Coming just this Friday the 24th, Kygo has seemingly finished ‘Forever Yours’, a collaboration between the late Avicii and Sandro Cavazza. Kygo has been playing his version publicly for some time, most notably at the tribute concert.
After Avicii’s ‘TIM’ album and then multiple remixes from fellow artists, this is the most recent piece of posthumous music we have received.
In Sandro’s announcement post, he went in depth with the development and now release of the track;
This version of Forever Yours is a Tribute to Tim that me and Kygo have put together to honor what he has meant to both of us. The music we made together has changed my life and my perspective of music. He was Kygo’s biggest Idol and biggest inspiration and that’s what has made this Tribute possible.
We’re releasing this song together with Tim’s family and the proceeds from the track will go to the nonprofit Tim Bergling Foundation which benefits organizations that support mental health issues, suicide prevention and education, wildlife conservation and other issues that Tim had an interest in and passion for.
On the pre-save website dedicated to the track, some backstory on the inception of “Forever Yours” was shared:
During a trip across the US in 2016, Sandro Cavazza played Tim an early version of “Forever Yours.” Heading towards Avicii’s show at Ultra Miami, Tim immediately started working on it on the tour bus and played a demo at the festival. The song was never completed or released while Tim was alive, but now Kygo and Sandro have together produced a version to honor his memory.
Laidback Luke needs no introduction, the Dutch veteran has been at the top of the dance music game for 20 years. He has aided in the development of many artists, through his own label Mixmash as well as his forum which saw acts such as Avicii, Steve Angello, Afrojack and countless more. His recent collaborator and upcoming talent from Mixmash is Unity from China. He has released a handful of remixes and originals, remaining loyal to Mixmash with all of them.
Laidback Luke and Unity recently teamed up for ‘Make That Thang Go’, released to welcome arms – now they’ve joined us for an exclusive interview. The pair delve into their past, present and future, with topics such as the Avicii tribute, upcoming projects, working with Swedish House Mafia, Chinese dance music scene and much more.
You’ve had the forum, and now the vlog. Is being a mentor to aspiring artists something you strive for?
Laidback Luke: Not really, that is something I do naturally and it has to do with me coming up as a young talent and never really encountering many DJs and producers that were willing to help. I always promised myself that if I got a little bit of a name that I would be that guy that I was always looking for.
Your sound has remained similar yet evolved throughout your career, is that something you focus on whilst producing?
Laidback Luke: This is something that I’m currently doing with the ‘Twisted house’ sound, I’m actually claiming that sound with my recent releases. It’s both house-y and Dutch-y. A lot of people ask me what is Twisted house is exactly but it’s instilled in me. A lot of the things I do right now are based on that.
Back in the day you had a close relationship with the Swedish House Mafia guys, how did you first meet them? And are you still close?
Laidback Luke: I met Steve Angello on my forum when he was unknown. He looked up to me because I had made an official remix for Daft Punk. I was hanging with the Da Mongoloids (Armand van Helden, Basement Jaxx, Daft Punk, Junior Sanchez) which Swedish House Mafia was actually based on. Steve really wanted to meet and hang out and at a certain point, he started to blow up a little bit. I noticed there was something incredible about his sound so we started doing studio sessions in Stockholm and then Sebastian Ingrosso and Axwell came out. This was just before all these guys blew up and obviously we made ‘Leave The World Behind’ which was pretty much one year before they made ‘One’.
You have family in different places around the world, you have a weekly vlog you edit and film yourself, your extremely talented with Kung-Fu – winning multiple medals at the world championships. And of course, you travel the world making music and DJing to thousands of people. How do you manage to make time for all this?
Laidback Luke: This is why I had a panic attack back in 2018, I was doing this 24/7 and I would always tell people one of the reasons I can do this is because I don’t do Netflix. Which I really needed to come back from, because of that anxiety attack I realized I am only human and that I need just one day a week completely off social media and email. This has been doing me a lot of good and I only now realize how much I was damaging my brain, so to say.
You recently performed at Avicii’s tribute concert, was that a special event to play?
Laidback Luke:This took place in a 60K crowd capacity stadium in Stockholm. It was both epic and emotional at the same time! I can’t believe I cried twice while DJing such a big crowd. But I’m super honored that his family and his team have included me in all of this. We miss you so much Tim!
