(dailyrecord) SWEDISH House Mafia’s DJ Axwell is shunning big name collaborations in favour of the underground scene as he goes solo – to save the future of dance music.
The SHM boys became known for their massive hits including Miami 2 Ibiza with Tinie Tempah and Save The world, featuring Sweden’s John Martin on vocals.
The collective were soon being sought after by big names in the pop and R&B scene who wanted to borrow some of their cool cache.
But now that they are splitting, Axwell, who has remixed for Usher and Madonna, is clear about...
the direction he is going.
He said: “The big names are not the future. There are more American R&B artists wanting to meet people like us and wanting to learn our world. They want to come to our world and that is all fine but, for me, that’s not what I’m chasing.
“I’m introducing what is new and what new producers and completely unknown singers we have. I’m interested in the new Adele, the new Gotye. Who is the next guy? That is really the future. Just meeting big name people for the sake of it is not what I’m looking for.”
Mainstream pop artists have been only too quick to jump on the DJ bandwagon and Axwell knows a good remixer or producer can make or break a potential hit record.
He said: “In most cases, they leave it up to us and trust our judgement. For someone who eats and lives dance music, it’s easy to know what to do. For someone like an American R&B artist, it allows them to know what should be on a credible dance record. They come from a different world.”
Axwell’s contemporaries on the dance scene, such as Calvin Harris and David Guetta, have been only too quick to take up the offers of collaborations from the likes Rihanna and Kylie Minogue
“It’s a nice thing that we can have all these artists wanting to work with us, but for myself, I do it as a kind of hobby,” said Axwell. “I did a track with Flo Rida called Wild Ones, which went in the charts. It was an opportunity but musically what is inspiring are the unknown artists.”
Axwell and Swedish House Mafia have turned down many who wanted to work with them, including Shakira and Chris Brown, but he blames other work commitments for those.
He said: “We’d love to press pause and work on everything but you have got to prioritise.
“I have my label Axtone, too. It’s not like Shakira isn’t cool. She is cool, It’s just that there was not time for her and also Chris Brown. Chris is extremely good at what he does.”
Axwell, who together with Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso formed their collective in 2008, told fans in June that the final leg of their 2012 tour will be their last.
He said of their time together: “We provided an energy that makes people go crazier than ever on the dance floor. They were always dancing but we gave the crowd an extra push that I had never seen before. We had done things individually but then we started to experiment together as a unit.
“Some people in Stockholm said ‘Who do they think they are? The Swedish House Mafia?’ And people began to use that name to refer to us.”
Axwell, who was placed at No 12 on the DJ Magazine Top 100 DJ Poll in 2011, has been working independently of Swedish House Mafia in between their gigs and is quite happy to do his own thing.
He said: “As a part of Swedish House Mafia, I was still playing those songs at gigs but also a bit more of what is on my label, doing the type of music I like.
“I haven’t completely changed but sometimes I like to go maybe a bit deeper.”
Axwell and the SHM were due to play their last UK concert at the Milton Keynes Bowl yesterday.
Their final shows will be a residency at Ibiza’s Ushuaia until August 29, followed by one further gig at Stockholm’s Friends Arena on November 24.
Having also been to the US, Australia, Italy, France and Dubai in recent weeks, and with forthcoming trips to Israel, Croatia, Helsinki and Ibiza, he’s used to the jet-set lifestyle.
He said: “I am quite settled down with a girl and a three-year-old son.
“I have a normal life when I’m back home in Sweden but, when I’m away, it’s crazy.
“It’s a pretty hectic life but also doing what I love so much is a blessing so, even though I’m tired and even though I don’t get to see friends or family as much, my dreams have come true.
“I’m making music and I just cherish every day and really try to remember them.”
He added: “I’m used to it and I just deal with it. You cannot just lay down on the ground and cry. It could be worse.
“I really enjoy being out in nature because that is such a nice way to balance out the other part of my life – the music and the hotels.
“I just like looking at the ocean and the amazing hills in places like Scotland. I find a lot of it very calming.”
The boys recently played T in the Park as part of their final fling together and Axwell admits he has fond memories of the festival.
He said: “T in the Park is something we did for the first time in 2011 and it was such an amazing experience, even though it was also cold and raining. We had come from Ibiza in our shorts but everyone put on their party hats, even though it was raining. It was an unbelievably good crowd and, the day after, we almost confirmed for this year on the strength of it.
“We were on stage that time at the same time as Coldplay and later on they told us they could hear our version of Every Teardrop in the background of their set.
“Our planes met beside one another on the way back and we tweeted a picture at the time.”
This year Swedish House Mafia were accompanied by a camera crew backstage at Balado but they said of the treacherous weather conditions: “It doesn’t matter if it’s muddy, cold and s****y weather, because when you think it’s not going to be a nice environment you get the complete opposite.
