Larsen was born in Oslo, Norway. His father was a professional musician and his mother a singer. Growing up in a musical family, he was exposed to instruments, drum machines, keyboards and turntables from an early age. At the age of 6 he started playing drums in the school band. He later moved on to study drums and percussion at the Norwegian Academy of Music (Norges Musikkhøyskole) at the age of 10. At the age of 12 he started dj'ing and programming music.[1]
DJ & artist career (2001-2012)
At age 14, Larsen started touring and competing as a DJ under the alias Nasty Kutt, he won the Norwegian DMC National DJ Championships 2005 and 2006, to go on to represent Norway in the World finals (DMC World DJ Championships[2]).
He has done several appearances as a dj/artist among others most notably In 2011, launching the single 'Min Ting' at VG-lista Topp 20 in a collaboration with IDAP Music and Universal Music, featuring Norwegian artists Vinni from Paperboys, Yosef from Madcon, Lars Vaular og OnklP, and Swedish artists Timbuktu & Promoe.[3]
Music production & songwriting career
Early career (2001-2012)
Larsen started producing songs in Oslo’s urban music scene in the early 2000s. After he started to gain traction as a dj, he got his first local commercial break along with Norwegian band Karpe Diem, producing a string of singles, ‘Vestkantsvartinga’, ’Byduer I Dur’ and ‘Krølla 50 lapp y’all’ around the late 2000s. He continued to work as producer in the Norwegian and Scandinavian music markets, earning 21 IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) Certifications, 5 of them being multi-platinum.[4]
In 2009, he produced the single ‘City Lights’ for Redman & Methodman feat UGK from the album ‘Blackout! 2’, securing him his first US major label placement. The Def Jam/Universalrelease debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard200 album chart.[5]
International career (2013-present)
In 2013, he reconnected and worked closely with duo Nico&Vinz, developing the distinct sound for their single ‘Am I Wrong’ and their album ‘Black Star Elephant’. producing and co-writing 10 out of the 14 songs on the album. ’Am I Wrong’ entered several other international singles charts. In the United States, the song peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the highest-charting song by a Norwegian artist since a-ha's "Take On Me" in 1985. The song reached its first million sales mark in the US in June 2014, and its second million in September 2014, having sold 2.2 million by the year's end. In the United Kingdom, the song peaked at number one, making ‘Am I Wrong’ the first song by a Norwegian act to top the UK Singles Chart since A-ha's "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." in 1986.[6]
Late 2013 Larsen relocated to Los Angeles and signed a worldwide Joint Venture deal with IDAP Music & BMG Rights Management.
In the years to follow, Larsen played a part in several US and international successes.
In 2016, he co-wrote the song ‘HO.L.Y’ for the American duo Florida Georgia Line, which earned the spot as the highest charting country song that year, and the 5th charting country song of the decade in the US. The song also won BMI ‘Country song of the year ‘.[7]
He then teamed up with singer Pat Monahan from the band Train to work on their album ‘A Girl A Bottle A Boat’, playing part of 6 out of the 11 songs on the album. The album debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart on its first week of release. The single ‘Play That Song’ co-written and produced by Larsen, received international certifications in addition to being 2xplatinum in the US.[8]
The same year, he also co-wrote and co-produced Kygo’s single ‘Stay’ featuring Maty Noyes, receiving several international platinum and gold certifications.[9]
In 2017, Larsen co-wrote and produced the song ‘Gatekeeper’ along with Jessie Reyez for her EP ‘Kiddo’, Gatekeeper was released as a short film, which addressed sexism and exploitation in the music industry. It specifically was based on her experience with music producerNoel "Detail" Fisher, who was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women, including artist Bebe Rexha. In 2018 ‘Gatekeeper’ received a MTV Music Video Awards nomination in the category ‘Video With A Message’ and a won Juno Award 'Video Of The Year'.[10]
He also worked closely with artist Akon in the period between 2016 and 2019, yielding the unofficial single 'Letter To My Son' released in 2020.[13]
Media appearances and mentoring
Larsen was featured on episode #275 of Dave Pensado's 'Pensado's Place',[14] he has appeared as a panelist several times at the ASCAP Expo in LA.[15] He appeared twice as a coach and guest judge on the Norwegian hit show "Stjernekamp".[16] Larsen has worked with the organization Music Norway and has mentored at the Norwegian music university LIMPI to support aspiring Norwegian producers and songwriters.[17]