You have both had your fair share of collaborations, including your latest one together – do you prefer working alone or with people?
Laidback Luke: What I love about collaborations is that you always get someone chasing you to finish something haha. It’s a nice kickstart whenever someone comes through with a demo like Unity did and you are able to finish it. I do love working alone though, but I do really like the extra inspiration a collaboration brings.
Unity: Personally, I love working with other artists. But there are times when you just have to do a track that you imagined in your head alone. But, working with other artists can bring a whole new dimension on a track. So I guess it just depends.
Can you tease an upcoming project or release?
Laidback Luke: Absolutely! Actually I have all my upcoming releases until summer 2020 ready even! I have some cool tracks coming up which I can’t wait to tell you more about soon.
Unity: I have an upcoming release with my good friend Carta which I am very excited about. More details soon! Shout out to Carta!
You have released exclusively on Mixmash for the entire Unity project, what drew you to Mixmash?
Unity: Mixmash is like a family, I love the family atmosphere they have and as an exclusive artist with Mixmash I feel truly blessed they accepted me as one of their own. Any help you need, they are just a message away.
How is the Chinese dance music scene?
Unity:I think it’s still growing. There are tons of talented producers in China and to me personally, I think they just need a platform to let people hear their music.
Do you think it is an untapped market in terms of music? Are there any limitations breaking out from China?
Unity:I wouldn’t say untapped, I think China is still trying to figure out what kind of electronic music they would listen to. In my opinion, I think there are major limitations to breaking out from China. Luckily for me, I have my Mixmash family supporting me, but the other thousands of talented producers out there don’t have that kind of backing. There are a lot of producers producing really amazing sounding stuff from techno to house to trap, you name it they have it. It’s just that they need a platform to properly release and market their music.
In loving memory of Avicii, friends and family got together to celebrate his life today in Stockholm for an official tribute concert. It was a roller coaster of happiness and sadness, which resulted in an incredible concert for not only the fans on location but the ones watching from around the world.
Over 55,000 fans came out to experience not only a wonderful and emotional performance of Avicii tracks, but also acts such as Laidback Luke, Kygo, David Guetta and Nicky Romero. The attendance broke the record for the highest number in the Friends Arena in Stockholm.
Below, you can re-live three hours of highly emotional tributes to the late Swedish producer, with many of his collaborators joining the 30 piece band. The band went through Avicii’s extensive discography and performed some of the best. It was understandably an emotional experience for the performers and the crowd, you can see the extent of that throughout the livestream.
Of the DJ’s, David Guetta performed last and played a special track for both the first and last time. Before Tim’s death, himself and David Guetta, Afrojack and Giorgio (likely David Guetta’s long term producing partner Giorgio Tuinfort) started a record. It was just a beat, but the week of Avicii’s death, David Guetta wanted to write a tribute for him, using the original work in progress they had.
“This is a record I’ve never played before. I felt this was the right time.” “This is the very first time I’ve played it, and will probably be the last.”
As David explained, the unfinished production is likely to be shelved at this point and not see the light of day. In this circumstance it was a touching tribute but it is not close to being legitimately released. However, you can listen to a low quality rip of the track from the concert here.
Over 18 months have passed since Avicii’s heartbreaking death and he still lives on. His presence will continue to be felt throughout music and never die.
Earlier this year the Tim Bergling Foundation unveiled a special Tribute concert to commemorate him and raise awareness for Mental Health Awareness. The charity was founded by Avicii’s family in the wake of his tragic death in April 20 2018. The special event is set to start at 5pm in his home city of Stockholm, Sweden. It quickly sold out in 30 mins with 55,000 set to attend.
The one-off event will bring fans and his biggest collaborators together for a unique journey to honour his music and legacy. For the many of us who won’t be there, you might be wondering if you can tune in. Thankfully the Avicii focused portion of the concert (9pm – 11.15pm CET) will be live-streamed for all, hosted on Avicii’s official social media channels as well as broadcast on Swedish TV and select radio stations around the world. We’ll update the page with the stream as soon as it goes live!
The event will bring together 19 of the original singers on Avicii’s biggest tracks for the very first time, among them we will hear the likes of Aloe Blacc, Adam Lambert, Dan Tyminski, Bonn, Rita Ora and many additional surprise acts.
