The Axwell Λ Ingrosso Cycle of Sonic Evolution

The year was 2010. It was June, and Swedish House Mafia had yet to release their mega-hits “One” and “Miami 2 Ibiza.” But the supergroup had heft, and they were headed to EDC in Los Angeles. That was a watermark year for EDC, one of the first American festivals to book the trio. The impression it left was indelible, to say the least.

“We were like, ‘Whoa! There are so many people. This is such mayhem,’” former member Axwell remembers. “We were making music a long time before America woke up [to the electronic music scene], and we came there, and it was already wide awake.”

It was the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship between the Swedes and the festival brand. The two grew together, chasing each other across cities and continents. SHM famously disbanded in 2013, but founding members Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso continue to merge their musical prowess for total EDM domination. Axwell / Ingrosso is slated to play EDC UK this July, and while it marks the artists’ first landing at that particular festival, they each already enjoy a long-standing relationship with the host country.

“The UK crowd is a very dedicated crowd. They’ve had dance music since before we were born,” Axwell says. “[UK] festivals and crowds are always there, while as in America, it’s been a sonic boom. It was done so fast, it exploded, and we felt that explosion.”

America’s fast-burning obsession has become the topic of much controversial conversation. Media outlets from within the scene and beyond chatter incessantly about the “EDM bubble” and its inevitable burst. Las Vegas shies away from expensive DJs, SFX announces bankruptcy, and everyone points a finger to inflated egos while screaming, “Backlash!” Is the end really near?

“That discussion is happening, but it seems it’s mainly happening in America,” Axwell says. “I think people are stuck on analyzing things too much. They blew it up so much and expected so much from it, like a stock—like SFX stock. What was that all about? It’s music. If you’re hyping something up that much, you will for sure get disappointed, no matter what it is.”

“Everyone is up for new things all the time, and everything moves really fast right now. It’s good that there’s change. It’s good for everyone.” —Sebastian Ingrosso

“It’s happening at the moment, so it is real,” Ingrosso adds. “I’ve been thinking about that, too. I just try to make music now with us and do what we can do best, and it will show in time. But everyone is up for new things all the time, and everything moves really fast right now. It’s good that there’s change. It’s good for everyone.”

If change is positive, Axwell and Ingrosso choose to focus less on the turmoil within the American EDM market and more on their own evolution, and from where they’re flying—which is pretty damn high—skies are as blue as ever.

“The world is too big for us to even feel that things are changing negatively,” Axwell adds. “We just go around the world and play to different people all the time. Sometimes it’s a huge festival, or sometimes it’s a smaller club. It’s been surreal, and it’s been a long journey for us. It’s an ongoing motion, and looking at the shows me and Seb are going to do, it’s our busiest summer ever. For us, things are really good and exciting.”

Right now, the friends are hard at work in the studio, cooking up the songs destined to be the smash hits of this summer. They’re looking forward to taking over Ushuaïa every Wednesday in Ibiza. The summer is their time to explode, despite what naysayers in the States may say.

“The people that would do the same thing cannot expect different reactions,” Ingrosso says. “When we started out, we took influence from other people’s music, and we made our own thing. That’s what this new wave are doing. It’s always going to develop, and that’s what I think is nice. We are also developing all the time.”

UK fans can watch that development unfold before their very eyes when the duo unloads a ton of new tastes in July. They’ll be fresh and ready to take on another summer, bigger and better than ever.

“It’s full-on show time in July and August when we play every day,” Axwell continues. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. Maybe we will even get to see the sun eventually.”

Catch Axwell / Ingrosso at EDC UK 2016 Saturday, July 19, at kineticFIELD. For more information, visit the official website.

Kat Bein is always fresh and ready. Follow her on Twitter.

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