Symbiotic relationships are a rarity. With our increased time spent on this spinning globe, we come to realize that real friendships are fewer and farther in between. Especially in entertainment, comprised of many heads filled with dreams of âcloutâ or pursuits of âsocial climbing,â those honest gems of human connection shine brighter than your bedazzled Lisa Frank poster, still proudly shimmering in your childhood bedroom.
Fellow Swedish artists and songwriters SHY Martin and Boy In Space met as many musical creatives do, in a studio session. If youâre at all familiar with the world of pop sessions, they sometimes feel a bit like speed dating. Often youâve cyber stalked your collaborator beforehand, likely youâve heard some of their tracks or have asked a trusted source for the unfiltered “truth tea,â but even when all stars seem to align, whether or not artists will gel both creatively and socially is a game of chance. For SHY and Boy, chances were good. Sharing producer Freddy Alexander, both parties were secretly fans of the other before meeting and once they did, well I guess the rest is history.
Today marks the release of the second SHY Martin / Boy In Space collaboration titled âStill the Same.â A fitting followup to their 2019 single âOn A Prayer,â âStill the Sameâ released this time by SHY Martin featuring Boy In Space, is a lustrous bop. Anthemic and free-spirited, Alexanderâs production is crisp and effervescent, giving a distinct feeling of youthful freedom. The perfect foundation for each of the vocalistâs uniquely addictive tones, the listening experience is nothing short of joyous, slapping a wide grin across even the meanest of faces.
Accompanied by an equally endearing visual companion by Swedish photographer and filmmaker Hampus Hjellström, the video is comprised of a stop motion series of photos, featuring the pair in their “natural habitats.â From various studios, to a pool hall, arcade, and tennis court, all the while munching on pizzas (which makes not one but three appearances), the video feels like time capsule, capturing the essence of their friendship at its very core.
In celebration of the release and this dynamic duo’s whimsical connection, we thought who better to conduct an interview than the pair themselves? Read on belowâŠ
SHY: A fashion item you couldnât live without?
BOY: Sneakers
SHY: If you had to pick one store to buy your clothes from for the rest of your life. What store and why?
BOY: My local second hand store where my Grandma shops.
SHY: What are you looking forward to the most supporting Jeremy Zucker on his European tour this spring?
BOY: Looking forward to seeing a lot of cool stuff on the road and just making some sweet memories for when I get really old.
SHY: What part of making music do you think is the most fun? Writing, recording, releasing, planing, playing live etc? And why?
BOY: There’s not a better feeling than writing an amazing song. I feel like I’m levitating.
SHY: What would your dream tour look like?
BOY: My dream tour would be a super chill tour where you have time to take in what’s happening and where you are. And also having a lot of amazing fans supporting you along the way. I also want to build my own tour bus and have like old Nintendo 64âs wired in so we would obviously be riding in that.
SHY: Describe the perfect writing setup (for you).
BOY: It’s either super simple with just a guitar or a piano or with an amazing producer that just makes you vibe right away.
SHY: If you had to pick another profession other than music, what would that be and why?
BOY: I would pick being a chef at my own street food place because food is a really cool way of being creative.
SHY: If you could only eat one cuisine for the rest of your life, which one would you pick?
BOY: It would probably be any Asian cuisine.
SHY: What would the perfect date look like to you?
BOY: I think a picnic with a good view is hard to beat.
SHY: What are your hopes for the coming year?
BOY: My hopes for this year is to be recognised by a wider audience and spreading my music as far as I can.
BOY: What’s your favorite movie?
SHY: I donât think I can pick just one! Iâm a superfan of Christopher Nolan so either âInterstellar,â âThe Dark Knight Trilogyâ or âThe Prestige.â
BOY: Who would you choose as your survivor companion in a zombie apocalypse?
SHY: I was gonna say my boyfriend but thinking about it a bit more I changed my mind. Sorry Nirob! The smartest pick would probably be some kind of superhero like Doctor Strange. He could help me travel through time to a place where thereâs no zombie apocalypse, hopefully haha.
BOY: If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be?
SHY: EASY! Salad. Thereâs so many different combinations of salads. And Iâm also a vegetarian and already eat salads pretty often. So it wouldnât be that much of a change for me. But I would really miss pizza and ice cream.
BOY: What’s the best type of dessert?
SHY: Hmmmm I honestly almost never eat dessert. Only at birthday parties. Iâm not that into pastries, cakes and super sweet things. I would say some dark chocolate, ice cream or my grandmotherâs cinnamon buns.
BOY: Do you think aliens have been on earth before?
SHY: I definitely think aliens could have been here before. Maybe theyâre even here right now?! I donât know but I think thereâs a real chance aliens have already been here.
BOY: If you could have a coffee with anyone alive or dead who would it be with?
SHY: Thereâs so many people I would wanna have a coffee with. But maybe one of my grandfathers. One of them died before I was born, and the other passed away when I was about two years old, so to have the chance of having a coffee with either of them would be really nice.
BOY: If you had to choose between smelling or tasting what would you choose?
SHY: Tasting for sure!! I guess the taste wouldnât be as good without the smell, but Iâm a foodie so I would have to pick it anyway.
BOY: What would be your ultimate achievement in your career?
SHY: Either having a number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, or winning a Grammy. Another dream Iâve had since I was a kid is to write/sing the theme song for a really good movie.
BOY: Can you juggle?
SHY: Haha no. To be honest I havenât really tried but Iâm not very good at ball sports overall as Iâm just too clumsy.
BOY: What’s the best song of all time?
SHY: Very hard question! I have so many songs I love. A song I wish I had written though is âSorryâ by Justin Bieber. Itâs just such a perfect pop song. The lyrics, production and melodies. Another song I wish I had written is âWorkâ by Rihanna Ft. Drake.
CONNECT WITH SHY MARTIN
CONNECT WITH BOY IN SPACE
photos / Hampus Hjellström
video directed by Hampus Hjellström
words / Jessica Thomas