Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso and Axwell, who make up the house music supergroup Swedish House Mafia , are the focus of a feature-length documentary, “Take One.” Directed by Christian Larson , who edited Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” clip, the movie follows the group over two roller-coaster years.
The flick’s release comes on the heels of another music-related film:
Kanye West’s “Runaway,” which the trio sees as an inspiration.
“It’s a piece of art,” Angello told MTV News. “I saw it the other day, and the photos and the pictures and the colors — it’s like, wow.
“He did something there, that I think is unbelievable as an artist; to put so much time and effort into something they really love, without losing the balance of still being creative and making music,” Angello continued. “I think that’s important. I think every artist should …
just give back some more.”
After a self-imposed exile following his disrupting of Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV VMAs, West has made a pop culture rebirth, with a film, a new bounty of hit records and a reformed outlook on life. Angello sees the new and improved West as someone who weathered the storm of a tumultuous two years.
“It’s been good — he had a downfall there,” Angello said. “And like he said himself, he had a really tough time since his mother passed; he wanted to take his own life because he was so depressed. I think ['Runaway'] helped him and it pushed him back up.”
Swedish House Mafia is well aware of the strain that a musical career can have on an artist. They often play gigs at opposite corners of the planet three, four, or even more times each week for months at a time:
certainly a cumbersome task.
“It’s tough to always smile and be happy, but as long as you love what you do — and we all love what we do — we love every minute and second of it. We’re still sitting here — it’s freezing, doing this interview — because we love it,” Angello said as the trio sat on the terrace of MTV’s New York headquarters.
As if on cue, a bone-chilling gust blew through the area. With a laugh and a smile, Ingrosso interjected, “(And) we’re from Sweden. We know how to freeze!”
