Sweden’s next superstar producer – guaranteed
Hey Albin welcome to DMCWORLD. Another huge talent coming out of Stockholm with an absolute monster of an anthem ‘Hells Bells’ and two unbelievable remixes which we will come to later! You grew up in a theatrical and musical family, what was that all about?
“Well for as long as I can remember, my parents have been working in the theater business and almost all around those years we had actors come and rehearse in our home, so there was a lot of singing, acting and dancing going on.”
You started making music aged 14 via computer programming – who were the first artists that switched your head into dance music?
“I think that the one group that really made me open my ears to electronic music was The Prodigy and their ‘No Good’ track. I heard it at the age of 12 and I remember me thinking, ‘what is this amazing music coming out of the speakers!?’ After that I started listening to all sorts of electronic music styles like big beat, drum n’ bass, techno, electronica, house and trance.”
Sounds like due to the fact that you were raised in a pretty much creative environment, something in the entertainment sphere was always going to be on the cards career wise. Was there anything else you were interested in as a life project…?
“I thought from the beginning that I was going to be a Film Director. My biggest idol at that time (and still is) was Peter Jackson. I saw “Bad Taste” & “Brain Dead” & all the behind the scenes about the production of the films. He did almost everything by him self, with some help from his close friends. He made it clear that anything is possible.”
You honed in your DJ skills in a friend’s garage on a set of 1210s – has that friend any idea just how far you have gone today? Are you still mates?
“Yeah him and me are still friends, but we don’t see to much of each other theses days. Maybe around two or three times a year. Funny thing is how different our lives would end up. We shared the same passion for electronic music & everything around it when we were younger. Now he’s moved to the country side, lives a quiet life & works as a carpenter and I make music and travel around the world.”
What were the first big clubs you started to venture to? What DJs were up on show?
“The club scene in Sweden wasn’t the biggest back then but some raves at the abandoned dock called ‘Docklands’ was a place to go. That’s were I first saw DJs like Carl Cox and Tiesto. I was listening to Drum & Bass a lot so I went to some shows of that style as well. The venues weren’t big but who gives a shit when you got the music?”
What was your first break into the music industry ?
I started to work more professional with music in 2005, making remixes & some productions for other artists. In 2006 I decided to take my career more seriously than before & stopped everything else. Actually I didn’t release anything before 2007 as Albin Myers.
What calibre of artists came knocking on the door after the hook up and forthcoming releases on Joia?
First I did a couple of remixes for Tom Novy, John Dahlback & Zoo Brasil before I released my first EP “Ultra Beat” on Joia witch came to be picked up by people like David Guetta & Erick Morillo. That was a big thing for me & one day Guetta called me up & asked if I wanted to remix his new single “When love takes over”. He couldn’t send me the whole track because of the fear of that it would spread on the net, so he played me the song over the phone & sent me the vocal parts & the piano:)
How big an influence was John Dahlback to you back then?
He was & still have a big influence on me. I mean his production skills are so good. He makes stuff sound so good in an hour. He knows his shit haha!
Tell us about how your cover of the Foo Fighters ‘Times Like These’ came about…
“I was in the car with a friend listening to a acoustic album of Foo Fighters when it suddenly hit me. I had heard the song a million times before but now I heard for the first time the potential to make it to a club banger. The original song has such a powerful “sing along” vibe to it. I went strait to the studio & made the first draft in 2 hours. The record label loved the idea so we replayed the whole song and went from there. It got a great response & it got widely played by many top DJ’s. You can say that my career really took off at that point.”
Did you know straight away you had created a huge tune on completing ‘Hells Bells’?
“A year & a half earlier earlier I made a song called “Wobble” witch in that time I think was quite unique in it’s style by putting different genres like dub step,house & trance in the same song. The wobbling base in that one got great response & I wanted to make another one even dirtier than “Wobble”. So to answer your question: YES!”
Where was the first dancefloor you played it to and what was that feeling like?
“I hadn’t had the chance to play it myself before Tiesto dropped it on a show here in Sweden. That feeling was so great. Seeing 10.000 people go nuts to the song. I can thank him allot for pushing it from the beginning!”
Two great remixes that had the DMC BUZZ office jumping – your reworks of Avicii’s ‘Fade Into Darkness’ and the Adrian Lux monster – how did they come about and where did you first play them out? Two massive records…
“After doing tonnes of remixes for everyone during the past years I decided to just do remixes of tracks that I really wanted to make. Like the Adrian Lux track “Alive”. I just asked him if I could make a mix because I was a fan of the original. With Avicii’s Fade Into Darkness was a different story. I asked Avicii’s Manager Ash what he wanted for his birthday and he said “An Albin Myers remix on ‘Fade Into Darkness’. It was a tuff job but I think it turned out very well. First time I played that remix was at a small club in Sweden and it got great feedback. First people had now clue what happened when it dropped but after a few seconds they started all head banging and fistpumping like hell haha! BTW thanx for suporting them on your Buzz Chart.”
What is the best and worst thing about living in Stockholm?
“Best is that I just love this city! It’s so beautiful. Worst… hmmm… I don’t know. That it gets a little to cold sometimes maybe?”
Some mighty DJs/producers coming out of Sweden at the moment – who do you rate?
‘I like ’em all haha! It’s been fun watching our country beeing one of the leading country’s of modern EDM. I remember seeing Eric Prydz, Steve Angello & Sebastian Ingrosso all play in the same club that took around 70-100 people tops back in 2003. Those days are long gone!”
In the Netherlands and UK there is a backlash to their homegrown DJs because they never appear at there own country’s clubs – what is the reaction in Sweden to the SHM’s success?
“We love it & they just got an award for being one of the biggest export of Swedish music last year. Just their name puts us on the map of being a country of musical quality witch in some cases I think helps other producers & DJ’s to get recognition outside of Sweden.”
What is the current top ten you are spinning?
Tommy Trash – Cascade
Albin Myers – Hells Bells
John Dahlback – Grunge
Avicii – Fade Into Darkness (Albin Myers Remix)
Nicky Romero – Generation 303
Adrian Lux -Alive (Albin Myers Remix)
Lunde Bros – Knife Problems
Albin Myers – Bumbaclot (White Label)
Autoerotique – Turn Up The Volume (been playing this for a year now & it still makes me go crazy on the stage)
Chicane – Dont Give Up (Albin Myers & Norman Dorays Private Bootleg)
What is the best club you have ever rocked?
“There are a bunch of great places & Sankey’s in Manchester is definitely one of them. The vibe at that club is hard to compare with other places. People are just crazy from 1 am to 5 am!”
It’s your birthday – what 3 DJs do you ask to play for you?
“I already had one B-day bash with Norman Doray, John Dahlback & Zoo Brazil. But since I already have had them lets say Daft Punk, Kavinsky & Steve Aoki. That party would be something else!”
So we come back to yours after the club, what is the Albin Myers Back To Mine 10 you spin us to carry on the groove?
There are to many to choose from!
Tomas Bangalter -Spinal Scratch
Bob Sinclar – Paradise (Album)
Stardust – Music Sound Better With You
Daft Punk – Burning
Roger Sanchez -Another Chance
& if we want to go a little more mental:
Roni Size – Out of breath
DBX – The Theme
The Prodigy – Smack my bitch Up
Aphex Twin – Come To Daddy
And finally, what is coming next from the Albin studio in 2012…?
“I have a lot of original productions coming out this year and many collabs as well with guys like Tommy Trash, John Dahlback, David Tort & Sebjak.”
