Welcome to today’s special interview, where we have the pleasure of connecting with the talented Swedish DJ, producer, and songwriter, Will Tannergard. As he gears up to unveil his latest musical creation, ‘I Got You,’ Tannergard invites us into the world of his dynamic soundscapes and heartfelt lyrics.
Swedish DJ, producer, and songwriter Will Tannergard has worked with artists such as BTS, Sam Smith, and Steve Aoki to name just a few. Now releasing music under his name, Tannergard discusses the release of his single “I Got You.” The song, which is an upbeat anthem about being there for those you care about, is set to be released tomorrow this Friday, February 16, 2024, and can be pre-saved here.
Furthermore, we dive into how he works with artists around the world, how he got to where he is today, and how he uses social media to connect with his audience as a rising musician.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us. To begin, how are you doing? Could you please provide us with an overview of what your typical days look like?
Right now, I’m super excited about music in general. I’m always constantly working on new stuff and I’m really excited about this release. I’ve been working a long time on just getting them to the finish line and getting them to where I hear them in my head, which can be very time-consuming and frustrating. But, I’m excited and super proud and happy with the song.
In regards to the single, could you kindly provide some insight or information about it?
It’s this song to show someone that you’d do anything and you got them- like “I have you and I’m there for you.” It’s like the meaning of the whole song. When Sophie Hintze and I wrote it we thought of this kind of like the high school goodbye.
You know, you finish this the whole semester and either you’re gone for summer now, we’re going to go to college or like the next stage in life. But no matter what happens you’re going to be there for them.
What emotions or feelings do you aim to evoke in listeners when they hear the single?
The main message I want to send with this song is setting an example of the idea of “I Got You.” You will get to see that in a lot of content, I’m gonna do a lot of random acts of kindness. Just be there in different shapes or forms; whether that’s buying a coffee for someone or telling someone how much they mean to you. I’m gonna do a lot of this as well. Help each other out. Be there for someone or just tell them you appreciate them.
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Could you please share your experience of working with Sophie?
That was our first time doing a song as well as the first time we connected or anything. We met through our management. We had a Zoom session. At first, it was like “How do you do this? So, we can write a song on Zoom now?” At the time, she was based in New York. Now she lives in LA, till this day. We still haven’t met.
Furthermore, you were recently honored with the PRS Foundation Hitmaker Award. Could you elaborate on that recognition and share more details?
I’m so grateful that they rewarded me for being a hitmaker, which technically feels weird to say. That’s like making it kind of real, you know? I’ve been dreaming about this since I was a little kid.
Could you provide further insight into your writing process? Did the inspiration for that particular song come to you during solitary moments, or do you primarily engage in co-writing sessions?
I love collaborating and how you can just bounce off of other people because you will come up with stuff you would never think of by yourself. But, when I write by myself It’s more of a ritual. It’s like, how do I sit down? Do I turn on the candles? And, I sit down and ask how am I feeling? It’s fun to do that, but it’s much more of a broad process.
Do you recall who your first idol in the industry was, the one who inspired you to pursue a career in music?
The first one must have been Timbaland and then it moved on to Red One and Max Martin. And then later on, it became Swedish House Mafia and then Avicii. I think all these people sum up my music taste and my inspiration.
You mentioned in your Instagram post that the BTS album you worked on went platinum and that you’ve aspired to work in music since you were 12. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a career in music production, or did you have other interests you considered?
Well, I kind of just knew straight away from that moment of having a period of discovering what a producer was. There was this one little support sound in all of the intros and I kept hearing it. Then, I was like “Wait, who does that? Oh, that’s the guy who creates the music.” I started looking into it and there was this whole world I didn’t know about. Then, just literally becoming obsessed with that aspect of it. That led me to want to do that myself. I remember seeing at my high school you could go to like a school with that as a focus.
In Sweden, is it possible to specialize in music production during high school?
Yeah, you would have a class once a week or something. So, I just applied then that’s what I did. But, that wasn’t until I was maybe 16 when I got to that school. Then, from that moment on it was decided. When I set my mind to something that’s what I go for. I don’t have a backup plan.
