Hello everyone, it’s your host Tehillah from DULAXI, and today I’m delighted to be joined by Berlin-based songwriter and artist Karlo Bromsen, the creative force behind the new solo project introducing his original single “Parlin Papito.” Blending electronic elements, indie pop, experimental songwriting, and offbeat storytelling, Karlo presents a playful new artistic world built around imagination, family, and unconventional creativity. Released on 10 July 2026, “Parlin Papito” marks the beginning of an exciting solo chapter for Karlo while expanding the creative universe he has developed through his work with the indietronic act Bromsen.
Before we begin our conversation with Karlo Bromsen, here’s what you need to know about today’s featured project.
About Karlo Bromsen
Karlo Bromsen is a Berlin-based songwriter known as the voice behind the indietronic act Bromsen, where he has explored the meeting point between indie rock influences and electronic textures. With his first solo release “Parlin Papito,” Karlo steps into a different creative space, embracing a more surreal and character-driven approach that allows his imagination to take the lead.
The single introduces listeners to Papito, a tiny hand-drawn character originally created from drawings by Karlo’s son Willi. What began as a simple and imaginative creation between father and son gradually developed into an entire artistic universe filled with unusual characters, strange adventures, family chaos, bees, bumblebees, and unexpected moments of humor. Emerging from a corked bottle, Papito becomes the center of a playful world where music, animation, and storytelling exist together.
For Karlo, this project represents a natural extension of his artistic identity. His songwriting has always been connected to curiosity, experimentation, and the desire to explore ideas that exist outside traditional boundaries. While his work with Bromsen continues to reflect his passion for combining indie songwriting with electronic influences, “Parlin Papito” provides a different space where eccentric ideas and unusual concepts can fully develop.
The song itself combines upbeat indie-pop energy with playful electronic elements, creating a warm and imaginative atmosphere that reflects the personality of its central character. Rather than treating the release as only a single piece of music, Karlo has expanded Papito’s world through an ongoing TikTok mini-series, allowing the story to continue growing beyond the song and inviting listeners into a larger creative experience.
The foundation of “Parlin Papito” comes from a genuine place of collaboration and connection. The character’s origins through Willi’s drawings have transformed the project into more than a musical release, creating a shared imaginative space between father and son. Through this process, Karlo explores how creativity can emerge from simple moments and evolve into something much larger than originally expected.
As a solo artist, Karlo continues to embrace the unpredictable nature of songwriting, allowing melodies, ideas, and creative instincts to guide him. His approach reflects a fascination with the unexpected, where playful absurdity and emotional sincerity can exist together. Through “Parlin Papito,” he introduces a world that feels handmade, personal, and full of possibility, offering listeners a reminder of the joy that comes from curiosity and imagination.
Having this brief introduction to today’s featured project, I’m sure both new listeners and longtime fans are excited to hear directly from Karlo. So, without further ado, let’s begin today’s interview.
INTERVIEW SESSION
Tehillah:
You have already built a musical identity through Bromsen as an indietronic artist, but Parlin Papito introduces a new chapter as your first solo release. Before we explore this new world, I would love to understand the person behind the music. How has your journey as a songwriter and artist shaped the way you approach creativity today?
Karlo Bromsen:
I started writing songs quite early, but it really developed through playing guitar — especially after absorbing Nirvana like a sponge in the early 1990s. From there, I started travelling backwards in time musically, discovering The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and so many bands from the 60s and 70s.
I think that process of absorbing musical impressions is a necessary part of what later becomes your own creative language. At least that was the case for me. In the 90s and early 2000s, I played in an indie rock band in many clubs in and around Berlin. Later, in the early 2020s, I founded Bromsen together with Richard, and we started weaving our indie rock background together with a much stronger use of synthesizers — a sound I still love today.
New ideas often come to me from some kind of inner stream that I can’t really explain. Suddenly, something is just there — whether it is an absurd little idea like “Parlin Papito” or the melody of an indie rock song. That mysterious element is also what I love most about songwriting. It feels like an escape from the predictable structure of everyday life.
Tehillah:
Your music often exists between indie pop, experimental songwriting, and offbeat storytelling, creating spaces that feel both familiar and surreal. Where does your fascination with unusual characters, imaginative worlds, and unconventional storytelling come from, and how has that shaped the way you express yourself through music?
Karlo Bromsen:
I have always had a love for the absurd and the unexpected. I remember giving an art presentation at school once, completely unprepared, and basically inventing total nonsense about an artist’s catalogue. The teacher let me continue and even gave me a fairly good grade for what she called a “dadaistic” presentation.
After that, I remember wanting to find out what Dadaism actually was. So maybe that side of me has always been there. But with “Parlin Papito”, I think it entered a song I actually released in its fullest and most direct form for the first time.
Tehillah:
The transition from creating music with Bromsen to stepping into a solo project is a meaningful artistic shift. What made this the right moment for you to explore a different side of your creativity, and what parts of yourself did you discover while creating music independently?
