10 mins in Steve Angello’s biggest year

10 mins in Steve Angello’s biggest year

27 November, 2009 | 6.58AM

• Written by: Kirsty Kane
• Filed under: Music News: size records, steve angello, swedish house mafia

Steve Angello made a New Year’s resolution last January. Quit partying, and get back in the studio: 2009 was going to be the year of music. Now 11 months down the line, Angello is about to release his new album ‘The Year Book’, which shows just how much he has fulfilled that promise.

The collection features not three or four, but 10 club hits from 2009. Whilst the album leads with the two most obvious chart toppers – ‘Leave The World Behind’ (produced with Axwell, Ingrosso, and Laidback Luke), and ‘Show Me Love’ (a remix collaboration with Laidback Luke) – there are eight DJ-friendly club tracks on it that prove the Swedish House Mafia don isn’t solely about the limelight.

Radio-friendly, singalong moments are but one string in his increasingly respected bow - hands-in-the-air moments are practically guaranteed. And he’s no one-trick pony either, as he’s capable of putting out trance-laced gems like ‘Monday’ and ‘Isabel’, rocking electro grooves such as ‘Alpha Baguera’, sample-laden funky house (‘Valdoja’), driving progressive (‘Tivoli’), or even mainstream techno under his Mescal Kid alias.

We caught up with the busy man for 10 minutes, in between his studio sessions and club gigs (by the end of 2009 he would have done over 160 dates), to reflect on what must surely be the biggest year of his DJ career thus far.

You’ve had a huge 2009, filled with chart topping records, insane DJ moments, and a scandal or two. What did you do right?

I told myself at the beginning of the year that I would make this the biggest one so far and I think I did. It’s all about having passion for what you do, and I love what I do so I’ve worked really hard to keep on doing it. And here I am 11 months later, looking back at the best year of my life. Hard work pays off and so do sleepless nights. There have been a lot of both.

No regrets then?

I don’t really regret anything I do. But you can always pick an alternative route, if things didn’t play out like you wanted. I always think you can do better, so for me personally it comes down to working harder and building upon what you’ve worked on.

There are some who call you and the Swedish House Mafia ‘cocky’. You’ve certainly got more of a rock n roll attitude to lot of other DJs.

It’s not about rock n roll. I think it’s a way of life. I don’t really care what people think of me. Here I am and this is what I do. If you don’t like it, then you don’t. If you do like it, I like you to.

There are a lot of haters out there and some people hate everything about me, and some people love me. Something I’ve learnt through the years is that you can’t be loved by everyone. There are a lot of people on this planet, but I’ve never really understood the need to hate. Dance music seems to have quite a few haters.

If I do a track that sounds different from what I did the month before some people write on blogs or on Youtube that it’s shit. Why write that? Don’t people have better things to do? If you don’t like it, stop listening to it. I’m not holding people hostage and making them listen to my stuff. If you don’t like it, don’t listen to it.

You started this year wanting it to be the ‘year of music’, and now you’re about to release ‘The Year Book’. How did you pull it off?

I really missed being in the studio and creating music, so I guess I just put 90% of the partying aside to work more and become creative again. Drinking and partying is a great way to slow down your creativity so I stopped all that and worked my way back into the lab to do what I love the most - music.

You recently played a sold out show at one of London’s most famous live music venues - Brixton Academy. How was that?

It was an unbelievable feeling. I have never felt such an achivement in my life. It’s the biggest thing we’ve ever done, not capacity wise but show wise. It was just us doing what we had dreamt of doing, and it was very touching!

It sounds like it was a ‘pinch me’ moment.

Honestly, everyday when I wake up and look out at Los Angeles from my house I say to myself “how the fuck did this happen?”. But fair enough, I have worked really hard. I’ve done about 160 shows a year for the past five or six years so I feel like I deserve what I’ve created.

I’m a robot worker with control freak behavior and one hell of a sleeping disorder, so yes, I’ve kind of created a monster in myself, in a good way. I always think about how I created myself, and that’s quite scary!

So walking the tightrope between the mainstream and underground was always planned?

I’m really comfortable to do it all to be honest. I have a passion for music, not a specific sound or style. I mean, I have done pop records that none of you guys know about and that’s part of the fun. I like creating music and whatever mood I’m in will reflect what sound I create. I’ve done some super cheesy pop tracks but I’ll never reveal those under my own name, and won’t ever let anyone know about them. Ha ha, I’m still going to do it all.

Looking at ‘The Year Book’, which 2009 track are you most proud of?

I love all of them. They are all something I created and put my name on. But if I had to choose one right now I would say ‘Monday’. I love that track and it gives me the chills every time I play it.

What feedback have you had from Pacha, now that your first Ibiza season has finished?

The Swedish House Mafia night at Pacha was unbelievable this year. I would say personally that it was the best house night on the island and that’s not because I run it. It had a brilliant energy and vibe. It’s the best party I have ever been to in Ibiza and even the nights I didn’t play lived up to every single expectation I had!

Pacha came back to us with really positive feedback and loved it as much as us, so hopefully we’ll get back in there next summer.

And finally, do you think 2010 could top your 2009?

As I said earlier, you can always work harder, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’m going to work more on the producer side of the music scene for a while, and produce some big rock acts, pop, and hip hop - you name it. We have a whole world to explore and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I’m the captain of my ship, and whatever direction the wind blows I’ll follow.

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