A7S: "I'm such a perfectionist, I can't commit to an album yet"

A7S provided some much-needed joy with some of 2021's biggest dance tracks. Both Breaking Me and Your Love (9PM) proved smash singles at a time the world needed some escapism; but the Swedish producer's only just getting started.

With the release of S1mba collaboration On & On and Clean Bandit team-up Everything But You already adding millions more streams to his impressive numbers, we caught up with the producer, singer and songwriter to find out what the rest of the year holds.

Hey, A7S. How did your recent collaboration with S1mba come about? It's a banger.

S1mba wrote to me on Instagram. I was here in Dubai [where I live] and told me he was in town and wanted to link up. I was like 'stop by my place, let's make something.' I'd started the bassline, and we freestyled all the melodies on top of that.

Do you find that artists are setting up these collabs off their own backs more these days, with less label involvement?

100 percent. The orchestrated label collaborations exist, but they're not as common any more. It's more about who you vibe with, who you bond with. It's more about being genuine and working with people you like.

I like to be in the room and have chemistry with other artists, making the songs from start to finish."

It must've been strange, releasing global smash singles while being unable to perform them throughout the pandemic...

Both Breaking Me and Your Love (9PM) became big during the pandemic, so I actually haven't had the chance to sing them live to people yet. It's really mind-blowing. It's going to be amazing to finally do that this summer.

You're so happy when you see videos of people [enjoying your music] around the world, but it's different to perform live and hear people singing the songs back to you. You get a sense of what the songs meant for them.

What's been your favourite show to date?

I had a really special show in Gothenburg, Sweden. It's close to where I grew up, and it was an amazing feeling. It was one of the best Swedish summer days, at a sold out venue. It was such a party, the whole arena was singing along. That's one of my favourite memories.

What does the rest of 2022 hold for you? Is an album in the works?

I'll just be releasing more and more singles. I don't want to commit to making an album yet. I've always enjoyed looking for better and better songs. I'm such a perfectionist, an album would take me a long time. If I'm committing to an album, I know I have to be ready for it.

Listen to A7S featuring S1mba's On & On below:

A7S's On & On (featuring S1mba) and Everything But You (with Clean Bandit) are out now.