suzydemock: Swedish House Mafia To Play Madison Square Garden

Friday, September 23, 2011

Swedish House Mafia To Play Madison Square Garden

Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and Steve Angello confirm December 16 show at famed New York arena.
By Akshay Bhansali

Swedish House Mafia
Photo: Getty Images

British dance music tastemaker Pete Tong's Essential Mix brought official confirmation Friday (September 23) of what American fans of house music supergroup Swedish House Mafia have suspected for a few weeks now: Yes, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and Steve Angello are slated to take the stage at New York's famed Madison Square Garden in December.

In fact, two "One Night Stand" performances have been announced and confirmed by the Swedes' label, EMI: December 16 at MSG and July 14, 2012, at Milton Keynes National Bowl in England.

Rumblings of an epic announcement have been suspected since the group first posted a website, www.230911.com, teasing coded numbers and letters that eventually came to spell out MSG and MKB. In fact, it's a form of underground promotion SHM has become known for: Before March's Miami "Masquerade Motel: One Night Stand" beach party, they released a series of teaser videos online.

With some of global DJ music's biggest hits of the past couple of years under their collective belt already — "Leave the World Behind," "One" (with Pharrell Williams), "Miami 2 Ibiza" and "Save the World" — their MSG showing will keep in line with the way Swedish House Mafia intend to conduct business: Every undertaking aims to one-up the next.

In just a year and a half, the holy trinity of house will have gone from headlining Ultra Music Festival and Electric Daisy Carnival to hosting their very own 15,000-strong South Beach party. And now comes the Garden.

Should it be a surprise that a dance music outfit will follow in the footsteps of U2, Britney Spears, Paul McCartney, Jay-Z and the Kings of Leon? Maybe not to those in the know. But in a two-year period, it's fair to say one of music's most-underground genres has gone pop. Afrojack, David Guetta, RedOne and Dr. Luke have turned the radio "club," and EDM festival attendance has skyrocketed. Dance music has never been more popular — and according to some their biggest stars, if anyone can handle the Garden, it's "the Swedes."

"The Swedish House Mafia crew: If there is one thing you can note them for, it's thinking outside the box," Pete Tong said. "It's exciting. It's something for the people to talk about that moves the culture forward."

When MTV News caught up with Tiësto in Miami this year, he said, "They inspire me. Sebastian is like the Mozart of Sweden. Steve is brilliant. He makes great underground tracks, and he has the right soul. Axwell is the pretty boy," he said, laughing. "Brown hair, blue eyes, who delivers great music. They are all three amazingly talented."

Chuckie called SHM "biggest thing at the moment." "They do the craziest club tracks, the biggest mainstream records. I really like those guys and really respect them. Swedish House Mafia, to me, is the biggest thing out there, for real."

Tickets for "One Night Stand," December 16 at Madison Square Garden, go on sale September 30 at 10 a.m. ET. For information about pre-sales and how to get tickets, head over to Swedish House Mafia's website and Facebook page. And keep your eyes and ears peeled: Expect a live album, One Night Stand, recorded on the road this year, which will feature their latest single, "Antidote" (a collaboration with Knife Party: Rob Swire and Gareth McGrillen from Pendulum), and the official release of their remix of Coldplay's "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall."

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