Today, Swedish producer and electronic artist Kasbo revealed his anticipated return with the announcement of his forthcoming sophomore album, The Making of a Paracosm, due out October 23 on Foreign Family Collective / Counter Records. To kick things off, Kasbo released the debut single, “Play Pretend,” featuring fellow Swede and budding songwriter and vocalist, Ourchives.

The track overflows with striking soundscapes and the emotive music video offers a captivating first look into the story behind the upcoming album. “Play Pretend” showcases Kasbo’s effortless ethereal production capabilities, and the single’s dreamlike qualities are echoed throughout the music video’s powerful narrative, as both love and chaos fuse together in imperfect worlds, while anthemic melodies clash with airy falsettos.

On the track and his forthcoming album, Kasbo said:

“Play pretend was one of the first songs I made for the album. It started from a session where me and Ourchives were at the time really inspired by classic UK house beats and wanted to try our hand at something similar. We almost did what we set out to do too well because it sounded very much like a classic UK house song but nothing like ourselves. We ended up slowly picking apart the song, keeping melodies and elements from my original production along with Ourchives’ lyrics and we rebuilt the track from the ground up.The final product was eventually Play pretend.”

Credit: Olof Grind

Ourchives on “Play Pretend”: “It was one of those sessions where we were both in our feelings at first, talking about how easily you can get used to and latch onto toxic relationships. After our talk ‘Play Pretend’ started to take form. It is a song about giving in to something you know in time will destroy you but at that moment you decide to ignore that voice in your head and live in the moment, ignoring how destructive it might be.”

The Making of a Paracosm offers a nod to Kasbo’s Swedish heritage, brimming with themes of Swedish folklore and featuring collaborations with a host of Swedish artists like Frida Sundemo, Freja The Dragon, Nea and NOOMI, as well as a notable appearance from Vancouver Sleep Clinic.

The Making of a Paracosm Album Tracklist

  1. The Making of a Paracosm

  2. Play Pretend (feat. Ourchives)

  3. Shut the World Out (feat. Frida Sundemo)

  4. Blur

  5. För Evigt (feat. Florian Rosetti)

  6. Talk Slow (feat. Noomi)

  7. Augusti, 05:19 (Interlude)

  8. Vittra

  9. Lune (feat. Vancouver Sleep Clinic)

  10. Skogsrå

  11. Hemma

  12. Staying in Love (feat. Nea)

  13. Show You

  14. Snö (feat. Freja The Dragon)

Since the release of his breakout EP in 2015, Kasbo has positioned himself as an unstoppable force in the international electronic music landscape. He has performed at globally recognized music festivals such as Coachella, Firefly, Life is Beautiful and more, while selling out major North American venues on his first-ever headline tour, including NYC’s Bowery Ballroom and LA’s Fonda.

Last year he toured with dance music behemoths ODESZA on their run and capped 2019 with an epic set at Red Rocks Amphitheater. Most recently, Kasbo laid down an amazing set for Room Service Festival where he nicely mixed in bicep‘s ‘Glue’ over one of his originals ‘Snow in Gothenburg’ as well as working in many other gems.

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