Given that Steve Angello is one of our favourite dads in the electronic music/record label/advertising/fashion business, we would take his word on most things.
Commenting on the overkill in EDM in a recent interview, he said, “It all sounds the same. That is what is eventually going to kill the scene, because people are not going to be able to tell who has done what.” Reminiscing on old-school production styles, he also added, “Back in the ’80s and ’90s people created songs differently, when you hear those songs you know every single word … Chic had their own sound, Stevie Wonder had their own sound, Michael Jackson had his own sound … Today you can’t even tell which artist is on which track.”
One could argue that it was Michael Jackson’s pitch perfect screeching that made his sound so iconic or the way Nile Rogers’ made guitar strings melt in his fingers that made Chic’s music so chic; whereas for electronic artists, sounds are fixed and vocalists are variable, making it difficult to distinguish between artists’ tracks. To those skeptics he answers, “You have to create your own sound. Daft Punk owned their sound … That’s why I love indie music so much, I can go see Temper Trap or Arcade Fire and it’s all different. That’s why I fell in love with music.” (BRB, falling in love with Steve Angello for loving indie music!)
He’s been resisting the McDonaldization (political speak for ‘homogenization’) of dance music with his album in the works, saying, “I’m trying to stay away from creating McDonalds. I miss music, I miss instrumentation, I miss bands like Pink Floyd. I miss all of those synth experimental trips.” And for fans who are wondering what to expect with it, he reveals,“I’ve gone a little indie with this album. It’s very melodic. It’s a little melancholic. I’m a moody person. I’m trying to reflect that as well. I’m Swedish. It’s dark 90 per cent of the year there. That definitely comes through.” Food for thought – maybe so many Swedish DJs start young because it’s too dark to play ball after school in Sweden.
He applies his change-is-good philosophy to his creative agency as well, saying, “I’ve learnt how important it is to be innovative. I change my logo every year. I change my art direction every year. I change my colour schemes every year. It’s like a fashion brand. It’s for me to feel fresh all the time.” So you have to give the man credit for practicing his preach about originality. And for an artist who sometimes performs solo under the stage name Who’s Who, it’s a fair enough for him to want to listen to tracks and know whose is whose.
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