K-391

Norwegian producer Kenneth Osberg Nilsen crafts buoyant, dreamy EDM and electropop under the alias K-391, with his material frequently centered on fantasy and escapism. Active since the early 2010s, he built hundreds of millions of streams ahead of his commercial breakthrough. The 2018 single “Ignite,” recorded with Alan Walker, Julie Bergan, and Seungri, became an international hit and reached number one in Norway.

Nilsen was born in Bamble, Norway, in 1994. Drawn to dance music and hip-hop from childhood, he began producing on his computer around age 14. First releasing as Keosni391, he soon shortened the name to K-391; the track “Electro House 2012” quickly circulated online. The prolific artist maintained a brisk schedule of dubstep and electro-house releases and demos, with “Summertime” and “Fantastic” emerging as further digital successes. Selected cuts were later gathered on the digital albums Sunshine (2014), Overture (2017), and Hello, World (2018).

His work moved toward mainstream accessibility after he started collaborating with Alan Walker. The pair first issued the instrumental “Ignite” in 2017; a vocal version featuring Julie Bergan and Seungri followed the next year. That edition became a major pop hit throughout Scandinavia, topping the Norwegian charts, and also registered as a dance success in the United States. K-391 continued his partnership with Walker by co-producing tracks for the album Different World and by releasing the single “Mystery,” which included Wyclef Jean. In 2019 he teamed again with Walker and Tungevaag for “Play,” a remake of Mangoo’s 2000 track “Eurodancer,” which reached number two in Norway after achieving worldwide success.