Karlo Bromsen:
It happened quite naturally. With Bromsen, we had decided to take a little creative breathing space, so I started working on things that were perhaps a little too strange or too eccentric for the band context.
In a band, everyone has to stand behind an idea one hundred percent, and that is a very important and beautiful thing. But it also means that not every wild idea belongs there. So the solo project has a liberating element for me. At the same time, I still stand one hundred percent behind Bromsen and everything we do there. These are simply two different worlds — and I think I need both of them.
Tehillah:
Parlin Papito began with something incredibly personal: a hand-drawn character created by your son Willi that eventually became the foundation of an entire musical and visual universe. Can you take us back to that first moment when you saw Papito and realized this little character could become something much bigger?
Karlo Bromsen:
I have always loved the drawings of my son Willi, and I honestly think he may be more of an artist than I am. Even when he was very young, he could draw little stick figures that looked completely different from anything I would have drawn. Somehow, they were always full of life and expression from the beginning.
When he created this little Papito figure, who looks a bit like a mixture between a tooth and a tiny ghost, I thought it was brilliant. I encouraged him to draw more characters in that style, and in parallel the musical idea started to appear as well. The basic form of the song came to me on one of those slightly crazy days, and then I kept refining it from there.
Tehillah:
There is something special about transforming a simple family creation into a full artistic project. How did the relationship between your role as a father and your role as an artist influence the way you developed Papito’s personality, story, and world?
Karlo Bromsen:
The beautiful thing is that my son Willi and I simply have a huge amount of fun filling this little universe together. That brings a completely different dimension to the process compared to making something entirely on my own or working within a band.
It is not only a musical project anymore. It is also a shared imaginative space between father and son, and that gives it a very special emotional quality for me.
Tehillah:
Papito is a tiny character who loves bees and bumblebees, emerges from a corked bottle, and finds himself surrounded by family chaos, strange villains, and unexpected adventures. What attracted you to building a story around such an unusual character, and what do you think makes these small, strange details so emotionally meaningful?
Karlo Bromsen:
It is hard to explain, because the whole thing developed piece by piece, almost like a puzzle. We did not have this chaotic little world fully planned from the beginning. Every element arrived in its own way.
For example, Bumpo — this big, slightly ridiculous character — and his constantly laughing friend Pitu both developed quite independently. Then we started connecting these elements and building little stories around them.
We have uploaded all these short clips to a small Parlin Papito TikTok channel, @parlinpapito, so anyone who wants to dive into the universe can watch them there. The strange little details are meaningful because they were not calculated. They came from play, from instinct and from the joy of letting nonsense become its own world.
Tehillah:
The song carries a playful and humorous surface, but behind the surreal world is a genuine desire to leave listeners with happiness and a smile. How did you balance the fun, imaginative elements of Parlin Papito with creating a song that still connects with listeners on a deeper emotional level?
Karlo Bromsen:
I think this is where my absurd side meets my melancholic indie-pop songwriter side. Somehow, my songs always carry both elements: a certain melancholy and a positive, uplifting energy.
“Parlin Papito” is obviously playful and strange on the surface, but underneath that there is still something emotional and human. I like the idea that a song can be silly, colourful and absurd, but still give people a feeling of warmth.
Tehillah:
Musically, Parlin Papito combines upbeat indie-pop energy, electronic textures, and melodic songwriting. How did you approach creating a sound that could capture the playful personality of Papito while still representing your own identity as a songwriter?
Karlo Bromsen:
Just like the storyline, the sound came together like a puzzle. It was built from very different pieces and impulses, and I think that had to be the case with this song. There was no big masterplan behind it.
I simply followed the energy of the character and the world around him. The track needed to feel playful, slightly chaotic and full of movement, but still melodic enough to carry my own songwriting identity. It is a strange little construction, but that is also what makes it feel alive to me.
Tehillah:
Your solo work has been described as feeling like the soundtrack to a forgotten Beat novel, filled with endless roads, surreal shadows, and faded poetry. What inspires this kind of dreamlike atmosphere in your music, and how do you translate abstract ideas and emotions into something listeners can experience?
Karlo Bromsen:
That description probably applies more strongly to some of the songs I have not released yet, but it is also part of my songwriting within Bromsen.
Often, it begins with a melody that appears in my head on a particular day. I then record it very quickly in Logic, often with improvised nonsense words or fragments of language. After that, I start developing it further. Quite often, pieces of that initial nonsense actually remain at the core of the final lyrics.
I like that process because it allows the subconscious to speak first. The meaning does not always come before the sound. Sometimes the sound opens the door, and the meaning follows later.
Tehillah:
The visual world surrounding Parlin Papito extends beyond a traditional music video through an ongoing TikTok mini-series that expands the character’s story episode by episode. What inspired you to create a larger universe around the song instead of treating the release as only a single piece of music?
Karlo Bromsen:
As I mentioned before, it simply comes from the special nature of this creation. Willi and I have so much fun developing the story further, adding little absurd side plots and seeing where the characters might go next.
So I would say the driving force is pure joy in telling nonsense — in the best possible sense. It is not a strategic content plan. It is more like opening a little door and discovering that there are many more strange rooms behind it.
