PRETTY YOUNG
Swedish artist/producer/songwriter PRETTY YOUNG has just dropped his new single “Out Of The Blue” and it’s a banger. The song delivers a pop/r&b/disco vibe with an efficient production and timeless melodies. A smash.
PRETTY YOUNG creates feel good songs, empowering songs and anthems. Songs like “Me & Hennessy”, “Scars”, “horizon” and “Ouf Of The Blue” are songs that will be remembered for a long time.
“Ouf Of The Blue” is the first single of his upcoming debut EP, out on September 30th. Go stream it now :)
Photo credit: Robin Smedman
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
Hi, I’m PRETTY YOUNG (although my real name is William Ek). I’m mostly a producer but also a songwriter, 24 years old from Stockholm, Sweden. I would say that I started producing when I was around 12/13 years old, but the songs at that time were extremely simple and not quite good. 2012 was the year when I began to release my own songs. At the time I used my real name “William Ek” and I produced progressive house that was very inspired by Swedish House Mafia and Avicii. In the year of 2015 I signed my first publishing and artist deal with Capitol Records in Sweden. We released one song and I stayed with them for two years until we decided to separate our ways. In 2019 I met my manager Benji. I had the vision of what PRETTY YOUNG would be for a long time so we immediately started to work on the ideas I had. The road has been long with a lot of hard work since then. We’ve always managed to go forward all the time and succeed through hard times. We’ve always had the spark to create great music and not care so much about genres.
"Out Of The Blue" is your new single - what's the inspiration behind the song?
The song is the title track and first single of my upcoming EP. The song is all about how love can come out of nowhere when you least expect it. Whether you like it or not, it sometimes just hits us completely out of the blue. “Out Of The Blue” is heavily inspired by retro disco music, but with a modern touch. Isak (both the singer and the songwriter of this track) and I listened a lot to 80s funk/disco at the time. I was fascinated by the creativity behind the chord progressions and basslines. Disco tends to have moving bass lines that almost create melodies. That’s quite unusual in modern pop music. Everything right now is just a flat straight copy of the chords lowest note.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this song? When did you start working on it?
I think we started to work on it in late September. We wrote the song in one session and I continued to produce the song further by myself. In the beginning, the song sounded a lot different, but I strived more towards the disco/RnB feeling. We complimented the song with more harmonies and background vocals later on, but the lead vocal stayed the same as in the demo I had.
What did you feel when working on this song?
Hard question! I’m always a very happy and positive person, so I think back then I wanted to make a song that complimented that. But, when I’m in the studio I don’t really think of anything at all. I’m in kind of my own bubble and let all of my problems and feelings just float away for a moment.
What made you want to release "Out Of The Blue" as a single?
I really like the direction of this song and how it makes me feel. It doesn’t feel too far away from what kind of music I’ve released earlier but at the same time it feels fresh. Also, I love to make more dance songs so this is a great start!
What can you tell us about your upcoming EP?
“Out Of The Blue” is my debut EP and is about how life surprises us out of nowhere. For example: no one expected COVID-19 and look at how much it has changed our lives. Now that we are slowly turning back to normal, we should make the most of our freedom and once again go out and let life amazes us. It’s a mix of vintage synths, drum elements, heavy bases, and an old dusty ambience that is combined with clean and modern vocals. Some songs are a little more dark and clubby, some songs are very heartfelt and beautiful. Let’s say it has something for everyone! I’m so happy how all of the songs turned out in the end, and I am so excited to let everyone hear more of the music I make.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
Honestly, my main goal is just to make music and I don’t want to focus on the business side too much - that’s why I have a manager ;). But if I must name one thing I could change, it would be that playlisting and getting streams aren’t that important to break through as an artist these days.
As a producer, which equipments and softwares do you usually use?
Well, I have my acoustic piano, my computer, an Apollo soundcard and studio monitors. When I was younger, I started with FL studio, but I’m using Ableton now. In my opinion, except for creativity you don’t need anything else than your computer to make great songs!
In your opinion, what makes a good production?
A good production never makes up for a bad song, so does the opposite. It’s just my opinion but I think the song itself should be in focus, don’t ever overproduce (!). You have to learn to adapt the production around the vocals.
What biggest lessons have you learned since the beginning of your career?
Don’t overthink, stop holding back, and just feel confident enough to release your music. If you receive feedback, learn from it, incorporate it in the next single and grow as an artist. I’m really an overthinker myself, so that’s still a huge challenge for me ;).
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