By Geoffrey Rowlands
Swedish DJ/ producer Alesso could easily have featured in this column during 2013. The man born Alessandro Lindblad enjoyed a UK top ten hit with his remix of OneRepublic’s If I Lose Myself and reached number one with Calvin Harris and Hurts on their collaborative track, Under Control.
Neither song made any significant impact on the Billboard mainstream charts although Under Control peaked at number 12 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
But Alesso’s latest UK smash has also garnered the attention of American mainstream audiences. Heroes (We Could Be), which features vocals by his fellow Swede, Tove Lo, has become Alesso’s breakthrough hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
“I’m certain I owe much of the US success to Tove Lo’s involvement,” smiled the 23-year-old Stockholm native. “She had an enormous hit with her song Habits (Stay High) so I’m sure mainstream fans and radio stations were much more interested in my track when they saw Tove’s name on the credits.”
Alesso is also quick to credit Swedish House Mafia star Sebastian Ingrosso for much of his own success.
“I was basically a self-taught producer who remixed other people’s songs in my bedroom studio. I uploaded my remixes to Beatport and these were heard by Sebastian. He made contact and effectively became my mentor signing me to his management and record label.”
Under Sebastian’s guidance, the 18-year-old Alesso developed his skills through an array of floor-filling remixes for artists such as Devolution, Swedish House Mafia and LMFAO. His remix of Avicii’s Alcoholic drew rave reviews but it was his work on Nadia Ali’s Pressure which really established Alesso on the electronic dance music scene.
“I think my remix of Pressure became the most played dance music song of the year. I was honoured then for it to win the Best Progressive Track category at the International Dance Music Awards.”
His rapid rise to fame saw Alesso create a BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix, perform at numerous music festivals, support Madonna during European dates on her world tour and become a resident DJ at the Light Club in Las Vegas.
Considering these and his many other achievements, fans may be surprised to learn that electro-dance was not always Alesso’s musical passion.
“I learned the piano as a young child and grew up listening to pop music, everything from Elton John to Michael Jackson. I got into hip hop through artistes like Nelly, Timbaland and Pharrell Williams but it was discovering house music when I was 13 which set me on the road to where I am today.
“I gained a new perspective on music, a rush and excitement. I sought out more house tracks and found Daft Punk, Erick Morillo and Steve Angello among many others. Listening to house tracks made me feel nothing was impossible and I was determined to learn how to develop my own songs.”
His love of house has not blinded Alesso to the merits of other dance music genres. This is clearly evident from the songs on his forthcoming debut album.
“Every song I make does have house as its core but I’m always interested in bringing different grooves into my work. I’m not making hip hop music but I’ve listened to so much hip hop over the years that I think it has influenced me to add an element of ruggedness into my songs. I love breaking musical rules so continually look for new variations in my sound.”
Heroes (We Could Be) is certainly one of Alesso’s house with a variation songs. It also delivers a positive lyrical message.
“The words encourage everyone to believe in themselves and go for their goals. I want to uplift people through my music and make them feel an explosive happiness. I hope Heroes achieves this objective.”
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Rumer
Mixed reviews greeted Rumer’s recently released third studio album, Into Colour. The Pakistani/British singer/songwriter, real name Sarah Joyce, had reached number three on the UK chart with both of her previous albums, 2010’s Seasons of My Soul and 2012’s Boys Don’t Cry. But Into Colour has so far peaked at number 12.
Lead single, Dangerous, begins in typical slow Rumer style before moving uptempo into late-1970s / early-’80s disco. The video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9EWeqo0KfM
Totally typical of Rumer’s music and showcasing her magical voice is the second single, Reach Out. The video is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGdGvFsfqbU
A video has also been shot for You Just Don’t Know People, another track from the new album. This is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqnTf9etEYg
If you enjoy Rumer’s music, check out everything available on (no www.) soundcloud.com/rumer. Each track from Into Colour is posted here along with many of her most popular earlier songs.
For full albums, every song on Seasons of My Soul can be heard at www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvwq21PhES7hNAyZHqserWs0RVEZTple2 “Boys Don’t Cry” can be found at www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvwq21PhES7jN927KqAw0F22ju_n4uExA
Niall Horan
For any Directioners who may still be worried, it has been confirmed by One Direction’s record company that Niall Horan is definitely not leaving the phenomenally successful British boy band.
Rumours continue to flourish that all is far from well with Harry, Louis, Liam, Zayn and Niall. It was recently reported that all five members wouldn’t even travel on the same flight because they couldn’t stand each other’s company.
With this and numerous other tales in mind, the news of Niall’s departure was widely considered as perfectly plausible. Word spread so rapidly around the Internet that the story went viral.
While One Direction haters celebrated what they thought would be the group’s imminent implosion, tears were shed by millions of their female fans. But eyes can be dried as the boys all move forward together through 2015. Their latest world tour begins next month in Australia.
N*E*R*D
Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Shay Haley, collectively known as N*E*R*D, have just issued their first song in more than four years.
It was October, 2010, when Hypnotize U was released as the second single from their Nothing album. Since then, Pharrell has enjoyed enormous chart success in collaboration with others and as a solo artist, Chad has mainly concentrated on studio work while Shay, as he prefers to do, has stayed largely out of the spotlight.
They have returned now with the track, Squeeze Me, a song specially written for the forthcoming SpongeBob SquarePants movie, Sponge Out of Water. The track can be heard at www.audiomack.com/song/atrillidotnet/squeeze-me
Bebe Rexha
Bebe Rexha is best known as the vocalist in Black Cards, the side band formed by Pete Wentz during his break from Fall Out Boy. She also co-wrote The Monster, Eminem and Rihanna’s international chart-topping single.
But 2015 will see New York-born Bebe’s attempt to find solo success with her forthcoming debut album. Lead single, I Can’t Stop Drinking About You, was a minor hit in America. The official video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeBYIElpEPo
Two more tracks have just been released. Neither is accompanied by a video but the audio posting of I’m Gonna Show You Crazy is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfl6BCn1kYQ while Gone is available to hear at www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDqq8IirpUY
PASSIONATE: Alesso is experiencing a new high with Heroes (We Could Be).
