Steve Angello: Nobody does it like the Swedes

On the eve of his third trip to Australia in the past two years, ITM sat down with Swedish house mafioso Steve Angello to chat about his upcoming tour, his record label and exactly how much mischief he’s planning on getting up to while he’s here.

Steve Angello is… Alright, if you don’t already know who Steve Angello is, then it’s time to put down your copy of Who Weekly, head down to your local discotheque, and well, after that just wait… It won’t be long until his work finds its way to your ears. You’ll know it by the grin that spreads across your face, and the way your ass just can’t stop shaking.

For the uninitiated, Angello has been redefining house music since as early as 2002. From the more commercial remixes of Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams and Moby’s Raining Again to the embolism-inducing Teasing Mr Charlie and Not So Dirty (the latter as Who’s Who), Angello is a man at the top of his game. Along with Eric Prydz, Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso, he’s part of one of the most influential forces in house music today – known as the ‘Swedish House Mafia’.

Not content with the twin titles of superstar DJ and wunderkind producer, he also heads up label Size Records. Size houses some of the biggest releases of the last few years, including Whos’ Who’s Sexy F*ck and Laidback Luke’s Housetrack. Not bad for a man who got his start by lying about his age (just 15 at the time) to get his first gig. Heading back to Australia over New Year’s with favourite partner in crime Sebastian Ingrosso, you can almost hear the dancefloors of the country quaking in their polypropelene-reinforced boots. As well they should, because they’re about to cop an absolute pounding. So what can the dancefloors, and the clubbers who will fill them, look forward to from Angello and Ingrosso this summer?

“I just love Australia, it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. The heat is amazing and the vibe of the people there is really good, so I expect the best from the people and they can expect the best from me! We’ll be putting on really good show.

“The weather there is a big difference. You have summer almost all year, and I think the whole music builds and grows the more summer you have. I think that’s really important for the music, because the music is kind of like a summer thing, you know? It’s really good for the crowd to have the weather, the clubs, the outdoor areas and, you know, to have places where they can go and have a good time, instead of just sitting around in clubs when it’s freezing outside. The crowd’s really up for it, and they’re really good crowds to have.”

From one party season to another… Angello recently wound up another season at Ibiza, where he played with some of the biggest names in dance music, including Tocadisco, Sebastien Leger, David Guetta (also touring Australia over New Year’s) and the other members of the Swedish House Mafia. “Ibiza is something different, something out of the ordinary. It’s like all clubbers around the world gather in one small island where there’s a few clubs around and they just party their asses off. It’s just so much fun. Just to see all those people enjoying themselves and making the best out of everything and having a good time in general.

“I think the Swedish House Mafia gig at Amnesia was the big highlight of Ibiza. I did a really good F*** Me I’m Famous party there, which we sold out – we had to shut the doors at 1:45!” And he is refreshingly optimistic about the closures and raids in Ibiza that shut down major clubs like DC10, Bora Bora and Amnesia. “It just made it better! People are just waiting for the stuff to get open and when it’s open it’s just even better parties.”

With the big tracks in Ibiza usually a good indicator of what will be a hit over the Australian summer, we asked Angello what we should be listening out for. “A track from my label Size, by a girl called Innersphere Shinedoe, called Phunk and my mix of that track was probably one of the biggest tracks out this year. I’m going to keep on playing that, it’s just getting rolling. The Umbrella track with me and Sebastian, Axwell’s I Found You, and all those big tracks. They’re just good tracks in general, and I think they’re gonna be around for a while.

“I have my new compilation out, and there’s going to be a lot of releases at the moment. The Suburban Knights remix that me and Sebastian did for Hard Fi is huge. It’s just building and building. I just did a tour in America and Canada for three weeks, and it works really, really well.”

As the head of a record label, Angello enjoys the advantage of being able to give priority to the tracks he really believes in, as well as his own work. “I just pick up things that I like and tracks that I love and put them out. It’s a great advantage to be able to do that. I can put out things that people can listen to, even if they don’t like it I can just put them out and show them to the people, show them what I’m doing. It’s like a business card, it’s kind of like a bonding between artists and DJs. It’s a really good thing to have your own label and run it.”

With another impressive year under his belt, Angello will be guiding clubbers in Sydney and Melbourne into the shiny new year. But what does a man who parties for a living think of one of the most keenly anticipated nights on the clubbing calendar?

“I love New Year’s Eve, it’s one of those moments where people are counting down to midnight and then people just freak out and get even more drunk. It’s one of those fun times of year when people just love freaking out. It’s gonna be my first Australian New Years, so yeah, I’m gonna have a good time!”

So what are the mafioso’s parting instructions for Australian clubbers? “Bring your dancing shoes – we’re gonna have a good time!”

You heard the man.

As if you’d argue with a card-carrying member of the Mafia! Get you dancing shoes along to the following events across the country…

Monday 31st December: Pacha @ Home, Sydney
Tuesday 1st January: Field Day, Sydney
Tuesday 1st January: Summadayze, Melbourne
Saturday 5th January: Summafieldayze @ Doug Jennings Park ,Gold Coast
Sunday 6th January: Summadayze @ The Esplanade, Perth

And check out this clip of Angello rocking the massive Sensation White event in Amsterdam this year!