The Swedish House Mafia Arena was going off last year at Creamfields! How was the festival for you?
It was amazing, it was a really good experience, and I think that it is a dream come true for any DJ collective or band to be able to host their own arena, and we were privileged, so we felt that we had to step it up a bit and give Cream something back, give them something that they could really talk about and really enjoy. So we gave it our all and had a blast and this year we’ll step it up another notch and see how it goes.
After all the confetti canons & dancers last year, what can we expect this year?
I think we’re going to go even better and stronger, we’re going to step it up and take it to the next level.
What will be in your rider this year?
A lot of alcohol.
You had your own party area in the arena with all of your friends, was it good to have them all with you?
I’m DJing with Sebastian and Axwell all the time, and it’s the best thing as we grew up together, but we don’t spend much time together, I’m living in LA, & in Ibiza & I don’t get to see the guys that much now, so every time we get together we always give the party a go.
Your new single ‘Leave The World Behind’ is out soon, did you enjoying working with Ingrosso, Axwell & Luke and do you ever have any disagreements in the studio?
Me and Seb have been working together for 10 years, it’s like I’m working alone, but I have someone next to me, it’s so natural, it feels right. Seb is probably the only one that I have worked with so far that I feel comfortable with. We’re always working to the same aim and always going in the same direction with the music
Which one do you enjoy the most, Dj’ing or Producing?
I like them both, the best thing about producing is that you can actually finish a track then go straight to the airport, jump on a plane, go to a gig and you play it, you can get instant feedback on anything that you do.
So how does it feel when you hear another DJ play your track?
I like it, it’s a really good feeling. Production is not about selling records it’s about putting your emotions into a track and working really hard, and obviously with anything creative, if you do something and people really like it it’s always a really good adrenalin kick.
What do you see as your main strengths as a producer?
I try to treat everything very differently, I try to move on from one track to another, and make a different sound and go somewhere else, because I get bored really really quickly.
Do you take influence from your background with your Greek & Swedish nationality?
I mean, I get a lot of influences from travelling and life, when I stay in Brazil for 2 weeks and then get back in the studio, my tracks have a very Brazilian sound, I just try to embrace everything as I see it, and try to be inspired by everything around me all the time. If I’m in a really bad mood and I’m driving to grey, old, boring Germany, I will probably make techno music, it’s probably going to sound minimal, and if I’m in the sun its going to sound of happiness.
You are very predominant in the media for a DJ, what’s the key to getting noticed and why do you think you are so widely recognised?
We’re kind of media friendly, we don’t have anything against the media, I think that its a great tool to promote stuff. And today with the internet, Facebook, MySpace and Twitters, I think that its very important. If you are friendly and like to do media then of course it will help your career. I don’t mind doing interviews at 3am in the morning, I’ve finished my set, ‘do you want to do an interview’ sure I’m up for it.
What do you think of the superstar DJ phenomenon?
It’s huge, I did a tour with Sebastian [Ingrosso] in January and we played for 300,000 people in 7 days in Australia. It’s got so big now its like the new wave rock stars, we’re doing today what the rock stars were doing 20 years ago, I can go and play an arena for 50,000 people. I think the new kids try to find themselves, and dance music is so accessible, it’s easier to get hooked on a DJ than get hooked on a band. You can’t go online buy & download a bands live show, DJ’s are very internet based.
Definitely, as a collective you use a lot of video coverage.
Yeah, we all have our own channels on youtube. I’m not only thinking about myself, I’m trying to make every single person who likes me and is a fan of me a part of my life and my career, cause it’s thanks to my fans that I am where I am today, because otherwise I wouldn’t be here. You have to give something back instead of just saying ‘F*** off, just come to my gigs’, it’s not that easy, especially with the economy crisis right now. If you want to keep the kids buying the tickets and coming to the gigs then you have to give them something for their money. I just started to release music for free now, I’ve spent so much money into producing and promoting every release I just want people to go online and say ‘here you go, this is for free, have fun!’ At the end of the day, the more people who hear your music the more places you’re going to play.
You travel all around the world, what advise can you give the Creamfields punters to keep up their energy for the entire weekend?
It’s going to be like New Years Eve x2, I’ve seen this year’s line up and it’s going to be a really really good festival. Creamfields picked the best DJs, the best Tents, it’s going to be a really big party. So instead of going out the weekend before, why don’t you save your money and come to Creamfields for 2 days.
You were recently in the papers for when Paris Hilton asked you to play hip hop, what really happened that night?
Well, she’s a ****, and most people know that already, she walked up to me and was like ‘I’m Paris Hilton, do whatever I tell you to.†and I told her to f*** off, then her boyfriend got involved and tried to slap my tour manager, so I just freaked and flipped out.
So you won’t be DJing at any of her parties soon?
No, of course not.
You will be taking over Brixton Academy on the 7th November, what can we expect from the show?
We will be working on the Swedish House Mafia Show during our residency at Pacha all summer so will be close to perfection by the Brixton show. So expect another NYE if not bigger :)
Will you have any surprise guests joining you?
We have some surprises up our sleeves
What is the best thing about playing a festival for you?
It’s such a great atmosphere, people have been out all day, they’ve been looking forward to it all year, there’s so much energy and love in the arena it’s ridiculous, last year when we finished off, I almost wanted to start crying because you never want to stop. The adrenalin, the feeling, you’re with your friends, you have such a great crowd, so many good people in there. They just want to keep on going, and if it was me I would carry on for another 10 hours, they put in so much effort into coming to the festivals, and it’s something that I really appreciate. That’s memories for us, and something that we will never forget.
Who would be on your dream festival line up?
It would be the Swedish House Mafia!
What are your festival essentials?
A lot of sleep, drink a lot of water and drink a lot of alcohol.
Finally, could you give us a quote on Creamfields?
Creamfields is definitely the best festival in the UK!
Steve Angello will be co-hosting the Swedish House Mafia Arena at Creamfields UK, Daresbury, Halton, Cheshire on Saturday 29th August Bank Holiday weekend. Tickets are on sale now Tel: 0844 888 4401 / www.ticketline.co.uk
Swedish House Mafia @ 02 Brixton Academy Saturday 7th November. Tickets on sale now Tel: 0871 22 00 260 / www.seetickets.com / Info: www.cream.co.uk
