Dr. Dre turned up at LIGHT nightclub while hosting a star-studded after party which included Will.i.am. Kendrick Lamar also partied the night away and rocked the crowd. Check out more pics below. Ethan Miller/WireImages Continue reading →
Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello recall some of their favorite songs in their-three year career. By Akshay Bhansali Swedish House Mafia’s Axwell Photo: MTV News
EDM trio kick off explosive two-day fest at Miami Music Week with help from heavy-hitting openers like Thomas Gold and Calvin Harris. By Akshay Bhansali Fans at Ultra Music Festival 2012 Photo: Getty Images MIAMI — On Friday, Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello — the trio also known as Swedish House Mafia — gave fans at Miami Music Week an event to remember. Their two-hour-plus spectacle at Grand Central Park featured stadium-style house music with a backdrop of pyrotechnics and fireworks. Add to that the dazzling graphics bouncing off five enormous LED screens, and it was clear that SHM had accomplished an impressive high mark that won’t be easy match on Saturday night (March 24), when the event kicks off its second day. MTV News caught up with the Swedes just before their set and they talked to us about the long road to their massively successful Masquerade Motel mini-festival. “We’ve done it again,” Angello raved. “For [us], to go out there and enjoy our own party, which is something like this [in scale], it’s amazing to be here.” Last year’s tented, single-day Masquerade party on South Beach “was amazing,” Angello added, “And the year before that was amazing; we’ve come a very long way.” Lined with palm trees, tall office buildings and residential apartments, Grand Central Park had the vibe of being isolated from the rest of Miami, and that made a party filled with 10,000 SHM fans feel intimate. But before the trio even took the stage, a spectacular lineup of opening acts did more than warm up the crowd. Asked about the all-stars preceding them, Seb, Ax and Steve beamed with pride. “We have NO_ID,” Axwell said of the Dutch duo newly signed to his Axtone Records imprint. “We just think that they have a really interesting sound, which is kind of like chunky-groovy-sexy house, so it complements what we are doing very well. Otto Knows is also here. “[Otto is] a young kid from Sweden, one of my really close friends,” Ingrosso chimed in. “He’s like my little brother. We are starting to make music and he just released his first single ever. “Thomas Gold is here,” Axwell added. “Alesso, a guy called Calvin Harris . “Yeah, I don’t know if you know him,” Ingrosso chuckled with a knowing nod to Harris’ accolades on the EDM scene and, most recently, for his work with Rihanna. “Yeah, he’s another guy we found,” Angello joked. “No, Rihanna found him!” Axwell laughed. “He’s always been very interesting and doing creative stuff. By the time the Swedes took their positions behind the decks, it was clear 10,000 screaming fans were ready to take the party to the next level. Just as they’ve done on their last two Stateside Masquerades, they launched into the organ-laden edit of Ax & Sebastian’s “Together”; they followed that with latest hit single, “Greyhound,” marking the song’s drop with a fireworks display. What followed was a clever series of mixes of some of the most popular anthems of the last six months. Among them were Axwell’s edit of Michael Calfan’s “Resurrection” mixed into Fedde Le Grand’s remix of “Paradise,” and “Antidote,” which was given a pyro burst. The crowd went mental when Dirty South and Usual Suspects’ “Walking Alone” was blended perfectly with SHM’s “Miami 2 Ibiza” “That’s right, Miami, it is straight appreciation for ‘Miami 2 Ibiza,’ ” Ax told the crowd. “We realize that are a lot of parties this week and we definitely feel honored that you’ve come to us this week!” SHM also treated fans to set staples, including “Troll” ; Nari & Milani’s “Atom”; Ingrosso, Alesso and Ryan Tedder’s “Calling (Lose My Mind)”; Deniz Koyu’s remix of “Dangerous”; and SHM’s remix of Coldplay’s “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall.” “Are you making new friends?” Axwell asked the partygoers. “Maybe some from the opposite gender? Maybe falling in love? For sure, we are falling love. The Swedish House Mafia loves you guys. Thank you for coming down!” But one of the most unexpected gems of the night came at the very end, when fans got to hear a cook-up Axwell told MTV News in our pre-set chat that he couldn’t wait to play: The SHM/Laidback Luke collabo “Leave the World Behind” (featuring Deborah Cox) was merged with Knife Party’s remix of Porter Robinson’s “Unison.” That mashup was received with a roar from the crowd as the high-energy dance party became another one for the books. NO_ID, Third Party and AN21 join Alesso and Calvin Harris as openers for Swedish House Mafia on the second (and final) day of the Masquerade Motel on Saturday. Miami Music Week is going down, and MTV News is on the ground! Check back all week as we report from EDM’s biggest parties, bringing the latest news from your favorite electronic dance music stars! Related Artists Swedish House Mafia
