tyle: “Stadium house.” Best known for: “‘One’ with Pharrell
Williams.” Tune of 2012: “Ivan Gough & Feenixpawl ‘In My Mind’.” Breakthrough DJ/producer of 2012: “DubVision.”
IT’S been a rollercoaster of a year for Axwell. The Swedish House Mafia announced they were to go their separate ways in June, despite riding a tsunami of hype that began swelling back in 2008. “Things became so humungous, we just didn’t know how to take it to the next level,” he says. “We achieved all those dreams that we had. Swedish House Mafia was just a coincidence, really, that became so big. We thought, to challenge ourselves, we should change the direction suddenly. We thrive when things are a little bit turbulent.” Splitting up is a pretty extreme way to change direction, but what’s done is done.
Since 2005, he’s had his own imprint Axtone, and, he says, what they have always done individually “fuelled Swedish
If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be? “Flying. Or moving stuff with my mind. I’ve tried, it doesn’t work.” Should you play for the crowd or for yourself? “It’s a balance. There’s nothing worse than to play just for the crowd, but it’s also pretty bad if you play for yourself and the crowd hates it.” What does EDM mean to you? “A new buzzword for music that’s been around for ages.” Should celebrities be DJs? “They can if they want, but the real question is, should promoters and clubs book celebri- ties as DJs just because they are celebrities?” Have you ever been thrown off the decks? “Not forcibly, but gently. Like, ‘You know, you can play a little bit shorter if you want’. But a long time ago.” Are you a DJ if you don’t beat match? “It’s not too much to ask of a DJ to be able to beat match. But it’s not super imperative.” Where’s the next dance music capital? “Mexico City.”
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Style: “Aggressive noise with nice melodies.” Best known for: “Bananas and champagne.” Tune of 2012: “Bongo Boys ‘L’Amour’.” Breakthrough DJ/producer of 2012: “Dyro.”
“COOKING a lot of hot chilli” is the answer that comes back when DJ Mag questions Dada Life’s Olle about the highlights of his year. As fans will know, this Swedish house outfit place a high regard on having fun. Of course, though, without much hard work and many touring miles again in 2012, none of that would be possible. “Playing Electric Daisy Carnival in Vegas, but also Electric Zoo in New York was insane: the amount of people, the vibe, all just amazing,“ says Olle before going on to explain the Rules of Dada by which the duo live. “We came up with them after we invented the nation of Dada. In a nation you need rules. Some of them are more rule and law- like, and some of them are more specific just to us. Like not having a BBQ before a show. We tried it in San Francisco, but it
was ugly and I don’t want to talk about it!” ‘The Rules of Dada’ is also the name given to the pair’s latest full length, due out imminently. Receptions to the tracks so far have been great, Olle reports, despite them being wholly different to previous Dada Life material. “What we wanted to do with the album was make 11 bangers. We just wanted it to sound like 42 minutes of smash and grab. We took the inspiration from ’60s rock & roll, ’70s punk — you know, whatever is high energy is what we’re into. No ballads, slow tracks, no noodle tracks. Some are really far out there, we have really pushed ourselves to the limits.” KRISTAN J CARYL
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If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be? “To see everything in slow motion and be able to duck stuff — Matrix-style. It could be really handy when people throw bananas at us. Yes, it has happened.” Should you play to the crowd or for yourself? “We feed the crowd and the crowd feed us.” What does EDM mean to you? “It used to be called dance music and now it’s electronic too. Good to know. Banjos are apparently not OK.” Should celebrities be DJs? “Let them try...” Have you ever been thrown off the decks? “No. We’re six feet tall and full of adrena- line. You don’t throw us off the decks.” Where’s the next dance music capital? “Dada Land.”
House Mafia”, so the flow of production and remixes will continue unabated. “It will be business as usual,” he assures. “We’ve always been individuals, so in a way it’s not that big of a dramatic change.”
They will be touring the globe on their final tour into March next year, with shows planned in India, South Africa and at Madison Square Garden in New York. “Right now it’s exciting to be doing something for the last time,” he says. “We’re excited about the break-up. So it’s fun, in a way, but also melancholic.” BEN ARNOLD