Hello everyone, it’s your host Oliver from DULAXI, and today I’m delighted to be joined by Swedish songwriter and producer Kent Olsson, based in Västerås, Sweden. With more than four decades of experience across songwriting, production, film, theatre and other creative fields, Kent joins us to discuss his latest single, “Whole Parade”, released on October 23rd, 2026. Featuring Italian vocalist Jolie, the track brings together electro-swing, funk and contemporary pop, with bold brass arrangements, infectious rhythms and a playful theatrical character.
Before we begin our conversation with Kent, here’s what you need to know about today’s featured project.
About Kent Olsson
Kent Olsson is a Swedish songwriter and producer whose musical career spans more than 40 years. Based in Västerås, his work extends across film, theatre, games and tailor-made releases for artists worldwide. With a background in classical percussion, Kent has developed an approach to music that places considerable importance on rhythm, melody and storytelling. Rather than limiting himself to a particular genre, he builds compositions around the character of each song and the distinctive qualities of the vocalists involved. His creative philosophy centres on music as a dialogue and a shared emotional experience, allowing different musical influences and international collaborations to become part of a cohesive sound.
His latest release, “Whole Parade”, marks a playful new direction in his ongoing collaboration with Italian vocalist Jolie. The single follows three emotionally driven releases, “Replay”, “Access Denied” and “Lipstick on the Exit Sign”, which formed a connected trilogy titled The Art of Breaking Up. Having explored different stages of relationship breakdown through those releases, Kent decided it was time to change the emotional scenery. The starting point for the new song was the cheeky declaration, “I’m not a red flag, baby / I’m the whole parade.” Built around humour, exaggerated confidence and unapologetic individuality, the track explores the entertaining contradictions that make people who they are, without turning its message into a serious relationship statement.
Musically, “Whole Parade” combines the theatrical qualities of classic swing with the rhythmic drive of funk, energetic brass arrangements and contemporary pop influences. Kent’s background as a percussionist plays an important role in the production, where rhythm becomes part of the storytelling rather than simply providing accompaniment. Jolie’s performance brings the song’s personality to life, moving between elegance, confidence and playful provocation. Their creative relationship began with “Replay”, when Kent discovered that Jolie offered more than technical precision. Her personality, instinctive understanding of musical expression and ability to interpret a song helped establish a partnership that has continued to develop across four releases. Today, Kent increasingly writes with her voice and artistic character in mind.
The production of “Whole Parade” also reflects the international nature of their collaboration. While Kent developed the instrumental arrangement in his studio in Västerås, Sweden, Jolie recorded her vocals in Italy. Their remote working process involves exchanging musical ideas, vocal guides and recordings, allowing the final production to develop around the vocalist’s interpretation. Kent deliberately left certain elements of the arrangement open until Jolie’s recordings arrived, making room for adjustments to phrasing, harmonies, rhythmic accents and the interaction between the vocals and instruments. With more than four decades of creative experience behind him, Kent continues to explore new musical possibilities rather than settle into familiar patterns.
Having this brief introduction to today’s featured project, I’m sure both new listeners and longtime fans are excited to hear directly from Kent about his musical journey, creative philosophy and the story behind “Whole Parade”. So, without further ado, let’s begin today’s interview.
INTERVIEW SESSION
Oliver:
Kent, you have spent more than four decades writing and producing music across different fields, including film, theatre, games, and projects for other artists. Looking back, what first drew you to songwriting and production, and how has your understanding of what makes a song connect with people changed over the years?
Kent Olsson:
I started playing music back in the 1970s, and one of my earliest memories still makes me laugh.
I was about fourteen, playing drums in a rather ambitious progressive pop band. We had three guitarists, a keyboard player, a bassist, a singer and myself behind the drums. Not exactly a minimalist setup!
At one of our first public performances, I proudly invited my mother to come and listen to this exciting progressive music we were creating.
During the interval, she walked up to me and asked, in complete sincerity:
“So, when are you going to stop tuning your instruments?”
I suppose we were a little ahead of our time. At least as far as my mother was concerned!