Avicii’s music will be the headline performance, and accompanying these voices will be a 30 piece band. In addition, the night will also feature opening performances from some of his talented friends, electronic music powerhouses such as Laidback Luke, Nicky Romero, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Kygo and David Guetta (These won’t be streamed)
WATCH BELOW
Speaking on the concert Klas Bergling, Tim’s father says “We are grateful that his friends, producers, artists and colleagues are coming to Stockholm to help. They have all expressed a sincere interest and desire to engage in efforts to stem the tide of mental illness and lend their support to our work with the Tim Bergling Foundation. We are very much looking forward to this evening, which will be a starting point for the foundation’s work going forward.”
Where To Watch? Avicii’s official YouTube, Facebook and Instagram (Globally), SVT (Swedish TV), YLE (Finnish TV), SR (Swedish Radio), Fun Radio (France), Evolution Radio (US iHeart Radio), Firelane (US AMP Radio), Block FM Radio (Japan), EBU (European Broadcasting Union), and more.
16.00 DOORS 17.00 WARM-UP DJS 18.00 LAIDBACK LUKE 18.30 NICKY ROMERO 19.00 DMITRI VEGAS & LIKE MIKE 19.30 KYGO 20.00 DAVID GUETTA 21.00 AVICII LIVE TRIBUTE CONCERT
As the lead up to 2020 continues, we are counting down some of the best dance music of the decade, this time showcasing the best 12 from 2012. 2012 was arguably a year which had major impact on dance music with some of the best anthems over the decade falling into this year. Below we have listed 12 of the best releases across the year, summarising this down to 12 was not at all easy.
Otto Knows – Million Voices
Otto Knows’ brilliant track ‘Million Voices’ was a kickstarter to a huge wave of productions focusing on vocal cuts and melodies – but none of them able to surpass Otto’s. The vocals are actually edited from Wyclef Jean’s song of the same name. The vocal melody is iconic in dance music and whilst it does not get a lot of love in sets 9 years later, the track was massive in its hay day. When commercial radio got its hands on it, it began a second life and appealed to the masses. This was Otto’s initial release on Sebastian Ingrosso’s Refune label, resulting in a close friendship with the label head which has seen Otto work closely with the imprint ever since.
Otto has not released a lot of tracks over the years, but since ‘Million Voices’, he has teamed up with acts such as Avicii, Bebe Rexha & Klahr. Otto Knows was in the studio with Ingrosso and Alesso making ‘Calling’ and was so inspired that he found the vocal and produced ‘Million Voices’ in a day.
Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin – Don’t You Worry
This was an incredible and emotional record that was in a way a goodbye song to the Swedish House Mafia… until they came back together 5 years later. At the time of writing, this is the most recent piece of music released by the trio, over 7 years ago. The song was announced during Swedish House Mafia’s tour of Australia while they played at Future Music Festival 2012. They say it was inspired by the beauty of Australia. When it was announced that the tour the Swedish House Mafia were about to set on would be their last, a farewell single was also announced – ‘Don’t You Worry Child’ being that single.
The song had its live debut at the Swedish House Mafia’s Milton Keynes Bowl concert and its radio debut on Pete Tong’s BBC Radio 1 show on the 10th August. The record starts with a beautiful piano lead and is then joined by emotive vocals by frequent collaborator John Martin. The appeal to both the commercial and die hard fans is present and evident by its success.
Porter Robinson – Language
This track was an incredible release that saw plays all around the world from a vast range of individuals. This had a significant impact on American producer Porter Robinson’s rise to fame and to this day, is many fans favourite release. The track features uncredited vocals from Bright Lights. ‘Language’ found itself in the majority of compilations in 2012, it also found a way into the hands of the mainstream, which may be surprising considering its electronic elements.
Porter followed up the single with another hit in ‘Easy’ with friend Mat Zo. It has been over three years since we have seen music from Porter. He has created his Virtual Self moniker since with the highlight of his recent tracks being ‘Ghost Voices’.
deadmau5 feat. Chris James – The Veldt
deadmau5’s hit ‘The Veldt’ showcased Joel Zimmerman’s talents once again. The gifted producer had a rough instrumental available online when Chris James sent over an outstanding vocal version, totally unexpected by the mau5. A match is made in heaven by the technical and melodic instrumental and the vocals both quality and meaningful. The video, linked below is a great depiction of the record. As with the song, the video is based on the short story ‘The Veldt‘ by Ray Bradbury.
