STEVE ANGELLO & WH0 ARE “WHAT YOU NEED”
Steve Angello, co-founder of Swedish House Mafia, and the mysterious music duo Wh0 have linked with director Amedeo Zancanella for a surprisingly emotional and bittersweet video for their recent house anthem “What You Need,” initially released this past July via Angello’s SIZE Records / Wh0 Plays / Astralwerks. Zancanella was given complete artistic freedom, with Angello simply prompting that he wanted the finished visual to explore the purpose of what really matters in life. Zancanella went with a cinema verite approach inspired by life in the working class suburbs of his native Italy. “The video is a generational story in the suburbs of Milan in a hot summer,” states Zancanella, who cast the visual entirely with non-actors in the hopes of capturing a realistic portrayal of the challenges faced in the lives of his subjects. “I directed them scene after scene without them knowing the story in its entirety so as not to affect their actions,” he explains. The video kicks off with a football match that spontaneously erupts in a (unstaged) fight, and culminates with a scene where the protagonists let go of their worries and joyously drive around with the windows rolled down and music blasting.
| “What You Need” is a modern-day anthem that ingeniously samples Carrie Lucas’s “I Got to Be Dancin,'” brimming with infectious rhythms and audacious basslines. This seamless blending of old and new demonstrates the transformative power of sampling in the evolution of house music, reinventing classic sounds for the modern dancefloor. “This record emerged from our manager introducing us to Kurtis Mantronik’s ’77 Strings’ and a video of Fatboy Slim performing it at the classic Big Beach Boutique II concert in Brighton back in 2002,” Wh0 recall. “We admired it, but we wanted to adapt the sample in our unique style and not merely loop it. Incorporating some old-school rave stabs and organs, we sent it to Steve a year later… he instantly connected with it and added his own magic into the mix. We’re incredibly proud of the final result!” |
| The single is one of the first following the official re-launch of Angello’s SIZE Records in partnership with Astralwerks, who are distributing SIZE Records’ new releases and the legendary indie label’s catalog. |
More about Steve Angello:
Long before earning GRAMMY® Award nominations, performing to millions of fans on multiple continents, crashing charts worldwide, and tallying streams in the billions, Steve Angello realized his purpose as a kid in Sweden. He collaborated with childhood friend Sebastian Ingrosso before launching his own label S—ZE during 2003. He also teamed up with Axwell in Supermode, landing a hit with “Tell Me Why.” In 2008, he co-founded Swedish House Mafia with Axwell and Ingrosso. They earned consecutive GRAMMY nods for Best Dance Recording with the Platinum “Save the World” in 2012 and quintuple-Platinum “Don’t You Worry Child” in 2013.
Angello also asserted himself as a solo force of nature. He occupied a spot on DJ Mag’s coveted Top 100 DJs list for 14 consecutive years and received two DJ Awards. Following his full-length debut Wild Youth, he ascended to another creative peak on his 2018 sophomore offering, Human, collaborating with Bishop T.D. Jakes on “Rejoice,” Pusha T on “Freedom,” Barns Courtney on “Dopamine,” and more. 2021 marked the momentous return of Swedish House Mafia with their long-awaited debut LP, Paradise Again – which topped the Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart and UK Official Dance Albums Chart – and subsequent world tour. Steve Angello continues to be managed by Wassim Sal Slaiby and Dina Sahim at SALXCO.