Tehillah:
In an era where many productions rely heavily on polished and predictable formats, Parlin Papito embraces a handmade, DIY spirit through its character-driven visuals and unusual concept. How important is that sense of imperfection, creativity, and human touch in the way you create art?
Karlo Bromsen:
In this case, it simply had to be that way. I do not generally believe that everything always has to sound raw or unpolished. Sometimes a highly polished production can be exactly right.
But for “Parlin Papito”, the handmade and imperfect quality felt honest and necessary. It belongs to the character, to the video and to the whole spirit of the project. If it had been too perfect, I think something essential would have been lost.
Tehillah:
Storytelling has always been an important part of your artistic identity, but Parlin Papito takes that storytelling into the world of animation, characters, and visual imagination. How does creating a fictional character change the way you write music compared to writing from your own direct personal experiences?
Karlo Bromsen:
With some songs, including some Bromsen songs, a story slowly emerges — or at least something like a musical painting. There may be a personal emotional core, but it is often transformed into images, atmospheres or fragments.
With “Parlin Papito”, it was different. It felt more like throwing tomatoes at a canvas with great joy and then decorating the result a little afterwards. That may sound silly, but it is actually quite close to the spirit of the project. It is less controlled, more instinctive, and more willing to let absurdity lead the way.
Tehillah:
Every artist has moments where a creative idea unexpectedly grows into something larger than they originally imagined. During the development of Parlin Papito, was there a particular moment when you realized this was no longer just a song, but the beginning of a much bigger creative journey?
Karlo Bromsen:
Yes, I think that moment came when my son suddenly created Bumpo. He is such a wonderful, funny character. Once Bumpo appeared, it became clear that Papito’s world could keep expanding beyond the song itself.
That was probably the moment when I felt: okay, this is not just one track anymore. There is a whole little universe hiding here.
Tehillah:
As your first solo release, Parlin Papito represents an introduction to a new side of your artistry. How does this song reflect where you are creatively today compared to your previous work with Bromsen, and what new possibilities has this solo chapter opened for you?
Karlo Bromsen:
I try not to overthink that too much. At the moment, I just want to continue as long as it feels joyful and alive for us.
Bromsen is still a huge passion for me, so I do not see this as replacing anything. It is more like opening another window. We will see what comes next. There is that famous John Lennon quote about life happening while you are busy making other plans — and I think there is a lot of truth in that.
Tehillah:
Music has the ability to bring people back to feelings of curiosity, imagination, and simple joy. When listeners discover Parlin Papito and enter Papito’s strange little world for the first time, what emotions or memories do you hope they carry with them after experiencing the song?
Karlo Bromsen:
I hope the positive madness of the song blows a little bit of joy into the lives of the people it resonates with. And if there is already plenty of joy there, then we are happy to add another shovel on top.
That is really the most beautiful thing music can do sometimes: not explain the world, but make it feel a little lighter for a moment.
Tehillah:
Looking ahead, Papito’s world already feels like it has room to continue growing through more stories, visuals, and musical ideas. What future directions are you excited to explore with this project, and what kind of creative legacy do you hope to build through your solo work?
Karlo Bromsen:
Maybe one day Bumpo will get his own song — that would definitely be funny.
But honestly, I am not planning it too much. I prefer to let myself drift with it and see where the next strange idea takes us. That is part of the fun. The Papito world grew because we allowed it to grow naturally, and I would like to keep that spirit alive.
“Parlin Papito shows how a simple spark of imagination can grow into an entire universe, where music, family, and storytelling meet to create something wonderfully unexpected and deeply human.”
~ Tehillah (DULAXI Team)
MY EDITORIAL PERSPECTIVE
Parlin Papito introduces Karlo Bromsen’s solo world with a rare sense of curiosity and creative freedom. The release blends melodic songwriting, electronic textures, and visual storytelling into an experience that feels personal, playful, and naturally imaginative. Beyond its quirky character and surreal setting, the project highlights the emotional connection between creativity and family, showing how meaningful ideas can emerge from simple moments. Karlo’s willingness to embrace experimentation gives the song its unique identity while preserving the warmth and sincerity at the center of his artistry.
~ Tehillah (DULAXI Team)
CLOSING
Karlo, thank you for taking the time to share the story behind “Parlin Papito” with DULAXI and for giving us a deeper look into the creative process, imagination, and personal connection behind this unique project.
Through this conversation, you have shown how music can become a space where unexpected ideas, family experiences, storytelling, and artistic exploration come together naturally. Your journey with Papito reflects the beauty of allowing creativity to grow without forcing boundaries, and we appreciate the honesty and enthusiasm you brought to every answer.
For our readers, we encourage you to experience “Parlin Papito” and explore the imaginative world that Karlo Bromsen and Willi have created around this release. We look forward to seeing how Papito’s universe continues to develop and where Karlo’s evolving artistic journey takes him next.
Thank you for spending time with DULAXI, and we invite you to continue discovering more conversations, stories, and emerging artists through our future interviews.