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Axel Thesleff Talks Upcoming EP, Touring Life & More [Exclusive Interview]

September 12, 2017 By Roxana Halati

It all began back in 2000 when he started taking piano lessons. 14 years later, ‘Bad Karma’ conquered the electronic music world. But Axel didn’t stop there! The storm couldn’t keep ravers away when he played at Awake Festival this September, and neither could the wind. We, a bit soaked, had the chance to sit down with Axel after the set to talk about life while on tour as well as what’s coming next for the artist. Check the entire interview with Axel Thesleff below!

RR: Welcome back to Romania, Axel! You’ve been here a few times before, how does it feel to be back?

Very good, very good! Last time I was here it was Electric Castle and it was great, and this was great too and actually every time in Romania has been awesome.

RR: Do you have a special memory, something that you always recall when it comes to Romania?

Special memory? Well, not really, not anything special, I just love the Romanian people! They are so open-minded and they’re so responsive when I’m playing. It’s great!

RR: And speaking of Romania, I must ask – are you or are you not afraid of vampires?

(laughs) I’m not. I’m a little vampire myself.

RR: How was the performance tonight? How was the crowd?

It was good, it was great! The crowd was amazing and the sound system was awesome. The bass was on point.

RR: The weather wasn’t very pleasant here before the show. Maybe you know that there was a lot of wind and some people even had their tents taken away. How does it feel to know that even though the weather was like that, people came to the show?

Well, I’m honored! We had a similar kind of weather in Finland a while ago at Flow Festival in Helsinki. And it started pouring and everybody had to run away to their tents. It was a catastrophe, they had to close all the stages and they were closed for many hours. When it started raining here and the thunder came I hoped that the stages won’t be closed everything will work out….and it did, it did work out and it didn’t rain. It didn’t even rain when I was playing! It was great!

RR: You travel a lot for shows. What is the thing you love the most about touring?

The fact that, you know, when I’m working on my music I’m alone in my studio and I’m the only person who hears what’s going on. And when I’m performing live I’m able to see the reaction, feel the energy, feel the response of the crowd of the people, and see if they like it or no . I think that’s the most rewarding part of touring: When you take something that has been in closed doors for a long time and you take it outside and see how people react to the work you’ve done.

RR: What is the worst part of touring?

It’s probably that…I have very long legs (laughs). So there is not enough space in the airplane. We try to have the exit row but it doesn’t work out every time. And generally, the waiting. But it comes with the job.

RR: If you could go back before this all began, before you became known, is there something you would change?

No! I’m just doing what I love. I’m just making music that I like to hear so yeah, I’m just doing that and people seem to like it and that’s awesome!

RR: What is the most mind-blowing moment from a set that you can remember?

I don’t know! Every second of the set is mind-blowing. When you see the crowd there and you’re playing your own songs and people are reacting. Of course, Bad Karma always gets the crowd going. Nothing specific.

RR: What are you working on right now?

I’m working on an EP. It will have probably 4 songs and it’s going to be dope!

RR: How soon can we expect that?

I don’t know, I will have to see how fast I will complete the songs. I don’t want to rush into things, I want to make sure that everything is just the way I want it and I can be happy with it, proud of it, of what I’ve done. So, it will take maybe a couple of months and then maybe a couple of months before the release. I don’t know but I’m working on it and good stuff is coming!

RR: Do you have a “before-set” routine, something you do before every show?

If there’s a sauna at the hotel, it’s great. I’m from Finland and we really love our saunas so, you know, it’s great to get the sweat going and get the warmth and get the brain juices flowing.

RR: If you attend a festival as a participant, what to you like to do: be in the first row or just chill in the back?

Well, it depends on the act, on the artist that is playing. If it’s my favorite artist I’m of course gonna be in the front row but usually I like to be in the middle. I’m very tall so people get upset when I’m in front of them in the crowd (laughs). But when they get on my shoulders they’re happy with it! 🙂