UPDATE ON THE GALANTIS BREAKUP AND THE ORIGINAL EDM DUO
Despite time passing, the breakup continues to be a highly googled search.
This article provides a fresh update on the GALANTIS breakup mystery. What we now know and what the future of Galantis may or may not hold.
*As of the release of the Coachella 2025 lineup, we see that Miike Snow is on the lineup for Day 1 of the festival. This is a very interesting new development.
First, A Refresher - Visualize It, because I can see a billion dollars in Your Eyes
The breakup of the EDM duo Galantis, originally composed of Swedes Christian Karlsson and Linus Eklöw, has been and continues to be a mystery - perhaps reaching new mythical status or EDM folklore.
As we know, there was no official statement made explaining the split from either producer or their label Atlantic Records. The last time the two performed together was on March 1, 2020 at 12:51am at Exchange L.A. nightclub. No one in a million years would have guessed that this would be the last time Galantis would perform together. By the way, Atlantic Records reached out to me last year about sending me a gift from Galantis but it didn't make sense since they could have contacted me directly.
In just a small club in Los Angeles right before the pandemic debacle. Crazy because THEY DEBUTED THEIR NEW GALANTIS OPENING that night. This was a huge deal. A new Opening! My arms were wide for so many new VIP’s. This was the prototype or rehearsal for the 2020 festival season.
For the sake of new people to this Blog, we wrote 2 prior Blogs on this topic that you can check out for some context but nonetheless as we know Christian continued the Galantis project and post-breakup Galantis resurfaced on December 31, 2021 for a New Year’s Eve performance in San Francisco. I had a ticket and hotel package booked to go see “them”, but had to cancel - a long side-story that I won’t bore you with. The point here is that when I found out that Christian was solo for that show I then knew there was something wrong and there was a 50% chance that they had broken up per my 10 scenarios I list in the first Blog about this.
Official Reboot at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in April 2022
Per the usual, I had VIP Meet & Greet tickets for the original date of April 24, 2020 at the world famous Red Rocks Amphitheater, however, as we know it was postponed by a whopping 2 years until April 22, 2022.
This would also mark my first trip to see a show at the mecca of all music venues - Red Rocks. If you would like to read about that experience and my recommendations on flying in to see a Red Rocks show then read the dedicated Blog here.
Ok so fast forward to Red Rocks, Christian was expectedly nervous for this performance on a few levels: 1) he was flying in from a performance in Las Vegas and driving straight to Red Rocks for the show, 2) Red Rocks is no joke - it is the most important concert of the year for an artist and he was doing it without Linus running the decks and the show was 2 years “in the making” from the delays, 3) it was being live streamed by Live Nation, 4) he knew he had the Meet & Greet to do thereby adding to his stress, and 5) perhaps his “handlers” add to his stress levels. You have to know how to communicate and “manage up” VIP’s and executives which makes them feel secure and in control even though they cannot micromanage everything - you have to surrender so much to other people at this level and it is stressful. 6) Christian’s ear was recovering from tinnitus that was only adding to his anxiety. There are very few in EDM that mix as many tracks as Galantis does - rarely playing anything more than 60 seconds unless its a Galantis track itself. That said, of course not every single mix or flip is done with the mixer - I am very well aware as I have made mixes in Ableton Live first, cut them up into tracks, and then mixed them on CJD’s etc.
Oh and Number 7) whoever decided that Christian should ignore the change or breakup, in essence blowing off and disrespecting his / their fans on the departure or absence of his Galantis cofounder Linus (I don’t care if Linus was “the bad guy”) - was a big mistake and only added to Christian’s stress as he drove up the hills of Red Rocks to a waiting sold out crowd that Justin Blau, aka 3LAU, was going-full-ham with in a blizzard - laptop shutting closed from the wind and all.
This was the press release that should have been put out in January 2022:
“Linus Eklow has taken time during the pandemic to assess his personal priorities and musical direction and has decided to move on from Galantis. Christian and Galantis thank him for all of his contributions musically to Galantis discography, all the memories, and always running away under clouds of Gold Dust because there is no money in the World that is sweeter than the peanut butter jelly which Christian and Linus spread together with you - Seafox Nation. We wish Linus all the best.”
Comprende? That is all that had to be written. I wrote that and it took me 3 minutes.
Fire your publicist, if you have not already Christian. You can still do the right thing and literally say,
“I handled the change or breakup in the wrong way. I listened to the wrong people. I am sorry Seafox nation. Here is something a fan wrote that, insert the above paragraph, that I should have put out. I should have said that from the beginning. I love you all so much and I hope this helps with setting the record and creating some closure for you all. Love, Christian. Galantis Forever.”
Back to the Red Rocks Meet & Greet
So Christian cancels the Meet and Greet which I expected and called! Christian’s assistant comes out to share the news with the roughly 25 of us by the Barn Doors and let us know that Christian would instead do a group picture. I then notice a demure Christian standing next to his photographer and I say out loud, “There you are!” to which Christian turns, recognizes me albeit without my usual girlfriend with the pink hair, and walks straight up to me for the said group picture. I then whispered in his ear, “Don’t worry I won’t speak loud into your ear.”
