Who are you?
Tom Malmros
Where are you based?
Stockholm, Sweden
What are you listening to?
Everything! I’ve listened to a lot of 90’s and 00’s albums recently. I moved to a new apartment a while back and found boxes with my old CD’s. Oh man what a treasure! I just grabbed a couple and found Swedish gems like The Bear Quartet, Bob Hund and Broder Daniel. And older Ride, Madonna and Grandaddy albums. Also been listening to stuff like Joni Mitchell, Aldous Harding and Big Thief lately. I LOVE their single ’Not’ – made me realise how much I love a proper guitar solo.
How do you discover new music?
Friends and colleagues send me new music. And I get a lot of unreleased music sent to me from artists and labels, usually Soundcloud and Dropbox links. I follow labels that I like and I read on blogs etc.
What formats do you usually listen to? LP, CD, Cassette, Digital, Streaming Services and why?
Mostly streaming. I guess mainly because I’m always by my phone or computer. And as I mentioned earlier, I’ve listened to my old CD’s lately. It’s so different and I really like it. Have to install a CD player in my car again. Vinyl is great but I don’t have a vinyl player in the new apartment. Thanks for reminding me!
Where do you do most of your music listening?
Probably at work and when I’m commuting and walking. And at home when I cook. I love my headphones – my favourite way of listening to music. We have 3 different stereo setups at home. One in the living room, a small one in the kitchen and studio monitors in our home studio.
How do find and listen to pre-release music?
I get loads of Soundcloud, Dropbox and Box links with pre-release music sent to me through my sync business. And I share an office with Aloaded, a new Stockholm based digital distribution company, so the office is full of unreleased music.
What are your frustrations with listening to music digitally? Any benefits?
I think I was way more concentrated when I listened to music predigital. Nowadays I have music in the background all the time. And I tend to forget that I even listen to music sometimes. It just goes on and on and on without a stop. Listening to CD’s and vinyl is like having dinner with an old (or new!) friend. Almost like a conversation between you and the music. Listening to music digitally is more like a snack! Trying the best I can to keep the dinner vibe though.
How do you keep track of everything you are listening to?
If I really like something I don’t forget about it because I will not stop listening to it. I try to keep playlists on Spotify for Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall where I save songs I like. Fall 2018 was a good one!
Do you tip other people off to new music? How?
Yeah, but mostly people I work with. I send links to a video I like, live performances or a streaming link.
Anything you want to “promote”?
Yeah – Alice Boman just released her second single from her upcoming debut album ‘Dream On’. It’s called ’Wish We Had More Time’ and it’s so beautiful. El Perro del Mar just released her stunning cover of Prince’s ’I Would Die 4 U’ – listen to that while waiting for the new album she’s working on. (It sounds amazing!) The album will be premiered as a performance piece at The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. She will perform the songs with her band and dancers from The Royal Ballet will join her on stage. Don’t miss this if you’re in Stockholm Nov 29-30 or Dec 3-4! Last but not least – Kavi Kwai is the name of a new Swedish artist. The first single will be released soon by Opening – a newly started singles label run by Kalle Lundgren Smith (Pitch & Smith), my colleague Henric Claesson and myself.
