Get to know KISSEY, the Swedish singer making danceable trip hop

When KISSEY, born Christina Asplund, was at school, one of her teachers snuck her into a club to see Frankie Knuckles play. A DJ at a prominent venue in Stockholm, ‘Sir’ was teaching the Swedish singer and producer how to DJ as part of an extracurricular course. “That became a very big turning point for me – he was very supportive,” she explains. “When the other kids had left I would stay at school and DJ for hours.”

A natural musician from the start, Christina’s mother – who gave her the nickname Kissey – insisted she start piano lessons at six years old after noticing the way she’d make music with whatever she could get her hands on. From there, she went on to join choirs, DJ regularly and, while studying for a fine arts degree, sing hooks for her fellow students’ tracks. Since moving to New York six years ago she has featured on the Dear White People soundtrack and provided productions for the Gucci and Givenchy catwalk shows, as well as dropping releases on various labels.