Flashforward: Over 2 Years Later Since the Unofficial Debut of Galantis 2.0 at Red Rocks Amphitheater on April 24, 2022
Chapter 3: The Seafox Helmet Tease, A New Member of Galantis to be Revealed?
On June 14, 2023, we were led to believe that this new person wearing or parading around in a chrome Seafox Helmet was the new member of Galantis whereby the instagram post caption said, “Hello”. After this post the Seafox character was incorporated into all content and marketing; in essence filling the proverbial void left by Linus’ departure.
Four Critical Things Here:
1. If this Seafox was a girl, how cool and exciting would that have been because we reached a place by Spring of 2023 that it was time to accept that this “new Galantis”. Trust me, no one has more nostalgia than I do for Christian and Linus up there together. EDM duo groups just hit different.
2. Let me make a big point here. Creating the concept that Galantis itself is larger than any 2 persons - or any two original members - would mean that Galantis could live on forever. Why not every 3 or so years there are new members? Essentially, the Disneyland or Mickey Mouse of EDM continues on by way of Christian playing Willy Wonka - when he is ready to. Golden Tickets are created for who will become the faces and musicians of GALANTIS. Christian would mentor them and still have a producing credit on all tracks. This would also give Christian the creative freedom to work on other music and collaborations - without having to create an alias and wear a mask.
3. Now I am not saying this is what the plan is but it is one hell of a good idea; wouldn’t you agree, Christian?
4. We go from the current “I am Galantis” back to “WE ARE GALANTIS”! The EDM powerhouse that always was a DUO and must and should revert back to BEING A DUO! Why? I will explain the psychology behind this next my friends. If Christian disagrees, then I recommend dropping the girl following him around in the Seafox chrome helmet. It is just a reminder that Galantis was a duo.
Some “Housekeeping” on the Breakup
1. What we now know of course is that either Christian was always the founding member, ie. the owner of Galantis (just like Axel Rose is and was the owner of Guns N’ Roses for example) or Christian bought out Linus’ 50% ownership stake in Galantis. Did you know Christian wrote and produced Britney Spears’ hit track ‘Toxic’? Ever heard of Max Martin? Swedish music producers are the best in the business along with the Dutch of course.
2. Indeed our Blog: The Galantis Breakup Mystery, see Scenario E, was a driving reason for the breakup. Linus had a nervous breakdown due to the demands of touring and producing which possibly included problems with alcohol.
3. Of course, all of this could have been handled with a better PR plan as I laid out above instead of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach which only tarnished the brand. Trust me, I would rather be writing a Blog about something else but the reality is this story has to be told via my own VH1’s Behind the Music. However, I will say that these Blogs have been a means of processing this very sad breakup.
The Psychology Behind an EDM Power Duo: WHY FANS YEARN FOR A GALANTIS DUO REUNION?
In our next Blog, I analyze why fans loved vintage Galantis as a case study for the power behind EDM duos. Hint, it taps into the power that only once-in-a-lifetime friendships can unlock and/or symbolize.
Wrapping It Up - Final Words on Christian and Galantis
People really miss the Galantis duo because it has always been about running away with your best friend and singing the song while watching the two best friends who wrote the hit together on stage completes the circle. Hence why it hits a little different with only one person on stage or put another way, there is a deep nostalgia and people wanted to believe that this was an everlasting friendship and/or collaboration. It only makes sense when you take in the Galantis discography that they wrote and produced together (as far as we know at least).
The reality is we still don’t know anything. Considering Linus has not emerged with his next or new musical project, the rumor of his struggles with alcohol or substances could be true. It is extremely bizarre from Linus' own professional career that he never said a word ever again to his fans, if nothing else to have an audience for his next Chapter. We can only hope that he is happy and healthy. Leave a comment on his Instagram account, @styleofeye, to let Mr. Johan Linus Eklöw, know you still think and care about him. One thing for sure though, is this girl with the chrome seafox helmet tagging along is lame and should be dropped after 2024; it is just a reminder now that Linus is gone and they are trying to fill in his place with this character.
The harsh reality is that since the breakup was handled so poorly - it begs the question to perhaps close the chapter on Galantis. If they had ended the project all together during the pandemic, then it would have placed Galantis into a mythical place in EDM history for all-time. Leaving the possibility for a reunion someday. Nonetheless, Galantis makes people happy and still packs in the main stage at festivals, albeit a bit awkward at the end when Christian needs someone to hold the "Thank You Seafox Nation" flag at the end of the set.
Either way, this Blog serves as an update as hundreds continue to look for answers each month all these years later and I continue to be the number 1 destination on the internet for the topic. Galantis’ music will no doubt live on forever and it will be exciting to see how Christian crafts the next 3 years. Perhaps, some day he will heed my advice and sit down for an interview with me.
Enjoy your next festival and as Christian always says, “ 1 - 2 - 3 - GO ! “
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