Tag: Lukas Graham

Spotify Listeners are Discovering Music from Around the World

December 18, 2019

Every day, Spotify users discover a song, artist, or genre from outside their home countries.  Whether that’s through their Discover Weekly, a friend’s recommendation, or another Spotify-curated playlist, folks are stepping outside of their comfort zones to get to know artists from a different place. These songs and artists can take listeners to another world—metaphorically. Music is a great connector that allows us to understand and experience a life or culture beyond our own.

We’ve found that over 60% of Spotify users discovered an artist from a country outside their own within the last 28 days. So just imagine what they’ve uncovered over the course of a few months, or even the year. That’s a world of travel and learning—sans passport. 

On For the Record this year, we’ve also explored artists and genres from around the world, taking note of the songs and styles that have crossed borders. Hear from some of the artists, musicians, and experts we spoke to below.

The Viral Mexican Artist Making Music Worth Crying Over

Ed Maverick, who comes from the northern state of Chihuahua, Mexico, didn’t grow up in a musical family but learned to play guitar by watching videos and playing in norteño groups—(norteño is a genre of music popular in the region he comes from)—throughout middle school. His style evolved through playing covers of songs by his favorite bands, such as those by Mexican indie rockers Little Jesus. But neither style of music suited what he wanted to do, so he decided to strike out on his own; he eventually started composing his own songs. “I felt the need to release what was going on in my mind,” he said.

Indigenous Australian Rapper Briggs Shares Message of Triumph through Music

“Shepparton has the largest indigenous population in Victoria outside of Melbourne. It also has the largest indigenous population in Victoria per capita. So there was always a presence, and it was always just a part of us and what we did and still do. We just operated as artists and rappers. You don’t really realize how different you are until it’s presented to you.” – Briggs

Santiago, Chile: Spotify’s Streaming Capital of Reggaetón

“What we are seeing with reggaetón in Chile is a great testimony to the absolute powerhouse that is Latin America when it comes to building and delivering audiences for Latin artists,” said Mia Nygren, Managing Director for Spotify in Latin America.

Meet Rich Brian, the Indonesian Rapper Performing at Spotify On Stage Jakarta

“A lot of things influence my sound, from listening to traditional Indonesian music to the stuff I listened to while spending full days on the internet making videos. Living internationally definitely influenced my attitude towards everything positively. I’m very grateful for everything that I have now, and things just never get old for me—each new experience feels like a blessing.” – Rich Brian

Charting the Meteoric Rise of South Africa’s AmaPiano

“I was fortunate to see the impact of kwaito music and what it meant for the then-young democracy that South Africa was. It became the voice of local youth to push for systematic change and fight the exclusion of the marginalized. I can’t help but think that AmaPiano is doing just that so far for this generation of young South Africans, and I can’t wait to see how many more boundaries it’ll break.” – Da Kruk

How Americana Troubadour Garrett T. Capps Went Worldwide

The European market has been turned on to Capps’s quirky brand of country too. “According to my statistics on Spotify, it seems like a lot of people in the Netherlands and Spain are discovering my music through the program,” he says. “And I’m excited to keep writing and finding ways to reach audiences.” – Garrett T. Capps

Lukas Graham Becomes First Danish Artist to Hit 1 Billion Streams for a Single Song

“I’m not sure if it’s too much to call ourselves the Arctic Monkeys of Spotify. I feel like our international breakthrough came about because of Spotify—the way streams in the Nordics and Germany pushed an unknown act into the global top 50 with a song that wasn’t available outside of the Nordics and GSA. It was a trippy ride, and luckily we’ve landed on the other side without losing our minds.” – Lukas Graham

Meet Tones and I, the Australian Ex-Busker Who Achieved a Global Hit Thanks to Streaming

In the span of just a year, Toni Watson has leapfrogged from working retail to busking full time to topping the charts in almost a dozen countries—including her native Australia. That’s all thanks to “Dance Monkey,” the viral smash that was the second-ever single for the artist best known as Tones And I.

