The king of the sun-kissed summer anthem; the mogul behind
one of the hottest imprints on the planet; a superstar producer and DJ who’s
never lost the giddy enthusiasm of a fledgling clubber; and one of the most
successful and influential remixers of the 21st century. By anyone’s standards,
Axel ‘Axwell’ Hedfors is a giant of modern-day dance music – and he’s only
going to get bigger.Axwell’s steady ascent into
clubland aristocracy began when he struck crossover gold with 2004’s glorious
‘Feel The Vibe’. An unstoppably uplifting and instantly memorable track, the
original version of ‘Feel The Vibe’ (featuring vocalist Errol Reid) dazzled
every corner of clubland, before an overhauled version (with new vocals by Tara
McDonald) gate-crashed the UK top 20. 2005’s ‘Watch The Sunrise’ (featuring
Steve Edwards) proved to be another unstoppable anthem, as was his 2006
collaboration with fellow Swedish House Mafioso Steve Angello, Supermode’s
‘Tell Me Why’ (released via Ministry Of Sound, it reach #13 in the UK and #3 in
the Netherlands). But it was 2007’s rave-referencing ‘I Found U’ (#6 in the UK
charts) that really cemented Axwell’s status as a producer who could marry
artistic innovation with strong commercial appeal – a rare thing indeed, in any
genre of music. Most recently he was one of the forces behind Swedish House
Mafia – One (Your Name) featuring Pharell Williams, another top ten UK hit,
crashing into the summer charts at #7 and soundtracking every festival, dance
event and Ibiza club night.“I do feel pressure to maintain a certain level of
success,” says Axwell. “That’s a weight that lies on my shoulders – but all
that pressure comes from myself. I want every tune to be better than the last
one: to sound stronger, to be phatter, to work better in a club. So it’s
pressure, but it’s good pressure. It pushes me forwards, creatively.”“For me,
it’s all about asking questions of myself. Would I play this? Would I play it
during peak time? Is it the phattest thing I’ve ever heard? Is it the most
futuristic shit out there? I question the track – and myself – the whole time.
I’ve got a good expression: the goose-bumps never lie. If you get goose-bumps
during the production stage, then you’re on the right track...”Axwell’s
Midas-like touch – along with his peerless technical ability – has made him the
go-to guy for artists looking to get their latest release reworked into a
storming dancefloor juggernaut. Madonna, Nelly Furtado, Moby and Pharrell
Williams have all come a-knockin’, while productions such as his masterful
reworking of Hard-Fi’s ‘Hard To Beat’, his sublime remix of The Temper Trap’s
‘Sweet Disposition’ (along with Dirty South) and of course his unstoppable
version of TV Rock’s ‘In The Air’ have gone on to become as big as – or, in
many cases, bigger than – the original tracks.Listen song here:YouTube
Throughout the +13 years of its existence, Solarstone's
balearic überclassic 'Seven Cities' has moved literally millions of people.
With its musical fire still burning bright, it now sees 4 brand new remakes
come to life. Enjoy Solarstone's Pure re-touch, as well as remixes by Antillas
& Dankann, rising talent Thomas Datt & newcomer Almar.Richard Mowatt
aka Solarstone is responsible for some of the biggest classics in EDM history.
The UK producer/DJ didn't only bring us the seminal classics 'Solarcoaster,
'Like A Waterfall' and 'Jump The Next Train' plus more recent anthems 'The
Spell', 'Fireisland' & 'Jewel; he's also one of the masterminds (together
with Andy Bury) behind 'Seven Cities' - an all-time favourite that won't fade
anytime soon.For 2013, Solarstone himself has given it a #PureTrance upgrade -
his 'Pure' Mix injecting that extra push of energy and bass-work. Italian
producers Antillas & Dankann go full out on feel-good, giving it that
playful stir of prog-house, without losing its original vibe.Polish producer
Thomas Datt on the other hand, kept his focus on the uplifting and trancey side
of 'Seven Cities', providing a solid remix for the trance junkies - as does
Romania's Almar who pulls no punches with his rousing, melodic mix.For over a
decade Solarstone (Rich Mowatt) has been creating dance-floor traffic jams with
a convoy of revered club classics, all-out anthems & critically-acclaimed
albums. As a DJ, he spins weekly at clubs around the planet and for
globally-recognized names like Cream @ Amnesia, Ministry of Sound, Gatecrasher
& Full-On-Ferry. Releases from Solarstone’s label projects Solaris,
Touchstone, solarSwarm & Molecule are instrumental components of his highly
individualistic sets and are constantly supported by the trance & prog
spinning elite. Solaris International, his weekly show enjoys a dedicated
fan-base and is broadcast across +80 FM & Internet stations.Listen song here:YouTube
"Shake" has become a pop culture phenomenon thanks
to the song's (and dance's) hugely popular meme. (Its concept, to recap: a
30-second video begins with a person dancing to the song alone for 15 seconds,
while other people appear unaware of the movement. Then, all participants join
in for the clip's second half.) Fueled by the song's audio as a backing track,
"Shake" holds at No. 1 on the BDS-based Streaming Songs chart with a
monstrous 98 million streams, down 5% from last week's total of 103 million.
