think that there's there's there's a power and there's there's um in in in being bald and and doing your own thing and I I think that that's what I admire with with you guys and and all the other guys we mentioned earlier yeah you don't I really don't think you care what what The like of course you you want people to be happy

but I don't think that's like the art you're making is what you feel right now and then you're completely always innovating right for example your beagle the EP latest album people should go listen to it it's it's different you're moving because who cares that's what feels right to you guys right exactly no I agree with you full-heartedly and I think music has become it's being consumed faster than We can can actually create people wants to have so much like it's that there's like a song If you write a song um in the in the pop

World it lasts for no time at all it's just it's there and then it's forgotten it's just because people want something new and it's just it's it's like machines almost uh and I really don't support that way of writing music I I like I I or support I don't see myself I don't understand how I could contribute to that or or be A part of that so I just do do what I think is right and always gonna do that I I don't see any other way of doing it that's that's it's a nice way

of putting it is that music is being consumed faster than we are able to to write it and that is like it should it should be impossible it sounds like there's there's a there's a flaw here but but it feels that way certainly and uh that's true and I think it has to do with with music being mostly digital now because I I'm I I remember uh buying CDs and it was it was magical it was my budget I remember I had to to go to the record store and I I had to listen because

you could kind of sneak like sneak peek into to to songs in the record store before you actually had to give away your money and and choose like this album is is what I'm going to buy today and of course when you when you paid your money and you listen through and you you you you you you consumed it In a completely different way I totally agree it was a magical time to just even ordering a record in the record store that they didn't have and then just going into the record store every single day

just like did it arrive did it arrive did it arrive no did oh D it and then you know you were just so excited about getting a record that doesn't happen anymore that can't happen anymore no what was the first first album you bought do you remember first CD or first I think what I from what I bought with my real my own money I think it must have been in Emerson Lake and Palmer record if you know that bad I've heard of it but do ring any like immediate Bells no it's it's a it's

um it's a prog rock album yes it's like a pro prog rock group uh which me and a friend of mine we were absolutely obsessed with them and it's like especially the keyboard player Keith Emerson who had like keyboards all over like Rick wakan like Everywhere and he was the first one who brought the moges up on stage and that kind of stuff and we were just obsessed with that and listening to that so I think that must have been a record from them but I got some records from Mom and Dad and and stuff

like that there a lot of Stevie Wonder Michael Jackson and that stuff in the in the early early early days of my life and talking of about Steve wonder and Michael Jackson I there's something that I we have to talk About we the late great Quincy Jones you know like let me read a quote that that he he um he said of you U he he he said this about you uh he said Jonah he's different though he's got the perfect balance of right brain creativity and left brain music theory it's in his blood he's

got soul with one of the biggest ranges I've ever heard quiny Jones like as a fellow scan Navan just like he is the legend and and how does one Simply get to know Quincy Jones and how does one get him to say this about about you like that that is what's going on here what going on eats me I don't know can't really answer that question no I got to meet him through I uh we got an invite from Quincy Jones to play at one of his openings on like a hotel in Dubai and he

open a jazz jazz club at a hotel in Dubai and dirty Loops got a question to go down and play at that opening and um yeah we just um we uh Were um we were having a um yeah concert basically or like yeah we played on the thing and then uh we met him there and talked and we met the management uh and then just started talking I was exchanging numbers with the manager and and um yeah it basically like that and then yeah started working with him eventually so if because they managed you as

a solo artists right or yeah exactly they they they did I not anymore um because I don't think they're doing It anymore um so uh yeah exactly and then then eventually we started with they started with dirty Loops too oh yeah okay but that's again like Quincy Jones of course it's you sang at his uh like tribute show right yeah not the the latest one but I've sang in a couple of tribute shows for him yes yes yeah oh he really was yeah yeah um a couple of years now ago it's it's insane like it's

still you seems so calm but I think that that's that's kind of I guess I guess That's how how life has turned out to me like being and that's like we have to talk about that as well being like Scandinavians we we I think when it comes to in music we have like this chip on our shoulders to some extent because uh Sweden probably l so the Norway but we are quite literally on the outskirts of the world and and most people to most people Scandinavia is kind of an afterthought yeah they maybe they've heard

of those Nordic strange countries Blue-eyed people but they they they don't I don't think they really they they really don't care there's a question at the end of this but I have uh this Theory because I feel like there's uh disproportionate amount of Scandinavians among professional musicians there's there's way more musicians uh being scandavian that it should be like compared to like our our populations because there's there's not a lot of people living in in Scandinavia And Norway Sweden and Denmark and I have a theory about why that is and uh yeah and I want

to hear I want to hear what you think after but my theory is this is is that we uh the Scandinavian countries are social democracies and that's that doesn't mean that we are communists as a lot of Americans think how I would would describe it is we have like a capitalist Society but we we we have a safety net we we don't accept people falling off out of our societies uh which I think is A good thing uh and the way we do that is through quite uh generous welfare systems and don't have to go

into the manua just maybe in Norway there those welfare systems are are too generous at the moment but but I think like I I agree with that way of running a society but what that's what that does with the young people uh young adults in those countries is that they are willing to take more risk and let's be honest be like coming and trying to Become a professional musician it's it's risky right because either is is a winner takes all game so if you decide to play you have to go all in in order to