But there’s actually something rather interesting about that story. When you’re young, you can become fascinated by complexity, unusual structures and everything music allows you to do. As the years pass, you begin to understand that musical complexity and emotional communication aren’t necessarily the same thing.
My background in classical percussion taught me a great deal about rhythm, structure and musical interaction. But more than fifty years later, I think I’ve learned that the most important question isn’t how complicated the music is.
It’s whether someone feels something when they hear it.
And I still love progressive music, by the way!
Oliver:
You describe music as a dialogue and a shared emotional experience. How has that belief shaped the way you work with different vocalists, particularly when you are creating music around someone else’s personality and interpretation?
Kent Olsson:
For me, a song isn’t really finished when I’ve written the melody and produced the arrangement. It’s finished when someone brings it to life.
I can create the musical environment, write every note and have a very clear idea of how the story should unfold. But a vocalist contributes something I can’t manufacture: an individual personality, emotional instincts and a unique way of communicating a phrase.
That’s why I don’t want singers simply to reproduce my demos. Those are guides, not instructions carved in stone.
The interesting things often happen when a singer interprets something differently from what I originally imagined.
It’s a dialogue, absolutely. And when it works, the result becomes something neither of us could have created independently.
Oliver:
Your collaboration with Jolie began when you were searching for the right voice for “Replay.” What was it about her performance that made you feel you had found more than just a technically capable singer, and how did that first experience influence the way you approached your future releases together?
Kent Olsson:
When I was looking for a vocalist for Replay, I wasn’t simply looking for someone who could sing the notes correctly. That’s the starting point, of course, but it isn’t what makes a performance memorable.
What struck me about Jolie was her ability to combine precision with personality. There was an emotional quality in her voice, a sense that she understood the story rather than merely performing the melody.
She can sound vulnerable without becoming fragile, and powerful without losing warmth. That’s a rather special combination.
Our first collaboration also established something very important: trust.
I could be extremely detailed about certain musical things, and she understood why those details mattered. At the same time, I learned that giving her room to interpret the music often made it better.
After that experience, I stopped thinking only about finding a voice for a song. I started imagining songs specifically for her voice.
Oliver:
You have now released four singles with Jolie, and you mention that you increasingly write with her voice and personality in mind. How has that creative relationship developed, and what can you now anticipate or understand about her artistic instincts when composing a new song?
Kent Olsson:
The biggest difference is that I now hear Jolie in my head while I’m writing.
I know something about how she approaches a phrase, where she can introduce a little attitude, how she handles sustained notes, and how much character she can put into a seemingly insignificant word.
That changes the composition itself.
With Whole Parade, for example, I knew the song needed someone who could be sophisticated, theatrical, slightly provocative and genuinely funny, sometimes within the same phrase.
I had a feeling Jolie could do that.
We’ve also developed a working relationship where we can discuss very small details without losing sight of the bigger picture. I can be rather obsessive about rhythm, vowels and consonants, but she knows it’s because I’m hearing how everything connects.
And she keeps surprising me. That’s important. The day I can predict absolutely everything she will do is probably the day I need to write something more challenging!
Oliver:
Your previous three releases, “Replay,” “Access Denied,” and “Lipstick on the Exit Sign,” formed The Art of Breaking Up trilogy. What did you want to explore through those different stages of a relationship ending, and was there a particular moment when you felt that story had reached its natural conclusion?
Kent Olsson:
I wanted to explore a breakup as a process rather than a single dramatic event.
Replay is about repetition. That strange emotional loop where you keep revisiting memories, conversations and moments, almost as if playing them again might somehow change the outcome.
Access Denied is the next stage. It’s about establishing boundaries, finding the strength to say no and finally refusing to remain trapped in that emotional cycle.
Then Lipstick on the Exit Sign brings a different energy. It’s about freedom, self-respect and rediscovering your own identity. There’s still emotion, but the sadness has gradually given way to confidence.
I wanted the trilogy to end with a smile rather than another broken heart.
By the time we completed Lipstick, the story had reached its natural conclusion. The door was closed.
Which, of course, meant I was free to make some noise on the other side of it!
