Not everyone is excited about the rise in production value at EDM shows over the past few years. Former Swedish House Mafia member Steve Angello is putting his foot down and speaking out against festivals, in favor of playing smaller and more intimate club shows.
As of November 22, Angello has begun his ‘Reflections‘ residency at LiFE Nightclub in Las Vegas – and in an interview with Mixmag, Angello emphasizes his disdain for the “festival-driven” culture and reveals his attempts to bring back the appreciation for club environments, saying the following with regards to new artists on his SIZE label:
“I’m trying to push the artists on my label to become more club-orientated. Some of them think I’m evil! We have an artist right now that’s getting really big and is being offered lots of festivals and I said ‘Listen, your next tour is a club tour’ and he was like ‘Fuck that I don’t want to do a club tour’ and I was like ‘You’ve got to. We’ll do it small. 150 people, great soundsystem, no LEDs, just back to basics.’ Now he’s actually getting more excited about because it’s something different!”
The house legend’s strong opinion about the current state of dance music isn’t without reason, of course; with festivals like EDC and Ultra pouring literally millions of dollars into production alone, most would question how much focus is being given to the main attraction (the music).
What do you think? Is Steve Angello justified in wanting to bring dance music back to its humble roots?
H/T Mixmag | Photo by BBC