Axwell's latest release, "Whatever Turns You On" featuring Bonn, is everything you'd expect from the Swedish icon. It blends his signature melodic progressive house sound with that unmistakable Swedish House Mafia energy, delivering a track that's both euphoric and emotionally charged. It's easily become my favourite song of the moment and has been on repeat all weekend since dropping on Friday. Judging by the traction it's already gaining on TikTok, this one looks set to be one of the standout dance anthems of the year.
Sacha is no stranger to the EDM world with her collaborating with some of the biggest names in the industry, most recent it was Armin with "Set Me Free" and last week Friday, her mega track with Alesso was released titled "Destiny", it was a song that Sacha wrote and sang, she posted it on her TikTok channel and it went viral, Alesso picked up on it and decided to release it with Sacha and the end result is just pure flames!
Many say he should have been the fourth member of the Swedish House Mafia but, for me, Alesso brings a different dynamic to house music and while he may hail from Sweden as well, he has managed to build his own legacy in the electronic music industry, so much so that he is one of the most requested DJ's for major festivals. His remix of Nadia Ali's pressure still remains one of my all time favourite songs, today's featured track from Alesso has been featured on a number of his sets at festivals over the past year, and it's finally been released. "Upside Down" see's him team up with Sentinel and Sick Individuals, and they have produced a banger that has already had crowds at festivals off their feet, so you know its good.
The Swedish trio are back and after some epic performances across Europe of the Summer festival period, none more epic than their set at Tomorrowland. The latest offering from them which has featured on their set lists as this one "Wait So Long" even though was released in June has still been doing incredibly well across the globe. It's definitely a certified banger and one we will be hearing more frequently.
The Swedish trio broke many hearts when they announced they were breaking up back in 2013, even though there were many reasons for their parting I think the time apart did them some good for when they eventually got back together in 2018. Yes, the genre had changed massively in those 5 years but with each of them concentrating on their solo projects and Axwell and Ingrosso also doing their duo stints are festivals, the come back was bigger than the set back as they say. Today's featured song goes to prove that. The trio always had a knack of attracting a-list talent for their tracks, from Tinnie Tempah to Pharell, all those tracks were instant hits and with "Finally", a song appropriately named as it took almost 2 years to make, featuring the vocals of Grammy winning singer Alicia, the track is fresh but has that distinct SHM feel to it. With the background featuring a strong piano which leads into house beats and a variety of synths which all builds up to the bassline drop, along with the chorus of the track just gives you that Ibiza feel to it.
Avicii was the first to introduce the country EDM genre to us in 2013 with "Wake Me Up", at the time, most of us including myself though it would be an epic fail but here we are 11 years down the line and it still remains a popular genre to many with many adaptations and collabs that have seen massive successes, most recently David Guetta's track with Shaboozey "Tipsy" has been racking up the plays on the charts. For today's featured track, Swedish DJ Alesso teams up with American country singe "Nate Smith" for their track "I like it", it has nice mixture of country, rock and dance which is why I found it more appealing. The mixture is captivating and has a great bassline which hooks you in from the start till the end. The guitar backtrack gives the track that rock element but the overall feel of the song is no doubt EDM but the way its all brought together is just sublime.
The Swedish trio have been playing to packed out crowds across the US and Europe in the past few months all whilst teasing the release of their latest track "Ray of Solar". Finally after weeks of sneak peeks, the track is finally out and it certainly delivers in true SHM style! The track takes you on a nostalgic journey of the past, present and what we can expect in the future from them. The levels to the track is amazing with the layers of different electronic sounds, coupled with that invigorating bass line just provides momentum for it as it goes along. It definitely has the hardcore SHM excited and with good reason, lets hope this is just a taste of more to come.