Oliver:
After three emotionally charged songs about relationships coming to an end, you decided to change the emotional direction with “Whole Parade.” Was that shift something you had been considering for a while, or did the central idea arrive unexpectedly? What made humour and celebration feel like the right next step?
Kent Olsson:
After three songs dealing with emotional complications, I felt we’d earned the right to have a little fun.
I didn’t want to write a fourth chapter of the same story. The trilogy was complete, and repeating the formula would have been rather pointless.
The idea behind Whole Parade appealed to me because it turned the emotional perspective completely upside down. Instead of someone trying to understand what went wrong in a relationship, we have someone who’s fully aware that they might be part of the problem and decides to make a spectacular entrance anyway.
There’s something wonderfully absurd about that.
Musically, it also gave me permission to be playful, theatrical and a little outrageous.
After three songs about leaving, perhaps it was time for someone to arrive. Preferably accompanied by a brass band.
Oliver:
The line “I’m not a red flag, baby – I’m the whole parade” gives the song an immediate sense of character. What inspired that particular phrase, and how did you develop it into a larger personality or story rather than simply using it as a catchy chorus line?
Kent Olsson:
I love the absurd escalation in that line.
A red flag is supposed to be a warning, something you should probably pay attention to. But here we have a character who takes that warning and turns it into an entire public celebration.
Not just a flag. A whole parade!
Once I had that idea, the personality of the song became quite clear. This isn’t someone quietly apologising for being complicated. It’s someone arriving with lip gloss, a brass band and absolutely no intention of being inconspicuous.
The trick was to make the character entertaining rather than simply arrogant.
I wanted listeners to smile because they recognise something familiar in that exaggerated personality. We all know someone who can turn a perfectly ordinary situation into a major production.
And perhaps, occasionally, we recognise a little of ourselves.
Oliver:
There is a playful contradiction at the heart of the song: the character seems fully aware of their flaws but chooses to embrace them with confidence. What does that attitude say about personality and self-acceptance, and how did you keep the humour from becoming a straightforward relationship statement?
Kent Olsson:
I think the most interesting people are rarely the ones who fit neatly into a description.
We’re all collections of contradictions. We can be confident and insecure, generous and selfish, sensible and completely ridiculous, sometimes all before lunch.
The character in Whole Parade takes those contradictions to an extreme.
But I don’t see the song as a recommendation to ignore warning signs in relationships. That would rather miss the joke!
It’s more of a theatrical exaggeration of self-awareness. The character knows exactly what they’re like and has decided to turn it into a performance.
Humour allows you to explore those contradictions without becoming preachy.
I wanted the song to feel like a mischievous wink rather than a moral statement.
Oliver:
Musically, “Whole Parade” brings together electro-swing, funk, pop, brass arrangements, and theatrical energy. What led you towards this combination, and how did you decide which elements should take the lead in shaping the song’s identity?
Kent Olsson:
I rarely begin a composition by deciding which genre it should belong to.
Usually, I hear a musical idea, a rhythm, a phrase or a particular atmosphere, and then I start building the world around it.
With Whole Parade, the personality of the lyrics practically demanded a certain amount of musical extravagance.
The brass arrangements became an essential part of that identity. They don’t simply decorate the song; they’re almost characters themselves, responding to the vocals and adding another layer of humour.
The electro-swing elements provide that slightly theatrical, retro-inspired movement, while the funk gives the production its physical groove.
The pop elements hold everything together and keep the melody immediately accessible.
The challenge was balancing all those influences without making the arrangement feel overcrowded.
I wanted a musical parade, certainly. But even a parade needs some traffic control.
Oliver:
You have mentioned that your background as a percussionist strongly influences your production, with rhythm often playing a part in the storytelling. How did that approach shape the groove of “Whole Parade,” and what did you want listeners to feel physically when the song begins?
Kent Olsson:
Rhythm has always been more than a technical component for me. It creates expectation, tension, release and movement.
My percussion background probably makes me unusually sensitive to how different rhythmic elements interact.
In Whole Parade, I wanted the groove to feel confident and slightly cheeky. There’s a relationship between the rhythmic foundation, the brass accents and the vocal phrasing that gives the music its character.
