Biography
Erik Hassle, originating from Sweden, brings a soulful vocal style to lyrically rich, dance-focused R&B and pop. Born August 26, 1988, in Katrineholm, Sweden, he attended the Rytmus school of music in Stockholm. A recording agreement with the Swedish imprint Roxy Recordings led to his first commercial release, the 2008 single "Hurtful." The track registered only modest initial success by reaching the Swedish Top 30 before slipping, yet it later regained momentum once Hassle secured an international deal with Universal Island Records in the United Kingdom and attracted attention abroad. Re-entering the Swedish singles chart in mid-2009, "Hurtful" climbed to number 11 and cleared the path for the follow-up "Don't Bring Me Flowers After I'm Dead," another Top 30 entry.
His self-titled debut album, Hassle, achieved stronger results by peaking at number two on the Swedish albums chart and featured contributions from Tysper (Tommy Tysper), Mack (Marcus Sepehrmanesh), and Grizzly (Gustav Jonsson) of the songwriting and production outfit Company Ten, previously linked to A-Teens and Amy Diamond. Many of those same tracks reappeared on 2010's Pieces, an updated iteration of the debut that added multiple remixes and a single new song. The EP Mariefred Sessions surfaced in 2011.
One year afterward came the full-length We Dance, which landed inside Sweden's Top 30 and contained the singles "Stay," "Back Under Water," and "Grace." The six-track EP Somebody's Party arrived in 2014. In 2017 Hassle issued his fourth studio album, Innocence Lost, drawing production support from SOHN (Banks, Lana Del Rey), Eshraque "iSHi" Mughal (Tinie Tempah, Emeli Sandé), TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, and additional collaborators, while also incorporating guest appearances from Vic Mensa and Tinashe. The project included the singles "If Your Man Only Knew" and "Missing You."
His self-titled debut album, Hassle, achieved stronger results by peaking at number two on the Swedish albums chart and featured contributions from Tysper (Tommy Tysper), Mack (Marcus Sepehrmanesh), and Grizzly (Gustav Jonsson) of the songwriting and production outfit Company Ten, previously linked to A-Teens and Amy Diamond. Many of those same tracks reappeared on 2010's Pieces, an updated iteration of the debut that added multiple remixes and a single new song. The EP Mariefred Sessions surfaced in 2011.
One year afterward came the full-length We Dance, which landed inside Sweden's Top 30 and contained the singles "Stay," "Back Under Water," and "Grace." The six-track EP Somebody's Party arrived in 2014. In 2017 Hassle issued his fourth studio album, Innocence Lost, drawing production support from SOHN (Banks, Lana Del Rey), Eshraque "iSHi" Mughal (Tinie Tempah, Emeli Sandé), TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek, and additional collaborators, while also incorporating guest appearances from Vic Mensa and Tinashe. The project included the singles "If Your Man Only Knew" and "Missing You."
Albums
Singles
