Stockholm-based Petter Nordkvist may be only 20 years old, but that hasn’t held him back from making a lasting impression in dance music circles the world over. In the few short years he’s been making music, he’s caught the ears of many, including Sasha, Laurent Garnier, Josh Wink and James Holden – the latter of which has already signed Petter to his label, Border Community. Petter has already making quite a name for himself with his DJ sets as well as his original productions, and so it should come as little surprise that he’s been given a chance to tour Australia, with stops in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.

As a youth, Petter found much inspiration in Stockholm’s world-class underground music scene. “The main reason I got into the whole electronic music thing was probably because of the Swedish techno giants at the time – Adam Beyer, Cari Lekebusch, Jesper Dahlb„ck, and Joel Mull,” he says. “I managed to sneak into this legendary warehouse venue in Stockholm called ‘Docklands’ when I was 14 or 15. There was Adam and Cari doing the world-premiere of their new liveshow, and it was just the coolest thing I had ever seen and heard. And eventually I decided to have a crack at producing myself.”

Petter cites Border Community label boss James Holden as the first one to pay serious attention to his work. “As he’s been one of my favorite producers for ages, his support meant loads, and is one of the reasons I stuck with producing,” he says. “His whole punky attitude towards it – ‘anyone with good ideas and a computer can write cool tracks’ – I liked that.”

Another major player to pay early attention to Petter’s work was Sasha, who included a version Petter’s “These Days” on his groundbreaking artist-album/compilation hybrid Involver in 2004. “I suppose someone sent him ‘These Days’”, Petter offers when asked about Sasha’s interest in his work. So is Petter a Sasha fan? Not particularly, it would seem. “I don’t really know much of his music,” he says, “and what I have heard hasn’t really been my cup of tea.”

Unlike many producers, who seem to use DJing as nothing more than a prop for showcasing their productions, Petter is quickly gaining respect as a quality DJ in his own right. “I put a lot of effort into finding records I really like,” he says. “I don’t just download the top 10 off Beatport like many seem to do.” So is there a particular style, genre or theme that Petter could use to describe the style of music he plays? “I don’t know what name to put on the stuff I play, but there are sure to be mental bass lines, odd grooves and harmonies in there.”

Petter’s talents as both a DJ and producer give him a wide range of possibilities in terms of how he constructs his live appearances – DJing at some appearances, and playing live sets at others. “The live set is sort of planned out,” Petter explains.” I have the separate parts from my tracks, and I layer and arrange them while I play.” For live sets, Petter’s set up is fairly straightforward: “Ableton Live, a new fun midi-controller with knobs, sliders and drumpads.”

So how just how do his DJ sets differ? “With DJing it is easier to adapt to different crowds I suppose,” he concedes. “I would never play something I don’t like, just for the sake of pleasing a certain crowd. But I think I have enough music and varied taste to get people with different tastes going.”

I ask Petter if there are any particular artists that have caught his ear of late, or if there are any artists making music that is similar to or compatible with his. “Anyone with a bit of personality and character really,” he says. “I like how some producers personalities are reflected in their music. For example Tomas Andersson, he is a quirky, funny guy and you can really hear it in his music.”

And so, on the eve of his first-ever visit to Australian shores, are there any thoughts or plans in particular other than his booked appearances? “I’m very much looking forward to it,” he says. “My goal is to pet a wombat and/or spot a kangaroo in the wild.”

Petter tours Australia for the very first time in September, be sure to catch him at the following venues:

22nd Sep – Sweetchilli, Sydney
23rd Sep – Darkbeat, Melbourne
29th Sep – Sugar, Adelaide