Swedish House Mafia

No artists represent the exuberance of the 2010s’ EDM boom quite like Swedish House Mafia. Stockholm natives Steve Angello, Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso only played as a trio for a few years, but they burned brighter than virtually any of their main-stage peers, perfecting a winning fusion of radio-ready choruses and earthshaking drops—and then pulling the plug at their peak. In the circus-like atmosphere of the EDM scene, they were living proof of an adage often attributed to P.T. Barnum: “Always leave them wanting more.” All three DJs cut their teeth in the European progressive-house scene of the 2000s, and by 2007, they were informally calling themselves Swedish House Mafia. But not until 2010 did they release their first single under the name: “One”, an attention-grabbing epic whose Pharrell feature testified to the trio’s aim to conquer pop along with dance music. The next two years were a whirlwind of supersized hooks, armor-plated snares and cheekily grandiose anthems like “Save the World” a song that epitomised the heart-on-sleeve yearning of early-2010s EDM. Then, in 2012, they announced their farewell tour, which took them from autumn into the spring of 2013. They left behind the mix album Until One and the singles collection Until Now, the closest they came to releasing a proper full-length, along with two live albums and two documentary films. Five years later, the three reunited to headline Ultra Music Festival, teasing the possibility of future work together—and suggesting that as long as house music rules clubland, there’s a chance that Swedish House Mafia might return to reclaim their throne.