Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine July 2017 | Page 641

Thomas
Gylling
DJ and TV presenter in Stockholm
shared with Mélange . . .
“ As a young boy at 12 years old, my parents took me on the first ever Scandinavian
Airlines flight from Stockholm to Trinidad/Barbados. I was exposed to steelband,
conga/percussion showcase, etc. at the “Pepperpot Nightclub” in Bridgetown.
I tapped into reggae, afrobeats and soul to the best of my ability as a teenager, later
forming the band, Reggae Team which was one of the first reggae bands / tropical
beat bands in Scandinavia.
”
When did you get interested in the Caribbean music and culture and what
sparked that interest?
As a a selftaught drummer, I tapped into reggae, afrobeats and soul to the best of
my ability as a teenager, later forming the band, Reggae Team which was one of the
first reggae bands/tropical beat bands in Scandinavia. It sounded like crap at the
beginning but later we had a minor hit and started touring.
In the mid eighties, I was a frequent flyer with LIAT air. As a young music journalist,
I explored the culture of each island. Because of my keen interest in all the styles of
rhythm and sounds, I visited several radiostations. Dominica with its cadencalypso,
soca and kaiso in Trinidad and Tobago, reggae and early dancehall in Jamaica, etc.
That later resulted in me bringing back mastertapes co-produced radioprograms
from Radio Dominica , Radio Caraibe in St.Lucia etc., and lots of vinyl to Sweden
where I was able to start a nationwide weekly show for Swedish Radio P3.