The production is really one that you wont tire of. The melody is out of this world, as are the other elements. The flawless track was first released in The Veldt EP along with remixes by Tommy Trash and Freeform Five. It was later included in his ‘> album title goes here <‘ LP. Make sure to listen to the 8 minute version to experience all its glory.
Hardwell – Spaceman
Potentially one of the largest tracks from the 2012 era was Hardwell’s ‘Spaceman’. Featuring top notch melodies and an impeccable sound design, this resonated with millions of fans and DJ’s and was a staple through the entire year. This release catapulted Hardwell onto the top of the DJ index and he remained there until last year when he decided to take a break from touring.
It had a second life when the vocal version ‘Call Me A Spaceman’ featuring Mitch Crown was released a few months after. Another vocal version was created in collaboration with Bright Lights that ultimately was utilised. Despite Hardwell claiming that the latter was his favorite, his management decided instead to release ‘Call Me a Spaceman’. Carnage made a name for himself with his bootleg turned official remix of ‘Spaceman’ that now has a total of 60 million plays.
Avicii & Nicky Romero – I Could Be The One
This was first played by Avicii at the Super Glow event in DC Armory, Washington, USA on November 18, 2011. A rip of this track had been going viral on YouTube and since then, the melody has always stuck out among the rest of not only these artists’ releases but dance music in general. Originally titled ‘Nicktim’ based on the collaborators’ first names, it was later changed to ‘I Could Be The One’ to accommodate to the lyrics. Boosting hundreds of millions of plays across platforms, this record was a major success which led it to cross into the commercial space.
The track’s vocalist and songwriter Noonie Bao revealed to Spotify, that despite working on the track, as well as another one on his 2013 album True, she had never actually met Avicii until a number of years later. The production of the record solidified Avicii and Nicky Romero’s friendship, which made Avicii’s death particularly difficult for Nicky.
Ivan Gough and Feenixpawl feat. Georgi Kay – In My Mind (Axwell Mix)
First premiered in Swedish House Mafia’s Essential Mix, three talented Australians came together for an amazing and refreshing production. Axwell topped it off with a slight edit which unfortunately led to many crediting the entire track to him. 7 years later and this track still works – the incredible progressive melodies and wonderful vocals making it a highlight in any set.
In 2018, Dynoro released a cover of the record with a more upbeat bass filled production. The new version has well over a billion plays and luckily enough for Ivan Gough and Feenixpawl, they are in the writers credits. Whilst this has the stats to back it up, many agree the original cannot be beaten.
Alesso feat. Matthew Koma – Years
Alesso continued his hot streak of releases with the vocal hit ‘Years’. Teaming up with Matthew Koma for the first and only time, Matthew provides outstanding vocals which clearly deserve credit. After being premiered on Swedish House Mafia‘s takeover of Pete Tong‘s Radio 1 show, the instrumental version of ‘Years’ immediately had fans excited. Alesso shortly after released the vocal version after experiencing the anticipation of the said instrumental.
Alesso stated that he came up with the melody firstly by humming the melody into his phone. Once he has the melody, he knew it would be stunning. ‘Years’ was actually the first piano based record he produced.
Skrillex feat. Sirah – Bangarang
With over a billion streams online, ‘Bangarang’ is definitely one of Skrillex’s top accolades. The well produced video is entertaining and also captures the energy the track outputs. When you mention Skrillex to the general public, this is likely the music they’ll envision. The song’s title and lyrics reflect the battle cry of the Lost Boys in the 1991 movie Hook.
According to The Recording Academy, ‘Bangarang’ is the best dance track of 2012 as they awarded it a Grammy in early 2013. It went platinum in several territories around the world, most notably 5x in Australia and 3x in United States.
Cedric Gervais – Molly
French producer Cedric Gervais released his slightly controversial record ‘Molly’. Molly is a street name for MDMA, a drug taken frequently with dance music fans. This may be the reason for its success as the vocals “Please help me find molly” are the staple and highlight of the record. Many edits and mashups of this track were created, all themed around the vocals.
