Steve Angello opens up about his childhood and how dance music changed his life

Swedish sensation Steve Angello has been one of the most respected DJ’s and producers in today’s industry. From his beginnings on the streets of Stockholm to his rise with Swedish House Mafia and to his current success as a solo artist, Angello has undoubtedly been in a crazy roller coaster ride his whole life. Many people, however, are only aware of this side of Angello’s life. His legendary musical career has often overshadowed his past but of course, memories of his childhood will never fade. In a recent interview with BBC, Angello opens up about some specific occurrences during his early life and how everything turned around as a result of music.

Steve Angello had two different worlds growing up. From living with his mother in Stockholm to moving with his father in Greece, his childhood was more difficult than others. When Angello was a teenager, his father was working in nightlife and was involved in criminal activities. As a result, Angello himself witnessed his father get shot. Opening up about this tragic event during the interview, he reveals:

“It was really traumatic for a couple of days for me. From one second to another, my whole life changed.”

Angello then came back to Sweden with a completely different life experience from the other kids around him. During this time, however, the quick turnaround of his life began as he started playing dance music behind the decks. He states:

“I did some bad decisions and hung out with bad people. And I woke up one day and all of the sudden I’m touring. My life went really, really fast. From the age of 14, I started DJing and 15, at the clubs. Then all of the sudden at 18, I was doing European tours. So all of the sudden now I’m 32 and I have two kids and I still don’t understand how it happened.”

Being involved in nightlife without knowing how successful he will be, Angello’s family was initially against his decision of DJing. Despite this, Angello still loved and enjoyed what he was doing and we all know how it went from here.

“We looked up to other kids in the suburbs that were older than us and they had nice cars, nice watches, and cool clothes. But at the same time, I was doing something that was much cooler than them. I was making music.”

After his success as a solo artist, Angello then joins forces with his friends Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso to form arguably the greatest trio of producers in dance music, the Swedish House Mafia. Describing how the project’s idea developed, he explains:

“It started with us being ‘Hey, we’re friends. Let’s have some fun.’ And then it became this monster. All of the sudden we’re selling millions of singles and our last tour sold two million tickets.”

Angello, Axwell, and Ingrosso all had to step away from the group since they felt as if they have already accomplished as much as they can together. Following the break-up, Angello is back as a solo artist stronger than ever, proven by his triumphant release of ‘Wild Youth’. Lastly, to wrap up the interview, Angello talks about being a father for his own family and expands on how his rough childhood made him appreciate life with more optimism and positivity.

“Somehow you just wish that people around you can see and appreciate what you’ve done. And I think that’s one of the reasons why I want to be such a good dad because for me, they’re my world. I think growing up tough made me realize how much I appreciate it and I still, today, I wake up and I just laugh and smile and think this is incredible.”

Source: BBC