Artist of the Week: Steve Angello

Picture the scene. A rain and mud soaked field in Britain, swarmed by young febrile clubland fiends sporting wellies, ponchos and wide eyed grins, is bedecked by a huge stage which serves as the annexe for the biggest electronic soundtrack of its era. An afternoon of pulsating music suddenly lulls for a short period as Pete Tong finishes his set, before the most recognisable voice in UK announces that the next act are due on shortly, for the final time in the UK.

What followed at the Milton Keynes Bowl in July 2012 was two hours of surging pyrotechnics and fist pumping euphoria, as the Swedish House Mafia (SHM) played their last ever performance on these shores. In the process they premiered their goodbye track, ‘Don’t You Worry Child’, utilising the footage from the event for the video (below). It brought to an end a four year reign of chart topping club filling supremacy for the trio. Despite an ensemble of detractors to join the millions of fans, DJ Sneak being the most prominent and vocal, there’s no denying the monolithic success of the Swedish House Mafia and their take-over of the world. And at the centre of it all has been one Steve Angello.

Before SHM went on their four year mission to slay the planet with their stadium shattering sonics, Steve Angello had quickly become one of the most feted DJs of his time. His surging blend of electro house, adorned with euphoric riffs and jackhammer synths, was a staple trademark of the club phenomenon of the middle of the last decade known as dirty house. That sub-genre placed an emphasis on hooky grooves bolstered by filthy basslines, and it was Angellos’ knack for combining an accessible touch with the volatile immediacy of the club sounds of the time that made him so appealing.

The first record to epitomise this signature and take clubland by storm was his remix of the evergreen ‘Sweet Dreams’ by The Eurhythmics, maximising the atmosphere of the original into a scintillating club workout. What really made Angello stand out though was his considerable skill as a DJ. Reared on DMC contests in his native Sweden, he boasted a tremendous technical proficiency and at a time where digital Djing was still in its infancy, the vision to use the technology at his disposal beyond his peers. Very quickly he was drawing huge crowds and became one of the most revered acts in Europe.

2005 would see him crack Ibiza, his DJ sets adorning the likes of Cream, Pacha and Space. In August that year he mixed the covermount CD for Mixmag for the first time, partnering up with long-time friend Sebastian Ingrosso to deliver the Ibiza 4am mix (above). One year later and he was the toast of the island, playing Creamfields on these shores and fully onto his trajectory to cannibalise the global clubbing scene on his own terms. Him and Ingrosso weren’t over their collaborative streak either…

Angello also set up his own record label a couple of years earlier, with Size records initially an outlet for his work but rapidly going onto push music out from fellow superstars such as Tiesto, Sander Van Doorn, Laidback Luke and DeadMau5. He also built a family around the record, quite literally in the sense of AN21 who is Steve’s brother, with a stable of artists that include Third Party, Tim Mason and Qulinez. Each have proved emblematic of Steve’s sound, as well as that of the SHM which he formed in late 2008.

Steve, Ingrosso and the third member Axwell decided to call time on that adventure last year, bowing out with a typically epic set at Miami’s Ultra festival in March of this year. Angello cited the focus on his record label as one of the reasons and Size has since been the beneficiary of it with further Size in the Park events, hitting New York’s Central Park and, that little bit closer to home, Motherwell’s Strathclyde Park.

Joining Steve at the 6000 capacity event will be AN21 & Max Vangeli, Third Party, Qulinez and Wayne & Woods, the party kick-starting the August Bank Holiday weekend in stunning style and guaranteed to be a smorgasbord of audio-visual treats. He also returns to Creamfields that weekend as well, his UK gigs surely set to come close to the mesmerising finale he gave as part of SHM.

We’ll leave you with Steve’s recent set at Tomorrowland, proving his clout remains at the pinnacle of the world’s greatest festivals. Love him or loathe him, his legions of fans and undeniable ability to give them what they want ensures he’ll be at the peak of his powers for plenty more of the future.

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