And were your parents supportive of your career choice in music?
Yeah, they were super supportive of it. My dad is self-employed and I’ve seen how he’s done it. He was in like film as well so he’s very understanding of that type of work, which I’ve been super fortunate with.
That’s wonderful. How old were you when you first learned about the role of music production, before you attended high school?
I think when I was 12. I can remember I started messing around with these programs, just learning by watching YouTube tutorials.
Which programs? Like GarageBand?
Yes, it was actually GarageBand, because that’s what you get with some of the computers. So, then I just opened that up and tried something and it wasn’t very good. Then, one producer I was into at the time was using Logic so I thought I needed to be using Logic. Then, I was at this high school and there was this friend I was working with who was using Ableton Live. I thought that program was stupid, but then I saw how he worked on it and it just started to make sense. So, I switched over to that, but I always record vocals in Logic. So I jumped around different ones, but then also a little pro tools as well because they taught us that school as well.
Were you taught by full-time producers? Who were your teachers in high school?
All the teachers were people producing music. They had their own studios and they would work with recording bands. They would show how you work with things like recording and pitches, how to operate programs, edit, and the basics. And, then I went to uni as well to like, do this as well in London.
Oh, which university did you attend?
BIMM, London.
Did you meet a lot of collaborators at BIMM?
Yeah, absolutely because that was where I got into pop music, again. When I was 12 that was what I wanted to do, but switched to house music for the rest of my teenage years. And at uni, I got back into super pop music cause I met another Swedish guy. He showed me everything from writing a song to recording vocals. He got me really excited again and he was super happy and carefree. I saw his attitude towards music was inspiring and I came to him with all my questions.
And was your degree in songwriting?
Yeah. So, I did a diploma in production and then I switched over after this meeting with my songwriting teacher. This could be a chance to practice this like suck at it for a while, and get feedback. I don’t think I would have pursued it as much otherwise.
So, you’ve previously mentioned that you have many unreleased songs that you’ve produced. Do you have any estimate of how many songs you’ve worked on since the beginning of your career?
I’ve counted this out now because I started doing sessions properly in 2017 or 2018. I did probably, on average, five sessions a week. That’s five songs a week for let’s say 48 weeks of the year or 50 so that would be 220 songs a year. So then, for six years that turns into over a thousand, and probably 50 of those have seen the light of day.
How many artists do you estimate you’ve collaborated with over the years?
Probably over 130, which is a rough figure. But, yeah it adds up.
Some of your credits include Steve Aoki, Sam Smith, Derrick Milano, and GIRLI. Last year you released the song ‘Single Life’ with Alfie Cridland and Damon Hess featuring MICHAELA. Can you tell me about your co-writing process and how often you find and collaborate with other artists?
So, usually, I would just get everyone comfortable. A lot of times you do an hour of talking and just catching up, especially because a lot of the time it’s the first time you meet at least one of the people in that room. So, it seems like a weird thing to do but is probably the most productive thing to do because you get a better result from it. Everyone can feel more creative. They can feel safe and share quite personal stuff. It’s a lot like therapy. But, I’m very song-focused. I don’t have to have a beat or anything. We can just go in and write something with the piano and guitar and I can add stuff later on, which can sometimes confuse people. But, it comes after. I can spend six months doing the production.
I think music sometimes counteracts the perfectionism we see on social media. On TikTok, some of your videos have gotten thousands of likes. How do you use the app to promote your music and what benefits have you seen from the app?
I think people now, with social media, people crave authenticity. It feels like anything goes as long as you love it and they can see you love it. With TikTok, you can reach a lot of people. You wouldn’t have as much on Instagram, just to do the comparison, of people commenting and saying they love this or that they hate this. People are very engaged. I see a lot of people become fans quicker and it’s way more engaging I think, which is what you want. What better place to promote music? It changed people’s lives and all of a sudden they’re blowing up in the charts.
Final question, who would be your dream collaborator?
I would say The Weeknd.
Pre-save Tannergard – ‘I Got You’ LP via this link.
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