It’s not just about maintaining a beat. It’s about making those elements talk to one another.
A tiny rhythmic displacement can completely change the attitude of a phrase. Sometimes moving an accent is more effective than adding another instrument.
And physically? I wanted people to start moving before they’d even made a conscious decision to do so.
If your shoulders start responding to the music while your brain is still figuring out what’s happening, I’m quite happy!
Oliver:
Jolie’s vocal performance moves between elegance, confidence, and playful provocation. What conversations or creative direction helped her find the right character for this song, and were there particular moments in her recording that changed how you heard the composition?
Kent Olsson:
I think Jolie understood the personality of the song remarkably quickly.
I wanted her to approach it almost as an actress would approach a character. The performance needed confidence and elegance, but also that little spark of irony that tells the listener she’s perfectly aware of how outrageous the whole thing is.
We discussed the musical details, of course, and I provided a fairly developed vocal guide. But the guide was never supposed to limit her interpretation.
What I particularly enjoyed was how she brought attitude into the phrasing without sacrificing musical precision.
There were also tiny details in the chorus that we worked on together. A particular rhythmic accent, the way a consonant lands, or the length of a sustained word can affect how the entire arrangement responds.
Those things may sound insignificant, but they aren’t.
And when the final vocals arrived, I was genuinely delighted. She’d found exactly that mixture of sophistication and mischief I had hoped for.
Oliver:
You developed the production in your studio in Västerås while Jolie recorded her vocals in Italy. How do you manage the creative exchange across two countries, and what advantages or challenges come with building a song remotely rather than working together in the same studio?
Kent Olsson:
Technology makes international collaboration remarkably straightforward, but it still depends on communication and trust.
I work from my studio in Västerås, Sweden, while Jolie records in Italy. We exchange arrangements, vocal guides, recordings and detailed feedback.
I generally provide a fairly complete musical framework, so she understands not only the melody but also the emotional direction and the relationship between her vocals and the arrangement.
One advantage of working remotely is that both of us have time to reflect. You can listen again, consider alternatives and return to a particular detail with fresh ears.
Of course, you lose some of the immediate interaction that happens when two people are in the same room.
But we’ve developed a process that works extremely well for us.
And I must say, there’s something rather wonderful about recording a song across Europe and feeling as though you’ve been working in the same studio all along.
Oliver:
You explained that you deliberately left parts of the arrangement open until Jolie’s vocals arrived. How much of the final production changed once you heard her interpretation, and could you share an example of a vocal detail that led you to rethink or adjust the instrumental arrangement?
Kent Olsson:
This is a very important part of my approach.
I don’t necessarily want to finish every instrumental detail before recording the vocalist, because the voice is supposed to be the narrator. Everything else is scenery.
With Whole Parade, I had a clear idea of the musical architecture, but I intentionally left certain decisions until I could hear Jolie’s interpretation.
A good example is the rhythmic relationship between the chorus vocals and the instrumental responses.
Sometimes the slightest difference in how a singer phrases a line changes the amount of space the arrangement needs around it.
It’s not always about making dramatic changes. It can mean adjusting an accent, refining the timing of an instrumental response or simply allowing a vocal phrase a little more room.
I spend a surprising amount of time on details like that.
My general rule is that if an instrument isn’t supporting the story, the groove or the performance, it needs to justify its existence.
Oliver:
Your process begins with piano melodies and temporary vocal sketches before the final vocal recordings are completed. How do you move from that early songwriting stage to a finished production, and how do you decide when the many small details in a track are finally working together?
Kent Olsson:
The melody usually begins at the piano or the guitar. I play the notes and record them as MIDI and gradually develop the harmonic and rhythmic structure around them.
I also test the phrasing and prosody by singing myself, although I should probably explain why those recordings will never see the light of day.
Many years ago, I was working as a session drummer for a well-known artist. At one point, the bandleader, who was also the bassist, instructed me to sing backing vocals.
Apparently, my contribution wasn’t quite what he had imagined.
