Electronic/Dance Music (EDM) has finally made it’s way into the USA after sweeping through Europe over the last decade. The Grammy awards began giving out an award for EDM in 2005 so the genre is fairly new to the United States. In the Christian market, the genre is still relatively unknown. David Thulin, born in Sweden, is one of the few EDM artists in the Christian market. We spoke recently about the evolution of EDM and his own music.

Before reading, check out this dc Talk mashup/remix

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Gabe: What did you grow up listening to?

David: I was really in to instrumental music growing up. I listened a lot to film music, as well as Swedish pianist Robert Wells. I also enjoyed the CCM of the time. The mid-late 90s had some amazing Christian music that I’m still biased towards. I sorta miss those days haha. I got into Smooth Jazz in my teens, but kept listening to film scores all growing up. Finally in my late teens the dance music bug bit me, though I had been around it for years already.

Gabe: Being born in Sweden, is there an EDM scene there? What’s it like? What were you influenced by?

David: There is a very big House music scene, as well as Euro-dance and Electronic Pop. Being so close to Holland and the UK the Swedes absolutely get a lot of EDM influence. Stockholm has a very happening house scene.

Gabe: How did you get your career started in EDM?

David: I fell in love with Trance music in 2002 but couldn’t find any Christian Trance. I just decided to make my own. I made loads of crappy quality trance-ish tracks from 2002-2008, finally deciding to release an indie project titled Morning Rise. My production skills weren’t the best but I was passionate about it! I just kept releasing indie projects until a label took interest in 2011. In that sense I suppose it was organic. I didn’t intend on a career in EDM, but here we are! I still grow with each track I produce, and I hope to one day hear my tracks in the general market EDM scene as well as on Christian radio.

Gabe: Do you prefer doing original mixes or remixes of other artist’s songs? What generally sells better?

David: I like originals better, but remixes are a load of fun! It’s hard to compare the two, which is why I do both! My first single “Light In Me (feat. Nicole Croteau)” did pretty well on radio, especially in Australia for some reason, where it was in the top 10 on their non-Christian radio for a short while! As far as what sells better, that depends on the size of the artist I remix. My fan base isn’t that big but it’s a loyal one. Therefore my own singles don’t sell as much as my remixes of bigger artists like Colton Dixon or Natalie Grant for example, since their fan bases are quite a lot bigger.

Gabe: “Christian music” doesn’t really have much of an EDM scene. Do you see that genre eventually growing (much like hip hop has recently)?

David: It may be a few years out still. The EDM scene is just now exploding in the US general market (as we saw about 15 years ago in Europe). Sadly, Christian music has in the past been far behind the general market trends, but I have seen that gap closing quite rapidly as of late. I hope the Christian EDM scene does take off, but I’m not sure what it will look like. DJ-based worship? Outreach raves? I’m personally focusing my energies on impacting the general market EDM scene at this time, seeing God move in many amazing ways as I travel that road.

Gabe: What does 2015 look like for David Thulin?

David: I already have several remixes for various artists coming out in 2015 on their respective albums! I’m always pushing the boundaries both creatively and stylistically, and my hope is that 2015 will be the year when my music will impact both the Christian community as well as the general market EDM scene!

Be sure to follow David Thulin on Twitter, @Thulin, for updates on new music!