With the release of Yue, his second album, Felix Sandman takes listeners on an intimate journey of self-discovery, anxiety, and transformation. Drawing inspiration from past struggles, relationships, and the ever-present symbolism of the moon, the album marks a turning point in his artistry. In this interview, he opens up about his creative process, the shift in his musical direction, and what’s next—including upcoming live shows, acting projects, and his dreams of venturing beyond Earth.

Congratulations on releasing your second album “Yue”, can you share the inspiration behind the album?
Thank you! I would say that the mental state that I was in, because of past experiences and how I lived my life in a very bad way at the time, was one half of the inspiration. My interests, my relationships and the moon was the second half. Throughout the album, the moon remains a constant reference, symbolizing the search for a guiding light in times of darkness. Yue chronicles my anxiety and reflects on the expectations both I and other people have of me. I write about how I wonder what a person is without a purpose, while trying to find myself in the noise of the surrounding world. The introspective essence of the ”Sandy Karlo” part of the album puts forth a more subdued side of me. The other part picks up the pace a little bit. The isolating anxiety transforms into a more reactive quest for my new self, for love, and finally landing on self acceptance. Even if the melancholy is still present, the aura gets a bit more playful and the sound is based on live recorded instruments. Especially on the focus track Nylon.

Why is the album called “Yue”?
Yue translates to ‘moon’ in Chinese. Since the moon, in all its different shapes and forms, was the leading symbol of the album, and the fact that I love Chinese and Japanese culture, made it the obvious choice. Also, my favorite character from Avatar: The Last Airbender is named Yue. She sacrifices her soul to give back the light that was stolen from the moon.

Space seems to be a big source of inspiration for you, would you like to travel to space? If yes why and if no why?
Haha, I guess space is a big source of inspiration. I could go to space. I feel like I’m one of those humans they talk about when they talk about humanity and how we’ve always looked up among the stars and wondered what lies beyond… that might be an ”Interstellar” quote haha. But yeah I mean, it would be awesome, a once in a lifetime feeling of not being stuck on this earth, feeling zero gravity. Imagine setting foot on the moon or another planet, that has to be the biggest adventure we can go on.

Your ep marked a new musical direction for you, how did that change come about?
After being forced to stay away from music because of my mental state and the fact that I didn’t want to do it anymore, I could only focus on recovery (and some acting). After almost two years I slowly started to feel that the time off was life saving and necessary. It made me see things differently and made me realize the changes I had to make in my life. It also gave spark to the idea of making music again, but in a completely new way. Without compromise, with respect to the creative process, with full focus on exploring my potential within the genres I’ve always identified with and the passion of creating a full body of work. Basically doing stuff that I actually like, that will get me somewhere, rather than the soul draining- fake ”good exposure” bullshit. That was the only way I could do it again. So I called my friend and producer David Husberg and asked him if he wanted to take time and explore with me in the studio. That led to the creation of Sandy Karlo.

You’re doing a concert at Kägelbanan in Stockholm in March, what does the preparations before a gig like that look like?
We played a show at Way Out West last summer. Before that show we produced, or created, the whole tour setup. We build the stage design, program the light show, make live arrangements for all the songs, maybe pick out some drip to wear for the show and then rehearse it all. The WOW show was crazy, so now before the show in Stockholm we just have to rehearse the songs a little bit to freshen up the memory, and of course do a shit ton of marketing to make people buy tickets.

You also act, what are the biggest differences between acting and creating music and performing?
They go pretty well with each other. In music, I play the different characters of myself. Right now I’m Sandy Karlo, in everything I create, from the lyrics to the music production, from the visual expression to the public output and live performances. In film, I play the characters of others. Although that’s a different feeling, it kind of works the same way and has the same depth to it. I would say that the biggest difference between them is that when I work with film, I don’t have to be involved in- or responsible for every department’s contribution to the final product. With my music career, I’m literally involved in everything. So if I’m only working as an actor in a production, it can sometimes be a nice break for me.

You have a strong and devoted fan-base, what do they mean to you?
The fans obviously mean the world to me. Any person who appreciates what I do and what I create will always hold a special place in my heart. They are the ones who make it possible for me to work with- and live off of my passion. My favorite part of the job is playing shows, hearing people sing along to the lyrics and feeling how connected they are to it. Or when people talk to me about how my music has helped or inspired them and maybe ask a funny question about something that you only ask when you’ve really analyzed the stuff I put out. All that is so special. The only thing my fan-base needs to work on is growing in size, I need more shows because the money is starting to run out haha. I spent it all on this album haha!

What comes next? Will you tour or do any other big projects this year?
Yue is just the start. Yue is my confidence. Yue is my gateway to endless possibilities. There will be videos, there might be different events, there will be live shows. There will also be more music, even though I feel like Yue is one of the best albums to come out of Sweden in a long time, there will be even better music to come. I’m working on a new series and a movie as well. I’m optimistic about the future.