“There is a crazy energy and it is probably one of the best, if not the best, gigs we had together. We appreciate it so much.”SWEDISH House Mafia’s DJ Axwell is shunning big name collaborations in favour of the underground scene as he goes solo – to save the future of dance music.
The SHM boys became known for their massive hits including Miami 2 Ibiza with Tinie Tempah and Save The world, featuring Sweden’s John Martin on vocals.
The collective were soon being sought after by big names in the pop and R&B scene who wanted to borrow some of their cool cache.
But now that they are splitting, Axwell, who has remixed for Usher and Madonna, is clear about the direction he is going.
He said: “The big names are not the future. There are more American R&B artists wanting to meet people like us and wanting to learn our world. They want to come to our world and that is all fine but, for me, that’s not what I’m chasing.
“I’m introducing what is new and what new producers and completely unknown singers we have. I’m interested in the new Adele, the new Gotye. Who is the next guy? That is really the future. Just meeting big name people for the sake of it is not what I’m looking for.”
Mainstream pop artists have been only too quick to jump on the DJ bandwagon and Axwell knows a good remixer or producer can make or break a potential hit record.
He said: “In most cases, they leave it up to us and trust our judgement. For someone who eats and lives dance music, it’s easy to know what to do. For someone like an American R&B artist, it allows them to know what should be on a credible dance record. They come from a different world.”
Axwell’s contemporaries on the dance scene, such as Calvin Harris and David Guetta, have been only too quick to take up the offers of collaborations from the likes Rihanna and Kylie Minogue
“It’s a nice thing that we can have all these artists wanting to work with us, but for myself, I do it as a kind of hobby,” said Axwell. “I did a track with Flo Rida called Wild Ones, which went in the charts. It was an opportunity but musically what is inspiring are the unknown artists.”
Axwell and Swedish House Mafia have turned down many who wanted to work with them, including Shakira and Chris Brown, but he blames other work commitments for those.
He said: “We’d love to press pause and work on everything but you have got to prioritise.
“I have my label Axtone, too. It’s not like Shakira isn’t cool. She is cool, It’s just that there was not time for her and also Chris Brown. Chris is extremely good at what he does.”
Axwell, who together with Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso formed their collective in 2008, told fans in June that the final leg of their 2012 tour will be their last.
He said of their time together: “We provided an energy that makes people go crazier than ever on the dance floor. They were always dancing but we gave the crowd an extra push that I had never seen before. We had done things individually but then we started to experiment together as a unit.
“Some people in Stockholm said ‘Who do they think they are? The Swedish House Mafia?’ And people began to use that name to refer to us.”
Axwell, who was placed at No 12 on the DJ Magazine Top 100 DJ Poll in 2011, has been working independently of Swedish House Mafia in between their gigs and is quite happy to do his own thing.
He said: “As a part of Swedish House Mafia, I was still playing those songs at gigs but also a bit more of what is on my label, doing the type of music I like.
“I haven’t completely changed but sometimes I like to go maybe a bit deeper.”
Axwell and the SHM were due to play their last UK concert at the Milton Keynes Bowl yesterday.
Their final shows will be a residency at Ibiza’s Ushuaia until August 29, followed by one further gig at Stockholm’s Friends Arena on November 24.
Having also been to the US, Australia, Italy, France and Dubai in recent weeks, and with forthcoming trips to Israel, Croatia, Helsinki and Ibiza, he’s used to the jet-set lifestyle.
He said: “I am quite settled down with a girl and a three-year-old son.
“I have a normal life when I’m back home in Sweden but, when I’m away, it’s crazy.
“It’s a pretty hectic life but also doing what I love so much is a blessing so, even though I’m tired and even though I don’t get to see friends or family as much, my dreams have come true.
“I’m making music and I just cherish every day and really try to remember them.”
He added: “I’m used to it and I just deal with it. You cannot just lay down on the ground and cry. It could be worse.
“I really enjoy being out in nature because that is such a nice way to balance out the other part of my life – the music and the hotels.
“I just like looking at the ocean and the amazing hills in places like Scotland. I find a lot of it very calming.”
The boys recently played T in the Park as part of their final fling together and Axwell admits he has fond memories of the festival.
He said: “T in the Park is something we did for the first time in 2011 and it was such an amazing experience, even though it was also cold and raining. We had come from Ibiza in our shorts but everyone put on their party hats, even though it was raining. It was an unbelievably good crowd and, the day after, we almost confirmed for this year on the strength of it.
“We were on stage that time at the same time as Coldplay and later on they told us they could hear our version of Every Teardrop in the background of their set.
“Our planes met beside one another on the way back and we tweeted a picture at the time.”
This year Swedish House Mafia were accompanied by a camera crew backstage at Balado but they said of the treacherous weather conditions: “It doesn’t matter if it’s muddy, cold and s****y weather, because when you think it’s not going to be a nice environment you get the complete opposite.
“There is a crazy energy and it is probably one of the best, if not the best, gigs we had together. We appreciate it so much.”
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