Nostalgia For Swedish House Mafia

In what could be their last album together, Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso, or Swedish House Mafia as people lovingly know them, released their latest album Until Now on Monday. Only one word could describe this club album: Nostalgia.

A hybrid SHM originals/mix album, “Until Now” starts off with the Absolut Vodka anthem “Greyhound”, which became a must for house sets this past spring.

After being energized by the thoughts of mechanical greyhounds running through the middle of nowhere, SHM brings us to the energetic “Here We Go” by Hard Rock Sofa and Swanky Tunes, most commonly known for its spare drum lift to a drop right after the three words in the song title. This takes us to the Axwell remix of “In My Mind”, another SHM favorite (and a favorite of dancing hamsters, from what I hear).

We can thank Alesso and uncle Sebastian Ingrosso for “Calling (Lose My Mind)”. With lyrics by Ryan Tedder, this album escalated clubbers and ravers across the nation and will continue to do so as SHM embarks on their final tour in the coming months.

Next up is Nari & Milani’s mash-up favorite “Atom” mixed with “Leave the World Behind”. To this day, “Atom” still has one of the best drops I’ve ever heard in the genre, no matter what it is mashed up with.

“Walking Alone/Miami 2 Ibiza” from Dirty South & Those Usual Suspects feat. Erik Hecht, blesses the dance floor with a driving but soothing drive that moves the album along quite nicely.

Enter “Resurrection (Axwell mix)” by Michael Calfan with just a touch of Coldplay’s Paradise and you’ll get a spicy but hearty club track that will force you to move whether you want to or not.

Knife Party’s collab with SHM “Antidote” brings their hard wonking sounds to the already grooving club album. Miike Snow throws in some of his Indie vocals to a Thomas Gold remix of his song “The Wave” to give dancers a quick before the Tommy Trash remix of Steve Aoki’s “Ladi Dadi” into another mash-up “Sing 2 me/Red Carpet-Alright”. I’m sensing a trend, but one that’ll surely be a staple for Vegas, Ibiza, Miami and so forth.

See pictures from Tommy Trash at Sound Kitchen

Steve Angello tosses his individual hat into the mix with Third Party for a hit called “Lights” for a rather unique melody to drive his signature drum and bass sound.

How about a throwback to the days of Pendulum? “The Island” comes up next, asking the age-old question, “What are you waiting for?”

Next up is the alchemy track, which is a mix with Hardwell tune “Three Triangles”, Arty, Matisse & Sadko’s trance hit “Trio” with the lyrics of Adrian Lux’s “Teenage Crime”. A lot of appreciation goes into listening to this triple song masterpiece.

Hardwell headlines Bounce Music Festival on October 26. More info here.

Recently here in the valley, Tommy Trash teams up with Sebastian Ingrosso to create “Reload” for a distinctive sound and push of the bass. This has SHM written all over it with the flare of Tommy Trash in the mix. Sandro Silva & Quintino’s epic song…um…”Epic” gives a heavy drop to Alesso’s “Raise Your Head”, out of nowhere, I might add, which makes it all the better.

Then comes Coldplay’s second appearance on the album with “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall” with a little tinkering done by Swedish House Mafia. This song version will tug on the heartstrings for SHM to stay together forever.

And of course, a song with Usher completes any club album. “Euphoria” gives this radio tune SHM instrumentals to Usher’s recognizable voice. “Don’t You Worry Child” will give a chance for SHM to turn down the speakers in any of their shows and let the audience sing out loud, “see heaven’s got a plan for you!”

The Matisse & Sadko remix of M-3-oc feat. Heidrun’s track “Beating Of My Heart” graces the background of Temper Trap’s iconic “Sweet Disposition” lyrics so or a quick chill out song in between the raging bass lines.

“You Got The Love” by Florence & The Machine, the Mark Knight remix mashed with Swedish House Mafia’s “One” gives a new twist a tune surely everybody in the crowd knows and loves.

An Axwell “Heart Is King” with “Save The World”, the Knife Party mix gives a quick jacked up intro to their fitting final track, “Save The World” mixed with Ferry Corsten’s “Punk (Arty remix)”, yet another amazing spin on a people’s favorite.

This album will make Swedish House Mafia’s final tour very real. If you didn’t miss them yet, this CD will surely make you feel it. Good luck to one of EDM’s classic trio’s Axwell, Steve Angello, and Sebastian Ingrosso as they finish out their last months together.

All in all, 41 different names made this album possible, from a remix to lyrics to a mash-up, original song, all put together on this iconic album of the best of Swedish House Mafia, until now that is…