Killen.
about the artist
Since his solo debut last year, 26-year-old Swedish producer Hannes Torssell, aka Killen., has made a big mark on the Scandinavian dance music scene. After releasing his debut EP Highlight, he quickly piqued interest domestically as well as internationally, becoming one of the most interesting current Swedish exports. In the last year he has played shows all over the Nordic countries, as well as some of Scandinavia's biggest festivals like Way Out West. He is now averaging over 220,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
Earlier this year, Killen. was awarded the Swedish Grammy for Best electro/dance act. He also received a…
MoreSince his solo debut last year, 26-year-old Swedish producer Hannes Torssell, aka Killen., has made a big mark on the Scandinavian dance music scene. After releasing his debut EP Highlight, he quickly piqued interest domestically as well as internationally, becoming one of the most interesting current Swedish exports. In the last year he has played shows all over the Nordic countries, as well as some of Scandinavia's biggest festivals like Way Out West. He is now averaging over 220,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.
Earlier this year, Killen. was awarded the Swedish Grammy for Best electro/dance act. He also received a nomination for "Artist of the Future" at the P3 Guld's awards, where the jury praised him for his trailblazing and euphoric "crying on the dancefloor"-sound. The project's lead single Die for You held a spot on Swedish radio's A-list for seven weeks straight and later caught the attention of the BBC, as well as industry names like Zane Lowe and Pete Tong. A quick breakthrough for any artist, not least for someone who never really intended to be one.
Hannes Torssell was born in 1998 and grew up in Stockholm, Sweden. He had a passion for making music from an early age — but only in the roles behind the scenes. Like many others from his generation, the boom of dance music in his teens, helmed by Avicii, Alesso, and David Guetta, inspired him. Guided by these titans, he began exploring producing through GarageBand and posted his own remixes on SoundCloud. After studying at Rytmus, Sweden's most prestigious high school for music students, he continued his musical education at Dreamhill Music Academy — founded by the prolific Swedish songwriter Anders Bagge.
Off the back of his education, Torssell was recruited to produce for big names like Swedish House Mafia and RL Grime. He also remixed tracks for Scandinavian icons such as Håkan Hellström and Ane Brun and later toured with Yaeger as the opening act for pop star Zara Larsson. But Torssell still felt like he had more to explore, and as the music he was writing seemed to be too specific to him, he eventually got the idea to launch his own artist project. Taking on a nickname from childhood, Killen. (translated to "the guy") was born.
Now, after jumpstarting 2025 with the two standalone singles ONANON and Mojo, Killen. is gearing up for the release of his second EP, Stay Like This Forever — his first project under record label Disorder. Containing six completely new tracks, Killen. is ready to deepen his sound. This time around he is exploring the psychedelic influences on this year's previous singles further but aiming for a more playful approach, a choice spurred on by the music he listens to himself.
Loosely based on the experience of falling in love, Killen. takes on a sonic journey through every emotional high and low starting with the first single Naive. Like before, Killen. showcases his duality in being able to soundtrack both a lonely drive and the most energetic of dancefloors — utilising that quintessential Swedish melancholy without ever sacrificing the catchiness, a skilled balance between nostalgia and hopefulness, introspection and extroversion.
Quickly carving out his own musical identity, Killen. stands out amongst other dance music acts by infusing the electronic with a groovy organic feeling, never losing sight of the emotional elements of music making. Only a year into his solo career, Killen. is already among the artists shaping the future of his genre. With his intuitively powerful vision, he is leading the way towards another renaissance for dance music.