The legendary Scandinavian electronic music DJ trio, Swedish House Mafia have released another single, this time teaming up with award winning musician, The Weeknd. The track, A Moth To A Flame was released late October and has already been quite a hit around the globe with it already receiving close to 4 Million views on YouTube to date. The track has that unique SHM sound to it with the unmistakable voice of the The Weeknd just elevating this track to another level. When great artist combine to share their talents and create a track, you really get something special and that is exactly what this track is, whether or not there is more music planned by them is yet to be seen but this track really has us frothing for more from this collaboration.
They're blood brothers by relation but also best friends, Jacob and Victor Andersson of Sweden, better known by their stage nae "ManyFew" say they're on a mission to deliver feel-good and dance ready creations to the world. Well guys, we have no problems with that mission and will support you 100% should they all be like today's featured track, "Get Close". The track was released this weekend on Spinnin Records and it is a cracker, it's a mixture of uplifting blend of house and disco which integrates well to the dance music scene. The Swedish duo have been featured on a number of big name artist podcasts as well as played under the Ministry of Sound label, so they've got some experience under the belt and if the beats keep dropping like this one, it will be under big name Swedish dance music name to lookout for in the future.
Yesterday saw the final day of what was a 2 weekend celebration of Tomorrowland. Celebrating it's 15 year, it is one of the biggest dance music festival's in the world and forever growing with some of the largest recorded audiences for an event in Europe. This year saw the event take place over two weekends with the very best in the industry taking to stage to strut their stuff. A stand out performance has to be Tiesto's tribute to the late Avicii in weekend one with his mash-up of Avicii's Without You and Dimitri Vangelis & Wyman's Penny. The track even reduced the Dutch legend to tears while playing it. Here's is the track exclusive to you by the Bucket.
This Saturday marks a year since the world lost Tim Bergling, otherwise known as Avicii. His rise to stardom in the electronic music world was truly remarkable, as a young kid at the time producing hit after hit, then going on to collaborate with some of the biggest names of the industry did his career no harm. Tim wasn't afraid to push the boundaries and he did that on the biggest stage of the world when he switched his style up and credit to him, it proved to be a success. It's as if he could do no wrong but the pressures of the industry got to him in the end and he sadly could take no more. Almost a year after his passing, his family decided that the world needed to hear his unreleased music, he was in the process of finishing another album before his passing and with the help of fellow artists and friends they managed to achieve this. The first track of the album entitled "SOS" was released last week and features Aloe Blacc on the vocals. Given the circumstances of his death, the lyrics to the song are almost like a story he wants to tell the world, it touches the heart listening to the song and reading the fan memories which are included in the music video. The sounds are uniquely Avicii and while the mellow beat of this track suits it well. The world looks forward to see what else this immensely talented artist had lined up for us.
While everyone waits with bated breath for Swedish House Mafia to release some new music, it seems we have to wait a little while long but that won't be such a bad thing if the duo Axwell /\ Ingrosso release fire tracks like this! Dropped just last week is their latest single featuring Romans, titled "Dancing Alone", the cover art alone will leaving you wondering, with a picture of a young Paris Hilton posing for the pic, all dressed up in her rave gear, doubt she danced alone that night though! The track harks onto their original work with many of the electronic synths and beats in the opening a clear reminder of their music back then, the vocals come in and brings in the modern aspect of the track and just carries itself well throughout. It's a steady progression to a fuse with old and new, it's extremely catchy and one that you're going to be hearing a lot.
