Born 7 July 1991, Alesso hit the EDM world fast and hard, catching worldwide attention in 2011 for both his remixes and originals by some of the largest EDM artists, among them were Avicci, Tiesto, Kaskade and Swedish House Mafia. His biggest hit becoming the remix he did of “Pressure,” originally by Nadia Ali, Starkillers & Alex Kenji; in fact, the remix became one of the most played EDM songs in 2011. Alesso easily hit the Top 100 DJ list for DJ Mag in the number 70 spot, earning him MTV’s EDM Artist to watch in 2012.
With all this attention, 2012 turned out to be another great year for the young artist. In April he made his first BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix, moved up to the 20th spot on DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJ list. His collaboration with One Republic’s Ryan Tedder, and fellow Swedish DJ Sebastian Ingrosso resulted the global chart topping track “Calling (Lose My Mind).”
Using the forward momentum from the previous year, Alesso found himself on top of the charts again in 2013 with his collaboration with mega DJ Calvin Harris and Hurts for “Under Control.” In 2014 he found himself making the rounds of the world’s largest EDM festivals such as Ultra Europe Festival in Croatia and Electronic Daisy Carnival (EDC) in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Alessandro Lindblad shortened his name to Alesso, remixed some of the best EDM DJs in the world, and made a big name for himself. I was really lucky to catch his set at Ultra Music Festival this past summer. His set was packed but my friends and I were able to push our way closer to the stage. He really built up anticipation with the synced lights and an increasingly fast beat, leading up to a countdown type beat. Compared to others, his set was fairly mild in a good way. His music raged but his visuals were mostly just lights and smoke screens.
Surrounded by tons of girls with flower crowns and tutus, we danced through the hour long set, not slowing down for a second. As the energy of the crowd sustained, so did Alesso’s. Every so often, there would be a dancer on stage next to Alesso’s table. He would also hype up the crowd by talking to them inbetween. In his set he also included his best remixes like “Pressure.” The best part of his set though, was his originals that he slightly changed to make the set unique. Midway he played “Years” and closed out with “Calling (Lose My Mind).” By the time his set was over, everyone was super exhausted from the great music and raging.