Steve Angello tells MTV News that the famed Swedish trio just want to take a creative approach to dropping new material. By Akshay Bhansali Steve Angello Photo: Getty Images After impressive remixes of Swedish House Mafia ‘s last single, “Save the World,” by dance music acts like AN21 and Max Vangeli, Alesso, and Zedd, whose fiery mix MTV News premiered exclusively last month, the house music production trio of Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and Steve Angello have so far teased only two new originals this summer. And really, only one of these new gems has been well-documented, starting with Axwell spinning the dark track at Club Papaya in Croatia in July. Sure, the in-demand collective has been busy touring, but save for Sebastian Ingrosso and Alesso debuting their new single “Calling” on Friday (August 12) on the BBC’s “Essential Mix” with Pete Tong, it would seem the three Swedes have devoted their summer to performing rather than hitting the studio. When MTV News caught up with Steve Angello recently, though, he told us nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Angello revealed, SHM have more than 15 songs ready to go, but the group is toying with how to release their new material. “This is the thing … we have a lot of records,” Angello confessed. “We have singles; we have all the material to make an album. But it’s like, do we want to stick with the traditional album ways or do we want to do something different? And I think, as Swedish House Mafia works, I think we do something different.” As for the aforementioned “dark” single Axwell played earlier at a live show, Angello couldn’t confirm whether it would be the trio’s next release. “It’s one of them. … It’s another record,” Angello said. “It’s pretty f—ed up, but it’s good energy!” In addition to working on their own material, fans of the three Swedes will be tickled to hear that they’ve also been producing records for two major pop stars. But, of course, they aren’t ready to reveal just who yet. “A lot of people came through this year,” Angello said. “After the success of, ‘One,’ and ‘Miami 2 Ibiza,’ we got hundreds of requests to work with people. We chose very few to work with. We’ve done some work with a very, very big artist. We’re producing [some of] another artist’s album. It’s been an amazing trip for us. I can’t tell anybody’s name yet.” While we couldn’t get names, MTV News did get another major piece of SHM scoop: Angello is also well into work on a solo album being put out through Interscope via his Size Records label. “I do have an album,” Angello revealed. “The last bit is the hard part because you have to decide what you want to do and choose what direction you want to take. I’ve finished 70 percent. I got a couple singles. I just haven’t picked ‘the one.’ ” Related Artists Swedish House Mafia Steve Angello
‘The States have woken up to house music,’ DJ/producer Axwell says. By Akshay Bhansali Swedish House Mafia Photo: Michael Caracozza It’s been nearly three years since Swedish DJ/producers Steve Angello, Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso first performed as the house-music collective Swedish House Mafia. But in a short span, they’ve become rock stars in the genre. Although the DJs are known for their group effort, each boasts an impressive catalog of solo house hits, including Ingrosso’s collaboration with Dirty South and David Guetta, “How Soon Is Now”; “Show Me Love,” Angello and Laidback Luke’s remix of Robin S’s 1993 club hit; and the Axwell and Dirty South remix of the Temper Trap’s “Sweet Disposition.” The trio’s evolution from celebrated solo DJs to superstars was underscored when almost 100,000 fans gathered in late March to catch a Swedish House Mafia performance at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami. “I don’t know what happened really, we’ve always been there in the background, doing our thing,” Axwell told MTV News in Miami. “I think the question is, ‘What the hell happened to the States?’ Because the States have kinda woken up to house music.” “We’re still doing our solo careers,” Angello said. “Everybody has their own things going, and then when we get together, it’s like New Year’s Eve. It’s like these DJs getting together and having a blast and partying with the crowd.” The group recently leaked a yet-untitled single. The track, which opens to a haunting intro and builds to a euphoric peak, has become an instant hit, with fans burning up the Swedish House Mafia message boards . Several visitors posting to SHM’s online forum have asked whether the song’s title will be some variation on “Gangster the Dog” or maybe “Gangsta.” But Angello considers the song a work-in-progress. “We haven’t named it,” he said. “We haven’t set a release date. We don’t know if we’re finished yet.” “It sounds pretty finished,” Axwell added. “It works really well. It’s our new single, but we’re trying to find some sort of vocal on it and that’s why we haven’t put a name on it yet, because if we put a name on it, then we’ll have to change it and it’ll get messy. But it’s phat!” In keeping with the group’s Swedish origins, we suggested 2005 Swedish “Idol” winner Agnes Carlsson, whose song “Release Me” has been a popular dance-music hit. “Yeah!” said Ingrosso. “I met her in the embassy office getting her visa. Is she [Stateside]?” he wondered aloud. Fans will have to wait to see if that collaboration comes to pass. What do you think of the Swedish House Mafia’s new track? Let us know in the comments below! When you’re not showing off your moves at the club, stick with MTV News for Dance Music Week. We’ll be catching up with your favorite dance-floor staples as well as introducing you to up-and-coming talent. Related Videos It’s Dance Music Week!
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