Tim Bergling, better known as Avicii sadly passed away last Friday, he was found dead in his hotel room in Muscat, Oman. He was just 28 years old and had already accomplished so much in his short time on earth. The Swedish producer come DJ was a cult legend in the EDM world, he was fearless, bold and always pushed the boundaries in an industry where many chose to be comfortable in a set style they had. My first recollection of his music came in 2010, back when people still watched MTV, they had a Dance Floor Chart every Friday night, I used to watch it religiously. While they only featured 10 tracks a week, it was the top 10 at the time, and an unknown artist was featured as a new entry, Tim Berg - Seek Bromance. If you think the title of the track was odd, watch the music video and be even more perplexed, but back then all music videos were a bit weird but the music was ace. It was a time where EDM was just known as Dance music and there was no division over genre's. This track was epic though, something that was different to what everyone else was making, a new sound, a great beat which was catchy and hence got him quite high up the charts very quickly
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In 2011 the world was introduced to Avicii, Tim at the time had many stage names but this one seemed to have stuck and with it he released possibly one of his greatest tracks ever. He himself knew he had a brilliant creation but I don't think he could have fathomed how much of an impact that song would have had worldwide, the song was Levels. That song elevated him into instant stardom, he was 22 years old and already getting bookings all over the world. He toured South Africa in March of 2012 and I was very fortunate to have seen him play live, in his prime at the Wavehouse in Gateway. He played Levels 3 times that night but I don't think anyone cared, he had us going and we were loving it. I was slightly disappointed that he didn't play his New Generation Mix of Nadia Ali's hit track, Rapture at the show. It was also released about the same time as Levels and still to this day I rate as one of the best remixed tracks made.
Avicii's tour to South Africa came a week just after he killed Ultra Miami in 2012, if anything was an indication of how big these Swedish talent was, it was that festival. At the time he collaborated with some of the biggest names in music, let a lone electronic music. He had made songs with Lenny Kravitz, Alesso, Nicky Romero and even Madonna! He got Madonna to Ultra Miami in 2012. The production team behind the event said it was the biggest star they've had at the festival and I'm sure still is that way. While his track with Madonna "Girl Gone Wild" was pretty epic, his track with Lenny Kravitz, "Super Love" was everything at the time and even featured on the Ultra Miami Aftermovie.
Many lauded his bold approach at trying new things with his music. As mentioned, he didn't conform himself to one set style, while his music was easily identifiable he always liked to mix around with other genre's and see how he could adapt that to his music. Hence in 2013 at Ultra Miami, he shocked the whole EDM world, when his set began with an unplugged version of "Wake Me Up", the crowd was left a bit dumbfounded, as this was the first time we've heard the track and it wasn't anything remotely close to dance music. It was more Country Western, I still recall listening to the podcast and wondered if someone was playing a prank and uploaded something from Tim McGraw. I loath country music so for me, that set was a write-off. I thought to myself, how can someone blow peoples minds the one year, then go and do that the next year? Many felt the same but slowly as the year went on, people realised there was a deeper meaning to his music. I still wasn't a fan though.
Over the next few years, he spent a lot of time touring, while still working on new music. His music hit a high commercial level where almost every radio station was playing it, more so than clubs. Had he succumbed to the commercial Devil? Whereby he made music just for the airplay and money instead of making it for the sheer joy and enjoyment? It's a bit of a harsh comment, I know but it sure felt that way but it wasn't. If you just have a look at all the music he made, it followed a pattern and this was just one of the phases of that pattern. Slowly in 2017 a new sound was transitioning from him, when he released the track "Without You", I heard it on a podcast from another famous DJ, I instantly took a liking to it, it came as a nice surprise to see Avicii on the artist profile. Maybe it's just from my age, that the maturity of the song appealed to me but I was very happy to have Avicii back on my playlist.
One of his last song's he made that still features on my play list is a collaboration he did with Rita Ora, again just shows you the pull he had with working from artists outside the EDM sphere. It was more Pop than EDM but again, it had the unmistakable Avicii signature to it, you could feel that he was onto something great. His management have come out and said that there was an album he was working on, which was almost complete, so lets hope they somehow get to finish it and let the world celebrate his last achievement. Thank you Avicii, for your music and your legacy that you leave behind.
It's been a while since we heard from the Swedish duo Axwell /\ Ingrosso on the blog and while this track of their's dropped in early June, it's started to gain moment a lot now. The track "More Than You Know" has been playlisted on many radio stations and has been a feature of many live sets at recent music festivals, most notably Tomorrowland. We have the official music video of the song today and while the song is pretty epic, the video is too as it shows the journey of a fan capture through an old video recorder attending one of their shows.