To say the video clip is NSFW is a bit of a understatement and it doesn’t shine any positively on the dance music world. In 2013 Tyga sampled the release, going as far as featuring Cedric Gervais on the track. This brought many eyes onto the released, mostly from the urban scene.
Zedd feat. Foxes – Clarity
Zedd became one of the biggest dance music producers following ‘Clarity’. Having just released ‘Spectrum’ a few month prior, Zedd released back to back hits. ‘Spectrum’ created the platform for Zedd and then ‘Clarity’ pushed him to the top of said platform.
Teaming up with Foxes for the only time resulted in magic. 3x platinum is USA as well as equivalent achievements in alternative territories. Zedd would unlikely have had the opportunity to collaborate with acts such as Katy Perry, Selena Gomez, Liam Payne and countless others if it weren’t for ‘Clarity’. It showcased Zedd’s master craft in producing, which is transparent through the rest of his discography.
Tommy Trash
2012 was Tommy Trash’s year, the Australian producer released four incredible releases that all deserve a place in this list. Unable to pick just one, all four are included below.
Tommy Trash’s remix of Steve Aoki and Wynter Gordan’s ‘Ladi Dadi’ is out of this world good. The track had been supported by some of the best in the game and its clear why. It features an electrifying take on Trash’s signature sound, which resulted in one of the best remixes of this era. As soon as it progresses on the build towards the drop, it’s breathtaking, slowly bringing the elements in line with the drop. It drops into a catchy melody with impeccable sound design. There is not much, if anything, wrong with this production.
‘Reload’, a collaboration with SHM member Sebastian Ingrosso was a smashing success when it hit eardrums as an instrumental in 2012. The melody was produced by Tommy and sent to Ingrosso for his input, understandably this saw Ingrosso jump onto the track and finalise an exceptional release. Although it never died over the course of a year. it was later revived with a perfect vocal version courtesy of John Martin.
At the tail end of 2012, Tommy Trash teamed up with fellow Australians The Aston Shuffle for another outstanding release. Releasing on Axwell’s Axtone imprint, ‘Sunrise’ was another prime example of perfect melodic progressive house. Like his ‘Ladi Dadi’ remix, the build is slowly and masterfully introduced up until it drops into a vibrant production.
To top it all off, Tommy provided his skills to an already incredible track in deadmau5’s ‘The Veldt’. Whilst the remix didn’t add a lot in terms of originality, this new take presented a more energetic iteration. Tommy Trash brought his sounds over and mixed them with an incredible melody for a track that many would argue rivals the original with its quality.
Honorable Mentions
2012 was an incredible year for dance music in general but there were definitely acts that stood out. As mentioned in the introduction, it was not easy to pick just 12 for the year. Read below to let the nostalgia hit with this 2012 gems. Swedish House Mafia for example released two singles, ‘Don’t You Worry Child’ – mentioned above, as well as the smashing hit ‘Greyhound‘ that featured a beautiful progressive structure and an awesome groove. Back in 2012, ‘Greyhound’ was highly praised by dance fans and artists and it still is today. Eric Prydz released a slew of tracks such as ‘Every Day‘ and many others under Pryda. Nari & Milani released ‘Atom‘, the track that was a leader in the big room movement.
Dada Life had a prominent year with tracks such as ‘Kick Out The Epic Motherf**ker‘ which then led to their album in the same year. Dada Life released some outstanding productions back around 2012, unfortunately we haven’t seen as good since. Tujamo broke onto the scene and seemingly created a new sound with ‘Who‘ together with Plastik Funk. This spawned collaborations with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Steve Aoki that took that sound to the next level. Afrojack teamed up with good friends Shermanology for ‘Can’t Stop Me‘ which was a vibrant mash between Dutch and melodic sounds that resulted in a perfect summer vocal anthem that still holds up today.
TJR brought the bounce with ‘Ode To Oi‘ as with Will Sparks releasing his breakthrough single ‘Ah Yeah‘, which was not only beneficial for him, but it kick started the Melbourne bounce craze. David Guetta and Nicky Romero joined forces for the first time with ‘Metropolis‘, a gritty progressive electronic that is underrated to this day! The Russian ‘Trio‘ Arty, Matisse & Sadko brought timeless melodies with their track, as did Deniz Koyu with ‘Bong‘! This list could continue on, 2012 was truly a stand out year when it comes to dance music.
