KREAM: Living the Dream, One Set at a Time
- Roman Cigan
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
From the fjords of Norway to the floors of Ibiza — Daniel and Markus Slettebakken are building something that lasts.
Beginnings
There's something fitting about a duo built on brotherhood. KREAM — the Bergen-born pair of Daniel and Markus Slettebakken — didn't stumble into music. They grew into it together, shaped by the same record collections, the same rainy coastal mornings, and eventually the same studio instincts. By 2016 they were releasing original material, and by 2017 they had signed with Atlantic Records and Big Beat Records, a move that planted their flag firmly in the international house and electronic scene.
Their breakthrough came swiftly. "Taped Up Heart," featuring the ethereal vocals of Clara Mae, climbed to number 22 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart and has since clocked nearly 100 million streams on Spotify. For two brothers from Bergen, that's not a bad opening
Liquid Lab & Touring
If the pandemic froze most of the music industry, it thawed something creative in KREAM. With clubs shuttered and festivals cancelled, they launched LIQUID : LAB — a livestream series filmed at strikingly beautiful locations across Norway. Think dramatic fjords, modernist architecture carved into mountains, open-air stages with nothing but landscape for miles. What started as making the best of a strange situation became a defining part of their identity.
The Liquid Lab videos resonated far beyond Norway. Messages from fans across the world kept rolling in, and Daniel and Markus were genuinely moved by it all — touched, as Markus put it, by hearing from people in places they hadn't even played yet. It turns out showcasing Norway's scenery was also one of the best tourism ads the country never paid for.
Their live schedule has only grown since restrictions lifted. A highlight that clearly stuck with them — their first-ever show in Ibiza, playing alongside David Guetta at the legendary Hi Ibiza. "Holy shit," was roughly the review. Italy followed too, with the brothers performing for the first time in the country and discovering what anyone who's been there already knows: Italian crowds know exactly how to party.
Lifestyle
Ask KREAM what their dream looks like and the answer is disarmingly simple. "It's just to live out of our music forever," Daniel has said. "What we have right now is amazing and we just want to do that as long as we can." There's no ego in that. No world domination blueprint. Just two brothers who genuinely love what they do and want to keep doing it — playing for crowds who sing the words back, travelling to places that inspire them, and coming home to Bergen with new ideas.
That groundedness might be exactly why their music connects the way it does. It doesn't feel like it's chasing a trend — it feels like it was made by people who actually enjoy making it.
Collaborations, Inspirations & What's Next
Creatively, KREAM wear their influences openly. Swedish House Mafia, Gorgon City, and RÜFÜS DU SOL all get name-checked as touchstones — the latter specifically cited as a spark for the Liquid Lab concept after watching their iconic desert set during lockdown. Rather than copying, though, they're blending: "We try to make our own sound out of what they do. Total respect to them." That balance of admiration and originality runs through everything they release.
Their remix catalogue alone tells a rich story — spanning Tove Lo and Dua Lipa early on, through to The Weeknd, Deadmau5 & Frank Ocean, and Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill." More recently, their remix of ILLENIUM and HAYLA's "In My Arms," released in June 2025, has already surpassed 16 million streams on Spotify. It's one of our personal favourites — the kind of lift they give a track feels both inevitable and fresh.
Then there's "Wicked Game" — their reimagining of the Chris Isaak classic is their most-streamed track to date, now sitting at over 46 million plays. It's the kind of number that says something about the longevity of a good idea executed well. "Interstellar," meanwhile, has quietly racked up over 11 million streams on Spotify — spacious, cinematic, and unhurried, it showcases the more atmospheric, textural side of their sound that keeps listeners coming back.
With new material continuing to land in 2025 and 2026, KREAM show no signs of slowing down. Collabs with Goodboys, Camden Cox, and others suggest a duo that stays curious — reaching outward while staying true to something recognisably theirs. The dream is still very much alive. And if their trajectory says anything, it's that the best sets are still ahead.
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