Colter Wall Honors His Western Roots on Songs of the Plains

Nobody ever needed to explain western wear to Wall, who was raised in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada. “It’s predominantly cattle country,” he shares. “My last full-time gig I had before I started playing music for a living was working cows with my cousin on a thousand-head cattle ranch.”

How Spotify Helped Cigarettes After Sex Amass an International Audience

Since the release of Cry, Cigarettes After Sex’s momentum has continued to snowball; the band is now closing in on 4.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. They’re also continuing to find success in new territories. Within a month of Spotify’s February 2019 launch in India, the country leapt into Cigarettes After Sex’s top ten markets. This popularity translated offline: In May, when the band announced two late-July Mumbai shows via a local promoter’s mailing list, they drew 30,000 sign-ups within just a few hours, causing the list to shut down.

Take a listen to Spotify’s Global Top 50 for the songs rocking the international charts.

 

Lukas Graham Becomes First Danish Artist to Hit 1 Billion Streams for a Single Song

August 23, 2019

Danish trio Lukas Graham, fronted by Lukas Forchhammer, has reason to celebrate. Their 2016 smash hit “7 Years,” which topped the charts in 13 countries and earned three Grammy nominations, has become the first track by a Danish artist to clock 1 billion streams on Spotify.

Perhaps their song “Take The World By Storm” (also from their debut album) would have made for a more obvious headline. But that likely wouldn’t suit Lukas’s subtler, introspective style. At least that’s how we felt after he stopped by Spotify’s Stockholm office to talk about this incredible achievement—and more. Lukas touched on his earliest musical exposures and influences during his upbringing in Copenhagen’s Christiania commune, how his songwriting process has evolved across albums—and the effect Spotify has had on his band’s meteoric trajectory.

You are the first Danish artist to reach one billion streams. What’s going through your mind as you reach this milestone? What would you like to say to fans, those from the Nordics and worldwide?

Only a few days ago did I realize how unique this is. It’s pretty amazing to be the first to do it, especially considering how many amazing Danish acts came before! ‘Thank you’ is a word too small to use, but it’s the only one I have. Thank you for listening and for continuing to listen.

How did your upbringing in Christiania, a commune in the center of Copenhagen, influence your musical upbringing? What were your earliest exposures to music, and who are your most memorable musical influences from that time? 

I guess that the amount of concerts and different genres of music performed in Christiania has had a huge impact…I was exposed to everything from Irish folk to pop rock and more heavy electronic music, as well as more culturally highbrow classical music. So I went to concerts from a very young age. I specifically remember watching Rage Against The Machine warming up for the Stone Temple Pilots and the Fugees warming up for Das EFX. Both in the Grey Hall in Christiania. I was about seven years old coincidentally. My father’s record collection was probably my biggest inspiration in the early days, and as a teenager rap music took over in terms of lyrical content.

Your 2016 self-titled album Lukas Graham (The Blue Album) has a different sound from your newest release, 3 (The Purple Album). How would you say your style has changed? How about your creative process? 

The style of our music changes to fit the songs that are being written. Different themes and stories influence the overall sound, and I don’t think anyone on our team ever wanted to be creatively static. On the contrary, we’re constantly trying to get out of our own box, so to speak. Also why I write with so many different writers now—in an attempt to catch something unique that we as a team haven’t been able to. With that said, I still write the bulk of my material with the same good ole boys, Stefano, Rissi Rissi, and Pilo.

What would you say is the role that Spotify has played in your career from launch to now?

I’m not sure if it’s too much to call ourselves the Arctic Monkeys of Spotify. I feel like our international breakthrough came about because of Spotify—the way streams in the Nordics and Germany pushed an unknown act into the global top 50 with a song that wasn’t available outside of the Nordics and GSA. It was a trippy ride, and luckily we’ve landed on the other side without losing our minds.

What artists are on your recently played? Any that fans might find surprising? Plus, what’s the most surprising sound/artist who’s influenced you?

I’ve been trying to keep up to date with a few of the newer releases, listening to two Danish rappers called Branco and Gilli. Kacey Musgraves’s latest album, and it’s impossible not to mention Billie Eilish. Nineties rap has influenced me the most lyrically, and musically it’s folk music,  Michael Jackson, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones.