Cashmere Cat

The cat is finally out of the bag. Not that Cashmere Cat has exactly kept a clandestine profile, working as he has with so many of the top names in pop, R&B, and hip-hop, from Kanye West to Ariana Grande — a track record that’s threatened to make him a household name just as a producer. But as a recording artist in his own right, he’s released a jam-packed debut album, 9, in 2018 (with guests including The Weeknd, Selena Gomez, Camila Cabello, 2 Chainz, Tory Lanez, Francis & the Lights, Starrah, and other Cat lovers) and now a follow up, 2019’s Princess Catgirl, a return to his leftfield fantasy club roots melded with a newfound pop polish.

When he was still on his first life, the plaudits came in just for his behind-the-scenes work. “The introverted producer is pop's new not-so-secret weapon,” raved The FADER. Not so very many years ago, the artist formerly known as Magnus August Høiberg was a fledgling DJ in his native Norway, doing ear-grabbing remixes for famous artists like Lana Del Rey and Drake…some of them authorized, some not. His skills attracted an American audience that eventually grew to include super-producer Benny Blanco, a mentor who encouraged him to come to New York. Their sensibilities meshed, with Blanco “bringing me in because he believed that the weirder shit I was doing could work in a more poppy sense.”

With early productions for Charli XCX, Britney Spears and ASAP Ferg under his belt, plus a Grammy nomination Tory Lanez’s “Luv,” Cashmere has gone on to work with Kanye West, Ariana Grande, Travis Scott, Halsey, The Weeknd, Lil Dicky and more, just in the last few months adding his magic to Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello’s #1 hit “Señorita,” and contributing to FKA twig’s massively acclaimed Magdalene. He’s toured the world over, including a stint as Ariana Grande’s direct support.

Cashmere Cat traces a realization about his own style and potential to working with Kanye West on “Wolves,” a song from The Life of Pablo. “The way that record came out set the standard for what I want my own music to sound like,” he says. “It was a new sound for me, and it made me feel like I can do really beautiful, weird music that isn’t just banging rap songs or big-feeling pop music. A lot of my old sound will still be in the new record,” he promises, “but I think I’m influenced by a lot of different music that I wasn’t before — like, I’ve been listening to a lot of Arca. I hope and believe that I’m doing something that’s worthy of an album and not just something that will bang in the club.”