Take a time machine back to 2012 with our playlist featuring everything listed above and more!
1001Tracklists just announced the results of their annual Top 101 producers list, marking an interesting and eventful year in music. Now in its third year, the ranking unlike other social-based charts is 100% data-driven and composed of an artist’s cumulative unique DJ support.
Taking out the top spot is David Guetta who rises 16 spots to the number 1. Dutch icon Tiesto comes in at number 2 a jump up 4 places, followed by Skrillex and Axwell who only dropped one place. Rounding out the top 5 is Don Diablo, who won the competition last year.
For David Guetta it’s a big jump, however he released a new album with the B side being a huge volume of underground house records, however, it’s unclear whether 1001 chart includes both his alias’ Jack Back and David Guetta cumulatively.
Coming in at #2 is Tiesto who moves up following his club-focused ‘Together’ EP. Filling out the remainder of top 10 is Armin Van Buuren, Ingrosso, Diplo, Camelphat and Chris Lake. With some of the artists have not been so active in terms of new releases it goes to show a great record can serve you in the long run. Ingrosso, for example, hasn’t released a solo record since 2016 and has had no tracks under his own name since 2017.
Some of the biggest jumps we see this year include Jack Wins – who moves up 62 places, Mr. Sid who jumps 47 places following his trio of Protocol releases, meanwhile future house master Retvovision climbs 44 spots after releasing 15 productions so far this year. Meanwhile, the biggest newcomer spot goes to Keanu Silva who makes his debuts at number 23.
In recent times a number of the biggest DJ’s have been recreated for Madame Tassauds. Now they have revealed one for legendary Avicii. The life-size wax figure will be viewable to the public in New York as of tomorrow.
Typically these figures are shaped together based off hundreds of images, each pinpointing every aspect and angle to create the most realistic view. However, given the circumstances, the team instead used a different approach. Billboard Reported “Designers instead studied hours and hours of footage, catching Avicii at as many angles as they could to create the proper dimensions and to really capture the vibrant energy with which the DJ and producer delivered his most memorable performances.”
The statue was approved by his parents and coincidentally arrives ahead of Mental Health awareness day (October 11th). A cause which his parents have put a lot of emphasis on in the wake of his passing through the Tim Bergling Foundation.
Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images for Madame Tussauds New York
Continuing our celebration of the biggest decade of EDM as we approach 2020, we’re taking a look back at the years that made it. 2010 was a golden year for dance music including our favourites from Swedish House Mafia and David Guetta. In 2011 we see the domination of Avicii’s global hit, and the breakthrough of Nicky Romero, Bingo Players and more.
Avicii – Levels
Where do we start with ‘Levels’? As soon as Tim played it in his 2010 Essential Mix, everyone’s jaws dropped and they instantly saw its potential. The iconic melody is still catchy to this day. After hearing it on the radio – a mostly instrumental record, it was clear what this would do for Avicii’s career. With over a billion streams across platforms, this was a massive deal for not only Avicii but dance music in general and would be a track to pinpoint in the commercialisation of EDM.
As with a lot of dance music that crosses into the commercial realm, there was a period of time where the track did become overplayed. Thankfully that has evaporated and the track can be enjoyed in all its glory. Since Tim’s untimely and unfortunate passing, this track, as with many others, has seen a second life.
Nicky Romero – Toulouse
This was undoubtedly Nicky Romero’s breakthrough hit, with over 400 million views on a fan made music video alone. It was definitely a successful release for the Dutch artist. The Guy Fawkes masks depicted throughout the video have become a staple in Nicky Romero’s career. Nicky Romero actually had the waveform for ‘Nothing Toulouse’ tattooed onto his arm, clearlysignifying this importance of this release for him. ‘Toulouse’ saw remixes from Chocolate Puma and Tommy Trash.
Above & Beyond feat. Richard Bedford – Sun & Moon
8 years later and this track provides goosebumps to all fans that listen. The powerful and special lead is an iconic sound and is something that has been in the sets of Above and Beyond since its inception. The vocals from Richard Bedford create a beautiful atmosphere that enriches fans in the trance sounds that they’ve come to expect. Overall this is a special song, with the lyrics really hitting some people emotionally. It has a special place in the heart of many Above & Beyond supporters. At the time of writing it has over 40 million streams, although not as many as others on this list – this tracks placement was never in question.
Swedish House Mafia feat. John Martin – Save The World
Like most things Swedish House Mafia touch, their track ‘Save The World’ was a massive hit! With 115M plays on both Spotify and YouTube, this was a tremendous success and further assisted with Swedish House Mafia’s push into the commercial scene. The remix package included some impeccable productions from the likes of Knife Party, Alesso and Third Party.
The film clip was directed by Jon Watts (Spider-man: Homecoming/Far From Home) and featured dogs as heroes. It is both inspirational and cute.
Bingo Players – Rattle
Bingo Players were already prominent names in the music scene before Rattle, however this groundbreaking release shot them to the top of the list. The track became a staple in every DJ’s set, with many mashups and edits of it being made. The catchy lead saw the instrumental become a success worldwide. This initial success saw Far East Movement feature on the track for a vocal version that received even more success on a commercial level. There is a specific amount of plays someone can tolerate with any track and after a while this track became overplayed throughout both the dance and commercial spaces.
Sebastian Ingrosso & Alesso – Calling
Back when Alesso was in his progressive house prime, he teamed up with SHM member Sebastian Ingrosso for the incredible melodic masterpiece that is ‘Calling’. After Alesso left a demo for Ingrosso on his car windshield, he signed him and eventually collaborated on ‘Calling’. This really represents the golden era for Swedish progressive house. A vocal version featuring Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic was released the following year and received praise around the world, hitting top 10 in many countries. With close to 200 million streams on YouTube and Spotify collectively, this was no doubt a shock for the artists.
Knife Party – Internet Friends
‘Internet Friends’ was a staple in most sets throughout 2011, if the original wasn’t played, you were likely to hear an edit/mashup. The crazy robotic vocals and the heavy electronic drop made this track quite unique and it definitely paid of well for Pendulum spin off Knife Party. The Australian duo initially released it as a free download, later adding to to the 100% No Modern Talking EP which kicked off the Knife Party brand in an explosive manner.
Steve Aoki & Laidback Luke feat. Lil Jon – Turbulence
Good friends Steve Aoki and Laidback Luke came together for ‘Turbulence’. Recruiting Lil Jon also, who brought his signature vocals to the already energetic release. To date, it is still one of Luke’s most successful releases. With a crazy film clip and a production like this, it was an immediate success 8 years ago. It was accompanied with remixes from Sandro Silva, Sidney Samson, D.O.D and others.
David Guetta feat. Sia – Titanium
Also produced by Afrojack, ‘Titanium’ was a massive hit, with over 1 billion plays on YouTube and over 600 million on Spotify. What made this track special and eventually successful was of course the stand out vocals from Sia but also the tremendous production. Speaking of production, it features signature Afrojack sounds as well as high energy yet commercially appealable drop.
NERO- Promises
Nero’s biggest track is ‘Promises’, released in 2011 – it still gets praise today. The UK trio included ‘Promises’ in their debut album Welcome Reality. Skrillex also remixed the track, his remix became a hit in itself, with almost more plays that the original and is still being played in 2019. The release went Gold in AUS/NZ and charted high in many counties around the globe. The music video shows a woman in a dystopian regimented future society with mandatory drug consumption, similar in style to the film Equilibrium.
Calvin Harris – Feels So Close
Calvin Harris is undeniably a hit maker and ‘Feels So Close’ was no exception. Hitting 300 million on Spotify and 250 million on YouTube, this was a big track from Calvin Harris and his journey into the mainstream. Back in 2011, Calvin Harris was still signing on some of his songs – the vocals are very good in this and we hope to see him make a return to signing in the future. The sound design and production as a whole is flawless. The single went platinum 3x in USA, 4x in Australia, 5x in Canada and received similar accolades around the world. Dillon Francis, Benny Benassi and NERO remixed the track, with NERO’s mix attracting well over 30 million streams.
Honorable Mentions
Like the 2010 list, it was not easy to be restricted to 11 tracks. Songs such as Alesso’s outstanding remix of Pressure by Nadia Ali, Starkillers & Alex Kenji was easily one of the highlights of 2011 – still being one of the best Alesso productions to date. Rivaling that, is Michael Calfan’s Resurrection in the Axwell recut – although Axwell literally just re-cut it, he took a lot of the praise. Resurrection has an incredible melody and production that saw it being a must in all SHM sets. The instrumental is something magical that holds up today and should see more plays out in the dance world!
