Alesso plays it cool.
Beginning his career 5 years ago as a self-taught 18-year-old bedroom producer in Stockholm, Sweden, Alesso’s trajectory to the forefront of the global dance floor has been truly amazing. Starting off by tinkering with other people’s songs, creating his own edits, and uploading his versions to Beatport, Alesso’s efforts reached Sebastian Ingrosso, who quickly took the teen under his wing.
Apart from just having Ingrosso as a mentor, Alesso was also signed to his management and label which led to Alesso making an impressive entrance with his “Taking It Back” remix of Avicii’s “Alcoholic”. However, it was his addition of classic house drop to Nadia Ali’s “Pressure” that helped the single become one of the most played dance tracks of 2011.
In 2012, Alesso teamed up with One Republic’s “Ryan Tedder” for “Calling (Lose My Mind)”, which peaked at #1 on the Billboard Dance Chart and has since been streamed over 33.5 million times on Spotify. That same year, Alesso opened for Madonna on her MDMA tour, before releasing a string of commercially and critically celebrated remixes including David Guetta’s “Titanium”, Keane’s “Silenced By The Night”, and One Republic’s “If I Lose Myself”.
Since then, Alesso’s career has been on a rise as he’s played to sold-out crowds all over the world, landed a Las Vegas residency, and became a favourite at festivals such as Coachella, Electric Daisy Carnival, and Ultra. During his first headline tour in 2013, Alesso released “Under Control” featuring Calvin Harris and Theo Hurts. The track topped Hypemachine charts, was named Pete Tong’s “Essential New Tune” and hit 1 million YouTube views in just 24 hours.
The very same year also saw Alesso produce Example’s “Queen Of Your Dreams” and alongside Swedish House Mafia’s “Numb” for R&B superstar Usher. He wrapped up the year with a Grammy “Best Dance Remix” nomination for “If I Lose Myself” and another #1 on the Billboard Dance chart.
In 2014, Alesso released the single “Heroes” featuring Swedish singer Tove Lo. The radio-friendly track’s popularity continues to grow, much like his other single “Cool” featuring Roy English. Currently working on releasing his debut album “Forever”, Alesso has also teamed up with fashion designer Carolina Herrera on his 212 Limited Edition Club fragrances. The partnership saw the 24-year-old DJ reveal his latest single “If It Wasn’t For You” which will also be featured on his upcoming album.
Slated for a release on May 26th, we caught with Alesso via telephone earlier this morning for a quick chat on deets about what we can expect from his upcoming album “Forever”.
Hey Alesso! How are you?
Hello! I’m great, thank you. Yourself?
I’m good, thanks. How did growing up in Sweden shape your interest in dance music and your career?
Oh that’s a good question. I think it just kinda shaped me into being very focus and I was putting all my free time into making music really. Even when I was in school, I would make music on my free time so I guess that’s how it shaped me.
How would you say, your sound evolved since you first started?
I think it’s been going a little up and down. Obviously, it used to be a lot harder and big room-ish but now it’s more laid back and chilled. Then again, it’s always changing.
Cool. One of your recent tracks, “Heroes” is probably the most radio friendly songs you’ve produced. What was it like working with Tove Lo?
It was great, it was fun. She’s super talented and we had a great time.
Your debut album “Forever” will be out next week. Can you tell us a little about it – what inspired the album?
I wanted to make an album that I was happy with and that you know, had different kind of parts in it so when you listen to it, you’ll get a little bit of everything but it’s still me.
Do you have a favourite track on the album?
I can’t pick. I like all of them differently, each track is different and served a different purpose so it’s too hard to pick one.
Okay. Last one, what else is in the pipeline for you this 2015?
I’ve got a lot of shows in Europe this summer. I’m also going Asia for Ultra then a tour in the States. I’ll also be working on new music but yeah, big summer tour.
Cool. Thank you so much!
Thank you, bye bye!
Alesso’s debut album “Forever” is now available for pre-order here. Big thanks to our friends at Universal Music Malaysia for arranging this interview for us!
For more on Alesso, stalk him via these portals: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