During the performance, he actually walked over to my drum kit, still playing his bass, and quietly removed my microphone.
I think that tells you everything you need to know about my personal abilities in the mysterious black art of singing!
Fortunately, I’m considerably more comfortable on the other side of the microphone.
Once the real vocals have been recorded, I spend a great deal of time editing, comping, refining timing and sometimes even adjusting individual vowels and consonants. Tiny details can have a remarkable impact on the rhythm and emotional expression of a performance.
Knowing when to stop is probably one of the hardest parts of production.
Eventually, all those technical details should disappear, and you should simply hear a song.
That’s when I know I’m getting close.
Oliver:
You have written music for several different settings, from film and theatre to games and individual artists. Does working across these areas influence the way you approach a standalone pop release, and do you find yourself thinking visually or theatrically when building a song such as “Whole Parade”?
Kent Olsson:
Absolutely. I think visually almost all the time when composing.
Working with music for film and other dramatic settings teaches you to consider not only what the audience hears but also what they imagine, anticipate and feel.
A song can have characters, scenes, dramatic tension and even a kind of visual editing, despite existing entirely as sound.
With Whole Parade, the theatrical imagery was practically unavoidable.
I could imagine the flags, the brass band, the exaggerated gestures and the character making a grand entrance.
The production became a way of staging that imaginary scene.
But I think the same principle applies to my more emotional compositions. Sometimes the most powerful moment is when almost nothing happens.
Silence can be just as important as a full orchestra.
And that’s something I’ve carried with me from dramatic music into songwriting.
Oliver:
You have said that you are less interested in fitting neatly into a genre and more interested in finding the right musical identity for each song. Has that freedom become more important to you with experience, and how do you balance experimentation with the need to create something immediately engaging for listeners?
Kent Olsson:
I think that freedom has become more important with every year.
I’ve never been particularly interested in limiting myself to one musical category. My background has taken me through many styles, and I enjoy exploring what happens when different musical ideas meet.
For me, the song determines the production, not the other way around.
Of course, that doesn’t mean experimentation should become an excuse for losing the listener.
A strong melody, a compelling rhythm or a genuine emotional connection still matters enormously.
I enjoy complexity, but I don’t believe the listener should have to work hard to appreciate it.
Some of the most sophisticated musical decisions are the ones nobody notices.
At this stage in my life, I certainly don’t want to become a museum of my own habits.
There’s far too much music left to explore.
Oliver:
Jolie shared a memorable reaction to the track, saying it was stuck in her head and had taken out a lease in her mind. What was your reaction to that comment, and does it capture the kind of connection or response you hoped the song would create?
Kent Olsson:
I laughed!
Jolie has a wonderful way of expressing herself, and that comment was absolutely perfect.
If a song has taken out a lease in the mind of the person who recorded it, I suppose that’s a fairly encouraging sign!
But there was another reaction that made me particularly happy.
My mastering engineer for Whole Parade, Henrik Heinrich at Nevo Studios in Sundsvall, Sweden, is normally a man of very few words when it comes to my music.
He simply gets on with his own mysterious black art, works his magic on the recording and returns the finished master. No unnecessary commentary.
But this time, when he sent back the mastered version of Whole Parade, he included four words:
“This is a banger.”
Coming from Henrik, that was almost the equivalent of a standing ovation!
And yes, both reactions captured exactly what I hoped to achieve with the song.
I wanted something immediate, entertaining and memorable. A song that makes you smile, perhaps start moving a little, and then refuses to leave your head.
Apparently, we now have at least two satisfied tenants!
Oliver:
Your work is primarily focused on songwriting, composition, and studio production rather than maintaining a traditional touring schedule. How do you approach connecting with listeners and building an audience around your releases when the studio and international collaborations remain at the centre of your work?
Kent Olsson:
The studio is really my instrument these days.
I’m primarily interested in composing, arranging and producing music, and working with talented people who can bring those compositions to life.
That means my relationship with an audience develops somewhat differently from that of an artist who spends most of the year performing live.
Digital platforms, music publications, interviews and social media give me opportunities to reach people in places I might never visit.
