Tobtok

Swedish house DJ and producer Tobtok learned he had beaten cancer on the exact day his breakthrough single first surpassed one million streams. Diagnosed toward the end of 2012, he overcame the illness and reached remission, an experience that supplied fresh motivation to chase his ambitions in music. Born Tobias Karlsson in Uppsala, he took his performing name from a boyhood nickname whose meaning approximates “Crazy Tobias.” As a youngster he revered Michael Jackson and Chic’s Nile Rodgers; during his teenage years he also performed in black metal groups. Turning toward electronic music, he explored French-inspired house and nu-disco modeled on Daft Punk. The ’80s-inflected, post-Discovery tracks “Electric Horror” and the double-sided “Reincarnation” b/w “Metaphysique” appeared in 2011 and 2012. He supplied remixes for Icona Pop and Years & Years while continuing to issue his own material. His debut EP, Higher, arrived in 2014 and included vocal contributions from Emil Héro. That year he also issued “Savanna” on Kitsuné to mark twelve months of being cancer free. Following the 2015 release of “Shelter” with Alex Mills, Tobtok gained wider attention through his version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” which featured U.K. singer River. Distinct from Jonas Blue’s 2016 treatment of the same composition, “Fast Car” became Tobtok’s biggest hit to date, earning gold certification on Australia’s ARIA charts.