Hardwell and Tiësto came together for the first time for Zero 76, named after the area code for their home tome of Breda, Netherlands. Bassjackers released their breakthrough track Mush Mush on Musical Freedom. 2011 saw Fedde Le Grand put out So Much Love, a super solid anthem from the Dutchman. Skrillex released First Of The Year (Equinox) and its crazy video clip that has racked up over 400 million plays. Afrojack and Steve Aoki published No Beef, the slightly underrated track features vocals from Miss Palmer and a signature Afrojack drop first that goes into a more melodic second drop. Last but by no means least, deadmau5 released Raise Your Weapon, this classic mau5 melodic style together with Faroese singer Greta Svabo Bech vocals resulted in one of deadmau5’s best over the years!
The 11 tracks listed, along with the honorable mentions discussed above are featured in our Dance Classics Playlist below.
The passing of Avicii in April of 2018 has been difficult for the dance music community, it impacted people far and wide and started important conversations around mental health. Now fans who adored him and the artist who were close to him to have a chance to come together for a special event to give him one last show.
Following the release of the posthumous album ‘TIM’, Aloe Blacc hinted at the event but today it’s been officially unveiled. The tribute concert held for the late Tim Berg will take place on December 5th at the Friends Arena in his home city of Stockholm, Sweden.
Many of his closest musical friends and collaborators will grace the stage (full list below), among the performances, there will be a two-hour headlining set of his original music performed by collaborators such as Rita Ora and Aloe Blacc along with a 30-piece band. It is going to be the first time many of the ‘TIM’ songs are performed live.
“Tim had plans for his music to be performed together with a large live band, and now we are realizing his dream and giving fans a chance to experience his music in this unique way,” says Klas Bergling, Tim’s father.
From DJ’s to vocalists – it is a perfect representation of the people he worked with throughout his illustrious career. From acts who consider Avicii to be a role model to acts who collaborated many years ago – these are the best acts to be brought together to celebrate the life of one of the best dance producers that has ever lived.
During the two-hour live concert, the singers who participated in Avicii’s biggest songs – artists such as Aloe Blacc, Rita Ora, Adam Lambert and Sandro Cavazza, and others – will perform Avicii’s original songs together with a 30-man band. The concert starts at 16:00 with artists on stage from 17.00.
“Tim had plans for his music to be performed together with a large live band. Now we are realizing his dream and giving the audience and listeners a chance to experience Tim’s songs in a truly unique way. ” says Klas Bergling.
“We are grateful that his friends, artists and musicians whom he worked with during his career come to Stockholm and help us to realize this tribute concert. They have all expressed a sincere interest and desire to get involved in trying to stop the rise of mental illness, and give their support in our work with the Tim Bergling foundation. We are very much looking forward to this evening.”
This concert announcement has tied in with the launch of the Tim Berg Foundation, the charity Avicii’s parents started after his death. All proceeds from the festival will be going to the foundation and it’s very likely all artists are performing for free. This is another incredible tribute for Avicii, his legacy needs to stay alive and this will help it. It will most definitely be an emotional event, but uplifting all the same.
Tickets will go on sale Thursday, Sept. 5, at 10 a.m. CET. There is a ticket page up if you want to check it later to see if there’s any update.
Otto Knows is back again with a sure hit that will help you keep those summer vibes going well into the fall. “About You” comes as a third new single from the native Swede this year, and serves as a mark of the producer’s new pop-forward take on music after an extended hiatus.
Due in part to the untimely death of longtime friend and collaborator Avicii, Otto’s hiatus was a much-needed breather from at times stifling music scene. This year’s new music proves it was also a re-defining period for the musician, as 2019 sees him shedding his festival progressive house sound for a more radio-ready vibe that we’re definitely digging. With an immediately catchy vocal, a bright, bubbly beat, and light violin drop in the chorus, “About You” is nothing but pure happiness, something we’re happy to hear from Otto Knows these days.
Known for his iconic 2012 house hit “Million Voices” Otto continued his meteoric rise with tracks like “Next to Me” and the Avicii-assisted “Back Where I Belong.” Keep an eye out for new show dates and new music, and stream “About You” now.