I also put considerable effort into presenting each release properly, including its visual identity and the story behind the music.
Of course, reaching an audience as an independent artist is challenging. There’s an enormous amount of music being released, and attention is a limited resource.
But I’ve never believed that chasing attention should become more important than creating something worth listening to.
I’d rather have someone discover a song, genuinely connect with it and return to it than simply generate another passing impression.
Oliver:
Now that “Whole Parade” has taken the collaboration with Jolie beyond the emotional storyline of The Art of Breaking Up, what new possibilities has this release opened up for you both? Are there musical styles or creative ideas you would particularly like to explore together next?
Kent Olsson:
I think Whole Parade has demonstrated something very encouraging: our collaboration doesn’t depend on a particular musical style or emotional atmosphere.
The trilogy had a strong narrative identity, but Whole Parade allowed us to step outside that world and explore something much more playful.
And Jolie handled that transition beautifully.
That opens up all sorts of possibilities.
I can imagine exploring further theatrical elements, different rhythmic styles or perhaps something much more intimate and stripped back.
I wouldn’t want to decide too much in advance.
One of the pleasures of writing music is that a composition occasionally takes you somewhere you weren’t expecting to go.
Whatever comes next, I think the important thing is that both of us remain curious.
And I’m certainly not finished challenging her voice!
Oliver:
After more than forty years in music, what still excites you about starting a new composition, and what would you like listeners to understand about the creative person behind Kent Olsson when they hear “Whole Parade” and your wider body of work?
Kent Olsson:
The extraordinary thing is that after all these years, the beginning of a new composition still feels like an adventure.
I can sit down at the piano, play a few notes and suddenly hear the beginning of something that didn’t exist five minutes earlier.
That feeling has never disappeared.
I think what continues to fascinate me is the possibility of creating an emotional world out of something as abstract as sound.
Sometimes that world is melancholy, sometimes cinematic, sometimes almost painfully intimate.
And sometimes it’s a woman arriving with an entire brass band, announcing that she isn’t merely a red flag but the whole parade.
I don’t see any contradiction in that.
If there’s one thing I’d like listeners to understand about my work, it’s that every composition begins with genuine curiosity and a desire to communicate something.
I care enormously about the craft, the melodies, the arrangements and all those tiny details that most people will never consciously notice.
But ultimately, none of that matters unless the music makes someone feel something.
After more than fifty years, I’m still curious about what the next four bars might become.
And I hope I always will be.
“With ‘Whole Parade’, Kent Olsson reminds us that musical curiosity has no obligation to behave itself. Sometimes, all a great song needs is a bold idea, the right voice and a brass band ready to make an entrance.”
~ Oliver (DULAXI Team)
EDITORIAL PERSPECTIVE
What makes “Whole Parade” particularly interesting is the way its musical arrangement reflects the personality of its central character. The interplay between the brass sections, rhythmic foundations and Jolie’s expressive vocals gives the composition a distinctive theatrical identity. Kent’s decision to leave room for her interpretation also highlights the importance of collaboration in his production process. Beyond its playful lyrics, the single demonstrates how contrasting influences can work together when every musical element serves a clear creative purpose.
~ Oliver (DULAXI Team)
CLOSING
A special thank you to Kent Olsson for taking the time to share the stories, experiences and creative thinking behind his music with us. From his early beginnings as a young percussionist to more than four decades of songwriting and production, this conversation has offered a closer look at the curiosity, attention to detail and collaborative spirit that continue to shape his work.
It has also been fascinating to learn more about his creative partnership with Jolie and how their musical direction has evolved from the emotionally connected The Art of Breaking Up trilogy into the more playful territory of “Whole Parade”.
For readers who haven’t experienced the single yet, we encourage you to give it a listen and discover the colourful combination of electro-swing, funk, pop and theatrical expression for yourselves. You can also follow Kent’s journey through the links provided below to stay connected with his future releases and musical projects.
Thank you for joining us for another DULAXI interview. We appreciate your continued support and look forward to bringing you more conversations with talented artists and creative minds from around the world.
Until next time, keep discovering new music and supporting the artists who make it possible.