India and Mumbai was treated to a colossal comeback by two of the biggest Dance Music Superstars on the planet, as Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso made their return as their massive collaborative project – Axwell / Ingrosso, took center stage at the prestigious NSCI Stadium in Mumbai. Launching the brand new Sunburn Season, the event also featured sparkling performances by Resident DJs Anish Sood and (S)haan, but the highlight was undoubtedly, the two Swedish superstars, who enthralled the capacity crowd of 15,000 people to some of their best tracks and remixes besides premiering their new productions from their forthcoming albums.
Axwell & Ingrosso are currently touring with their Departures concept around the globe, and choosing India as one of their first stops speaks a lot about where India stands in the global dance music psyche. The night started young with two of upcoming sensations from the Sunburn camp in the form of Anish Sood and (S)haan. Sood had an especially difficult task, having to warm up for the superstars to follow. The task he did with consummate ease as he gradually lifted the tempo and instilled a dance frenzy onto the building audience.
With tracks such as Vicetone’s ‘Tremble’ mashed up with One Republic‘s ‘Counting Stars‘, and the massive New World Sound track ‘Flute’ he pretty much set the mood for the thronging audience members. He showered the audience with some selective electro anthems such as Nicky Romero’s collaboration with Fedde Me Grand ‘Sparks’. He ended his smashing set with his own brand new production, inviting the crowd to raise their hands up for one gigantic selfie.
This paved the way for Tomorrowland performer and India’s shining talent (S)haan to take center stage at NSCI. Kicking off his powerful performance with the massive ‘Decaville’ by Phet, he quickly shifted gears by dropping some of the biggest anthems of the moment, with Moti and Kenneth G ‘Zeus‘ and Quintino and Kenneth G ‘Blowfish’. We even got a glimpse into his impressive portfolio as he premiered two of his upcoming productions, namely ‘Mumbai’ and ‘Light it up‘.
(S)haan kept the energy superfluous with more anthems as the crowd responded with equal fervor and energy. With Ellie Goulding‘s beautiful ‘Burn(Mat Zo remix)‘ he infused the bass of Eddie Thoenick’s ‘Love will never let you down‘. Bringing his performance to a close with his own ‘Light it up’ he got the crowd to hold up their cellphones to make a sea of lights amidst the darkness, to make a picturesque sight at NSCI. And now it was time to for the headliners to take the stage to kick off an unforgettable night for all of us.
It was time. The moment finally arrived. After a brief interval we were welcomed by a giant curtain adorning the center of the stage. Through the flashing lights and the visuals of rain and thunder we could catch the silhouettes of Axwell & Ingrosso as we heard their track Axwell ? Ingrosso feat. Pusha-T ‘This Time (We Can’t Go Home)‘. At the drop, the curtain dropped and the two superstars were finally in plain view, holding out their arms to make their famous logo. Mumbai was being witness to some of the best stage production and design it had ever seen, as out came rolling their anthemic ‘We Come, We Rave, We Love‘.
Their performance glistened with smashing mashups, fantastic productions and some entralling anthems that have become synonymous with their individual projects. Mammoth mashups such as Junior Jack & NEW_ID vs. Oliver Heldens vs. Congorock’s ‘Bless Di Thrilling Gecko Nation (Axwell & Ingrosso Mashup)‘, Daft Punk‘s ‘Robot Rock‘ fused with Dansson & Marlon Hofstadt‘s ‘Shake That (Tom Staar Remix)‘ and a colossal mash up of Ivan Gough & Feenixpawl feat. Georgi Kay‘s ‘In My Mind (Axwell Remix)‘ vs Booka Shade‘s ‘Love Inc‘ with Steve Angello & Dimitri Vangelis & Wyman ‘Payback‘!
Each Axwell ? Ingrosso production was supported by some fantastic graphics and visuals, which engulfed the audience with its range of lasers and pyrotechnics. They supported their own premiere productions with some timely anthems such as Alesso‘s ‘Tear The Roof Up‘ and Duke Dumont‘s ‘I got you’.
The Swedish duo certainly mixed up their set with absolute perfection, playing a perfect mix of electro, progressive and euphoric music as we heard Armin Van Buuren’s ‘Ping Pong(Tom Staar & Kryder remix)’ and perhaps, what can be described as one of the highlights of the night, the percussion extravaganza Federico Scavo ‘Balada (Nicola Fasano & Miami Rockets Rmx)‘.
We also were witness to a live production as Axwell took to the mic to record the cheers of the vocals before merging it with their own track Axwell ? Ingrosso ‘Can’t Hold Us Down‘. A truly unique sight as the capacity crowd saw their own vocals being used on a track!
The artists also played some of their own best individual productions as they dropped Hook N Sling feat. Karin Park‘s ‘Tokyo By Night (Axwell Remix)‘?merges with a slight sample from Swedish House Mafia‘s ‘Greyhound‘ as well as the festivious Sebastian Ingrosso & Tommy Trash feat. John Martin‘s ‘Reload (Vocal Mix)’.
A string of massive mashups followed once more as the two DJs continued their onslaught of dropping anthem after anthem in their failed attempt to exhaust the Mumbai crowd. Dirty South feat. Sam Martin‘s ‘Unbreakable‘ was merged with MAKJ & M35‘s ‘GO (Showtek Edit)‘ followed by Axwell & Blinders ‘Center Of The Universe‘?and C-Mos ‘2 Million Ways (Axwell Remix)‘?with Alesso & Sebastian Ingrosso feat. Ryan Tedder ‘Calling (Lose My Mind)‘. A few individual productions were on display as their tracks ‘On My Way‘, ‘Music Doing Doing‘ and ‘Sun is Shining‘ were tried and tested besides Axwell & Sick Individuals feat. Taylr Renee‘s I Am?vs Daft Punk ‘One More Time‘?vs Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin ‘Save The World‘!
The night came to a close as Axwell took to the mic and said something that certainly put wide smiles on all the audience members present.
Difference between India and other countries is that..all countries have their audience has energy, but that’s almost an aggressive energy. India too has that energy, but that energy is a positive energy.
If we want money we’ll goto Las Vegas, if we want an after party we’ll goto Miami but if we want to play for love…we still come to India!
Having said that, the duo put down their final track, and in an almost symbolic fashion, the duo signed off the same way they did when they did previously as they dropped Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin ‘Don’t You Worry Child‘.
And so came to close a magical journey of some of the best tunes and moments we’ve witnesses at a concert. We await with bated breath for the next time these two masterminds come down to India.
Special thanks to the Sunburn team.
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