It’s not every day that a musical group chooses to disband at the
height of its success. It’s even rarer in the world of electronic dance
music (EDM), where several of the major (and aging) stars are riding a
second wave of fame as the scene has taken off in the U.S. just in the
last few years. But Swedish House Mafia, a trio of DJs and electronic
music producers that has put out some of the genre’s biggest hits and
broken unprecedented barriers for electronic music, announced in June
that it would split up after one final tour.
This weekend, Steve Angello, one third of Swedish House Mafia (along
with DJs Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso), performed solo in Central Park,
with opening acts from his own recording label, Size Records. Sitting
in his trailer before he went on stage, Mr. Angello took a break from
coordinating the special effects for his set to assure Speakeasy that he
has no regrets about parting ways with his fellow Mafiosi—it was the
only way to prevent wearing out the fans and retain creative control:
“It becomes a big machine, it’s kind of hard to contain it sometimes
because it’s just becoming a monster,” he said. “This was the best
decision we could have done and I think that it opens up a lot of
opportunities for us.”
The group isn’t slowing down just yet:
On Monday they announced the stops on a sweeping final world tour
that kicks off in November in Dubai and stops in New York for two
nights in March before closing in Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale Sept.
28, and Mr. Angello will release a new single “Yeah” on Sept. 29. In the
meantime, the 29-year-old Angello—who says that after 1,600 shows he
feels more like 60—is fostering the careers of the artists on his label,
something he envisions as his full-time job a decade from now when he
can’t imagine performing. Indeed, he said, DJs who run their own labels
are the modern version of the record executives of a bygone era, and he
hopes to have a say in what the kids are listening to in the future.
As for the outdoor venue, Mr. Angello said his management team had
him at “Central Park”: “I didn’t even read the whole email before I said
yes,” he said. And even though the weather didn’t hold up for his
performance, Mr. Angello embraced the downpour, stepping out of the
spotlight on the DJ booth and into the rain with the fans towards the
end of his set. After all, showcasing his label in New York felt a lot
like playing to a hometown crowd, he said.
Excerpts from our interview with Mr. Angello:
The last time we spoke, you were in Miami getting ready to
perform with Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso at your signature party,
Masquerade Motel. What’s life like after Swedish House Mafia?
It’s not over yet. Monday we’ll reveal the world tour, and then after that it’s over.
Over over? No reunion show next year?
That’s what’s in the pipeline.
Was splitting up a hard decision for you?
Yeah, it’s always a hard decision to split something but at the same
time, we would never have gone out on a world tour unless we had decided
that we were going to stop. So it’s sad, but at the same time, it’s
very intriguing, we’re looking forward to it. We’re going to all these
places around the world that we would never ever do. You’ve got to shake
things up a little bit. It’s a hard decision, and the longer it goes,
you think about it and it’s pretty sad. But at the same time, we did
that decision. And I think it’s right.
Was the breakup a long time coming, something the three of you talked about for a while?
Not really, we never talk about stuff for a while. We’re never too
far ahead of the planning and stuff. We just felt, we don’t want to
overdo it, and we don’t want to repeat ourselves in doing the same
things all the time. Dance music is becoming like a supermarket today.
It’s like everybody’s doing everything all the time. And I think that,
in the long run, can cause a bit of problems for the scene because
you’re overdoing it. DJs are not like bands. And I think that the bands
figured out in the ‘50s that touring and making albums at the same time
weren’t a good option, so they said, let’s go on tour for six months and
then we’ll take two years off. But that’s why they last for 30 years.
The difference with a dance artist is, the artists today come here six,
seven times a year, which makes it boring. It would be more special if I
hadn’t been in New York for a year, and then I play this, and then next
I wait for another year. You can’t just come and do the same thing over
and over and over again. We did Madison Square Garden, and then next
time we come back, if we come back, we would do something different.
You had a great year—Masquerade Motel, a sold-out show in
Madison Square Garden. Was it about calling it quits while you’re at the
top?
I just think we’ve done so much amazing stuff. I mean we did Milton
Keynes Bowl in London, 65,000 tickets, it was the biggest ever DJ show.
So we’ve done some amazing shows, and I just think, what’s next? What’s
after Milton Keynes Bowl? We’ve done that—what are we going to do next,
take a space shuttle? You don’t want to repeat yourself.
You’re still going to be performing, though, right?
I mean, I’m super active touring. And the shows are just getting
bigger and bigger on the solo platform. So, we’re still going to go for
it, obviously. It becomes a big machine, it’s kind of hard to contain it
sometimes because it’s just becoming a monster. This was the best
decision we could have done and I think that it opens up a lot of
opportunities for us. Then we can go all in on all the shows we’re going
to do. So for us, it’s something positive in the negative.
So you might do a reunion show once in a while?
I have no idea. We never plan anything. If we get back in 10 years
and say, let’s do a DJ show, why not? But nothing’s ever talked about.
We take one thing at a time. We’re not products. We’re not signed to a
record label to become the next big pop artist that dies after 10 years.
I’ve done this since I was 12; I’m turning 30.
The concert tonight is showcasing your label, Size Records.
Several major DJs have their own labels now—what does it mean for you to
have your own label?
This is a label picnic in the park. I started my label 10 years ago,
and back then, it was still vinyl. So for us starting a label, it was a
big risk, because it cost a lot of money to put out the record. Every
record we were going to print on vinyl cost me at least 5000 pounds, so
there was bigger risk involved—it wasn’t, here’s a download link. Being
part of other people’s careers and seeing them grow as artists and
seeing them succeed makes me happier than seeing myself succeed. It’s
kind of like bringing up your own kid.
Are you more interested in fostering the artists on your label than performing yourself?
Yeah, I just enjoy it a lot. I think eventually I’ll retire and just
do that. I don’t want to be there in 10 years and do this [performing].
I’m pretty tired. I just feel like cutting down a little bit, maybe do
some shows, but I don’t see myself in 10 years doing 200 shows a year,
traveling all over the world. I have kids. It changes your life, in a
good way. I’d rather spend a Saturday night with my baby girl than being
tired at an airport.
Do you feel like you and other DJs that run their own labels have a say in the future of dance music and what it sounds like?
There’s no better portal than if you’re a successful artist to
showcase what you love. We have millions of fans and we can influence
them and show them what we like. It’s like it used to be back in the
days, when record execs ran labels and they influenced the crowd. That’s
like us.
So do you think the electronic music scene is becoming more like the traditional record industry?
Yeah I would like it to go back to that. I would like us to have even
more influence and be able to be independent. I think it’s time for all
these independent labels to step it up and give it all—take more risks,
not only sign the big records and to really showcase your style. If I
like a techno record, I’ll put out a techno record. We produce
everything—anything I like I’ll put out. I think it’s a good portal just
to kind of mirror off what I like to all these young kids. Because a
lot of people growing up, they don’t have any idea. So they look at us
and start following our labels and then they start getting into it. And I
think that’s the good part about being a DJ and being a label owner,
the fans are there for you and they stay with you.
Credit : WSJ Online
One year ago Swedish House Mafia was
still, well, Swedish House Mafia. And the industry’s biggest supergroup
had once called the industry’s biggest festival home. On the brink of
the ninth annual Tomorrowland,
rewind a mere 365 days back towards the trio’s 2012 closing set.
Axwell, Ingrosso, and Angello had brought their familiar originals and
mash ups to a climactic setting to Belgium, testing showtime antics on a
massive crowd before doing so on their One Last Tour. Relive Swedish
House Mafia’s last Tomorrowland set and catch them mafioso by mafioso at
the festival grounds this weekend.
