From anywhere, anytime

He sits on a sofa across from me and for the first half of the conversation, his face stays covered behind a light grey hoodie. Leaning back, his legs crossed, a black and yellow cowboy boot peeks out under black jeans. He seems modern, youthful and cool. A contrast to the thoughtfulness and delicacy he radiates while talking.

We know him as Djupiter. Born in a small town in the north of Sweden, he was based in Stockholm and London before finally settling in Paris for now. I managed to catch the self-taught music producer during his brief visit to his home country.

Unlike many others in the scene, Djupiter only started making his own music at the age of 20. He was focused on something completely different before: skiing. He was an athlete looking to transition into professionalism. So throughout his upbringing, every afternoon and weekend were filled with training and competitions, leaving little space for other hobbies. Music was there and he always enjoyed listening to it, he tells me. But it wasn’t something he thought about more than that, let alone think about working in the field.

When the now music producer surpassed his teenage years, he suddenly lost the spark for the sport. “I just lost my enthusiasm. But I am obsessive about the things that I do, so I had to find something else. I got hooked on music and started by teaching myself how to make beats”.

After he had the basics down, he went out to look for artists to collaborate with and travelled across Stockholm to do so, successfully. The local scene required him to be there in person for every session and not only to act as a producer but as a mixing and mastering engineer as well. When he moved to Paris, his previous collaborations were suddenly much harder to attain.

He needed to find new ways to continue his musical path. Juggling his own artist project and aspirations, hours of practice for music production and the search for a way to do so sustainably, he encountered Nova at just the right time.

Djupiter was born.

Because producing for other people ultimately requires you to let go of your ego and leave the final decisions with the artist - while still managing to incorporate your own handwriting into your compositions - he already knew how to take a step back for a bigger purpose when he entered the world of mood music. Creating tracks in genres like ambient or house enabled him to fuel his creativity for his own projects and taste while sharpening his production skills. He would take up his laptop anywhere, anytime when inspiration hit and produce a song in the box.

“The worst thing I know is waking up and having to make the song of my life today. I feel like I've spent so many years getting good at music. I want to use that in every way I can, and this [mood music] gives me a way”.

“I am teaching myself that I am good enough at composing”, still learning about music theory through chord progressions in sleep tracks, beat structures in lo-fi and tension arches in lounge.

Djupiter is into 70s disco and psychedelic rock in his free time, and incorporates this heavily into his own artistry. It also gives his lounge music a quirky character, and makes his soundscapes addictive to listen to.

Mood music is often created under pseudonyms but Djupiter was discovered at a party in Paris nonetheless: in a conversation with a friend about ambient music, the friend shared their love for one specific ambient profile that helps them to sleep and whose music especially speaks to them. He couldn’t believe his ears when they then named Djupiter as the creator in question. It was a full circle moment for the young producer, leaving him feeling rewarded for his work and motivated to go back to the studio to continue to do what he’s doing.

Djupiter utilizes mood music to sharpen his skills in music production, managing to make a living from composing while preparing himself to build his own artistry and set himself up for success. A win for us at Nova because we have the honor of representing him, a win for him to be able to work with music full time and a win for his sleepless friends on the way to djupare rest. ■