I think in order to succeed and it's a it's a winner takes takes all game so either you you win and then you you become dto Loops or you become Arana Grande or or whatever or you you lose and then there's not that many options because you you have again you gone all into this music thing and then there's Only there's only room for that many music teachers but in our again in our societies we have these welfare systems so it's like worst case in Norway it's like yeah okay I'll just I I'll go to

the to the to the government I get some they pay me and maybe I can they will help me find another occupation I maybe I'll study a bit they'll pay for my my tuition no worries that's always an opportunity for us but for example in the US I feel like the the musicians are Mostly the the ones who have um nothing to lose because if you have nothing to lose why not music because if I win I will win big and If I Lose I'm like I will end up in the streets anyways uh so

or or the other people who are doing music in the US are the very wealthy because again they have the safety net because they can go to Mom bad if they don't but I feel like the middle class they they they can't take the risk they can't afford to take the risk that's why Of course there's probably obvious exceptions to what I'm saying now but I think in in Big Numbers if you look at the broad picture of this I think that in Scandinavia there are all kinds of people doing music middle class wealthy uh

poor people in other societies that don't have those welfare systems in place I feel like there's mostly the the poor people who have nothing to lose or or or the very wealthy who are able to to to go for it and that's why I think That we there are more people trying to become professional musicians in in Scandinavia and Scandinavian countries so it's kind of it's just it's just a numbers game so even though we are we have less people living there we have disproportionate amount of talented musicians and also sports that's why why are

we are punching way above our weight class and sports it's the very same thing because people like if what what other country can you go all on skiing Then who would in the right mind would do that that's a winner takes all game like be like 10 people in the world that can make a good living skiing still in Norway there's like tens of thousands of kids wanting to become a professional skier and and nobody would do that in other any other country I think I think you're very right longwinded long winded thing what what

do you agree with the premise did you feel like I totally agree I don't think I've ever heard Anyone put it that detailed and like like a good explanation to what how how it would potentially work and I think I agree with all of it I I the only thing I could potentially add for Sweden that is I don't know how it is in other Scandinavian countries but and it's kind of in the same sort of boat that you're talking about right now that it's like we have this thing for musicians or for for anyone

anyone who lives in Sweden can start to play a music instrument for Free uh at an early age through the cultural school it's called cultural School wow and the the government pace for fre for you to try completely free you can just try it out like so of yeah just if you want to play guitar you can just you get a yeah you get a piano teacher or like a yeah guitar teacher for for a time and you can continue doing it and then you get interest that way and also that like if you live

higher up north as we do um it's like It's pretty dark outside don't want to go outside that much so you inside and playing piano yeah that also helps yeah our our terrible climate climates of course yeah being called you spend a lot of time inside yeah that also helps but I I didn't I think we have something similar in Norway with this cultural but I think it you have to pay like but I think it's subsidized by the government 100% so so yeah that's and I think that's uh and of course Sweden is is

Beating up uh at music as well I think uh you guys have at least you guys were earlier out than us yeah now we we have Kao we have Alan Walker like the EDM wave I think we kind of we were at least we were on part but uh absolutely I think I think your sweds beat us that's that's interesting before before I let you go uh uh what what advice would you give uh if you could go back in time and you can talk to the 15year old Jonah neon uh what Advice would you

give I would give definitely don't stress and just like listen to your own intuition and do like really listen to what you want to do with your life and don't let anyone color your decisions like like you if you if you really feel something that you really want to go for whatever it is just follow that and have fun with that and don't stress about it too much because I used to do that a lot and it's Never helping anyone stress is a very dangerous thing I think it can of course it can be a

motivator if you feel like you're falling behind or anything that you feel stressed that you're uh you're not doing good enough but I think you can still push yourself really really really hard without feeling stress uh about achieving your goals or um I I think it just go go in go in for it with with the love that you have for what you do and I guess yeah yeah that's that's Just stress stress that comes from a fear of not succeeding or or stress that comes from yeah like fear fear of not succeeding could be

one thing or any any sort of like it can be stressful environments in schools and you know people are better than you and um and you know don't like let that affect you that much like yeah he's better than me but he probably practiced more and he he yeah he might be even more talented than I am but uh you'll Have so much time to practice you if you want to do this you'll have there's so much time ahead of you if you're 15 years old just sit and practice and have fun with it you

you can you can go all the way there's no no no worries if you if you want it you can do it yeah and I think what you said at the beginning to to round this up was about the obsession find what you uh a guy named Naval who I enjoy he he he has this great saying he says that find what feels like play to You but looks like work to others that's what you should do find feels like play to you but it looks like work to others and I think that I guess

with you when people are seeing you in the studio you're practicing you're playing you're singing it looks like work to most people right to you I guess it feels like play yeah yeah that's a very good good way of saying it absolutely yeah I think this this been honored to have you on Jonah thank you so much for your time And and uh I hope to I hear you guys are are going to play in in Norway this summer is that oh that's true yes K yes maybe that's the one yeah yeah yes yes absolutely

I'll try to to to oh my God yeah come by I'll get you tickets that's that's I'll text you but uh where can people find you before I let you go if people want to uh follow you find you follow the band we've talked about the EP people have to go and listen to it immediately uh where Where else can people find you guys I think on all social media platforms Facebook Instagram YouTube I think is a Spotify YouTube is probably more the most interesting place to be because there's that that's where the videos are

at and I think where it all started for us so I think that's the most special place to be and we have a website too um it's all the information is uh out there so I'll put it in the description of this episode as well so Jonah thank you So much for your time hope to see again absolutely it's been so lovely to be here and uh yeah thank you really I really appreciate you having me on it's been wonderful thank you yeah thank you [Music]