We Rave You remembers… Swedish House Mafia

With the 20th anniversary of Ultra Music Festival in Miami approaching, rumours continue to intensify surrounding the reunion of Swedish House Mafia. A pioneering trio in the history of EDM, the Swedish mega-group, consisting of Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso, helped blast electronic music into the mainstream, amassing millions of streams and sales across multiple Platinum-selling releases, and playing at huge arenas worldwide, including New York’s Madison Square Garden venue.

Revisiting the SHM legacy through their fondest memories of the group, the ‘We Rave You Mafia‘ pay tribute to the trio, as a selection of our finest writers tell us what makes Swedish House Mafia so special to them, in their own words:

Alex Costello:

“After hearing ‘One‘ for the very first time over the radio, I spent the next day immersed in the internet hunting down the famous track  – And alas, I was introduced to Swedish House Mafia! ‘One‘ became – and remains – my favourite song, even to this day. I remember ripping the track to a CD and playing it over and over in my car. A CD dedicated to just one track! It had the words ‘SHM‘ and ‘One’ written on it. I still have it somewhere, and still absolutely treasure it!”

Amy Martine:

“In 2011 I stumbled across a video online of Swedish House Mafia performing in Scotland at T In The Park, I hadn’t heard of them before but decided to take a look. I was absolutely in awe of the energy they brought to the stage, I had never listened to progressive house before, so hearing the tracks they played instantly made me fall in love with their sound. From then on, I was addicted, I re-watched the set at least 50 times and found other artists like Arty and Alesso because of it. That set was the gateway for me into electronic music, and still to this day, ‘One (Your Name)’ is my favourite track to ever be released. I can’t think of any other performing group that have as much combined talent as Swedish House Mafia, they will always be an integral part of the electronic music scene.”

Jake Gable:

“I will always remember that special day in 2012 at the MK Bowl, their final ever UK performance. They filmed the video for ‘Don’t You Worry Child‘ there and if you pause it in the right spot, you can see me in the video. But one moment I’d pick that really encapsulates how special SHM were, was when I was lucky enough to attend the London premiere of their ‘Leave The World Behind’ movie. Before the film started, ‘In My Mind‘ started playing on the speakers and suddenly, everyone was up in their seats, dancing and jumping on the stage! I’ve never seen that before… a cinema rave! It proved to me how their music could bring so many people together and unite everyone.”

James Todorovksi:

“My favourite moment was in Sydney during the ‘One Last Tour’, I went along to the event which was a truly magical evening, and when they played ‘Don’t You Worry Child’, they turned the volume of the music right down to mute and the whole crowd started to sing the entire chorus! This acapella version, everyone singing like that, it reduced me to tears. Truly spine-tingling.”

Mitch Sawyer:

“As hard as it is to pinpoint the most memorable moment of Swedish House Mafia, there is one that stands out for me. The first time I heard their edit of ‘Every Teardrop is a Waterfall’ from Coldplay, I was utterly blown away. For me, it is everything to look for in a house record. It truly encapsulates everything I love about the scene and sparked a whole new wave of emotions that is so rare to find in good music. I always dreamed of seeing Chris Martin perform the track with them live, however that seems like a long lost fantasy at this point. The bright, shining chords matched with the blissful melodies and the big room feel exist in such a way that just can’t be captured in words. If there is one song from them that I will take to the grave… it would be this one!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5g69Gmegq4

For Swedish House Mafia, the impact they had on world dance music, and the consequent legacy their impact left behind for future generations, it is clear that this was a trio that meant so much more than just music to their fanatical fanbase. With the 20th anniversary of Ultra Music Festival now right around the corner, be sure to stay with We Rave You over the entire weekend, as we bring you exclusive news, and special reports, LIVE from Miami!