Notably, the song is proving to be more than just the soundtrack to
user-generated videos. Its audio is gaining attention on its own, as it debuts
on On-Demand Songs at No. 17 with 803,000 on-demand streams, a 159% increase
over last week.Sales for "Shake" likewise rise, as the track lifts
3-2 on Digital Songs with a 13% gain to 297,000, earning it the top Digital
Gainer award on the Hot 100. ("Shake" was released commercially last
June, but it didn't begin to sell significantly until two weeks ago, thanks to
its viral momentum, when it moved 18,000, up from less than 1,000 the week
before.) Radio airplay continues to lag significantly in the "Shake"
success story, although it's building. The song registered 6 million audience
impressions in the Hot 100's Feb. 20-26 BDS tracking week, a 174% uptick.
Especially noteworthy: While "Shake" was originally released on the
independent Mad Decent label, major label Warner Bros. this week announced that
it's now promoting the song to radio, likely upping its chances for more
widespread airplay going forward.Listen song here:YouTube
Between 2002
and 2012, ROBY ROB (34) published more than 50 tracks together with another six
international artists. Of these more than 35 were done with DJ ANTOINE(GOOD
MORNING SAINT TROPEZ, DA ROOF IS ON FIRE, WO GEHT DIE PARTY AB?). MIKE CANDYS
(IN THE BEGINNING / SMILE), This was followed by REMADY (WORK YOUR PUSSY, MOVE
IT), JACK HOLIDAY (RAISE YOUR HANDS UP), MR. DA NOS (BALKAN CAN YOU HEAR ME /
NANA HEY KISS HIM GOOD BYE).The songs were released in more than 80 albums /
compilations in 57 countries. ROBY ROB was sold on more than 1.2 million sound
carriers and was honoured 12 Gold awards.Until 2010, ROBY ROB toured the globe
with DJ ANTOINE and did more than 1500
concerts and club events.Since then he has been on tour with Mr. Da Nos.Whether
in front of 50,000 people in the Sambadrome in Sao Paolo or on the main stage
at Touch The Air in Zurich, on the stage he knows how to get his audience
going. ROBY ROB lives and works in Zurich on solo single projects that will be
released in 2012.His producers are David May, Pablo Rodríguez, Thomas Noser and
Emini, and he does the songwriting himself.Listen song here:YouTube
After finding his feet in the world of electronic dance
music Stephen has been pushing himself to the limit and has started to reap the
rewards.The singles he has released have propelled his name into the CD wallets
of giants like Sander Van Doorn, Ferry Corsten, Lange, Andy Moor, Dash Berlin,
Mike Koglin, Mark Sherry, Sean Tyas, Gareth Emery, Mike Koglin and Judge Jules
to name a few.Tireless hours in the studio have
also seen his productions released on some of the hottest labels around
including Reset (Spinnin'), Lange Recordings, Limbo Records, Aria Digital
Goodgreef Digital and MLXL. A remix of the classic U2 track Beautiful Day also
picked up plaudits from some of the biggest names in the industry and stacks of
support from the harder players in trance. A more recent remix in the shape of
Coldplay's smash 'God Put A Smile Upon Your Face' gained instant support from A
list DJs Paul Oakenfold, MarLo, Mark Sherry, Artento Divini, Ben Gold and many
many more!The talented youngster also made it into the Top 20 Scottish DJ
listings 2 years running alongside some of the country’s top DJs from the last
20 years including, Slam, Calvin Harris, Mark Sherry and Mallorca Lee.In
addition his ever popular monthly podcast ‘Culture Sessions’ has now gone
global with thousands of listeners tuning in religiously from across the world
on the 3rd Tuesday of everyone month on huge Afterhours.fm and the 3rd Friday
of the month on Indias Tenzi FM/Itunes.His club nights of the same name are
also going from strength to strength and he has been able to attract some of
the best international artists to his hometown as well. He has also been chosen
to play with Eddie Halliwell, Tiesto, Mauro Picotto, Sander Van Doorn, Jordan
Suckley Marcel Woods and countless other superstars as well as securing coveted
slots on some of the biggest and best tours and festivals around including
Coloursfest and Eddie’s Fire It Up Tour.Listen song here:YouTube
