Steve Angello at EDC NY: daddy Size makes history in New York… again (review)

Last time Steve Angello was in New York, he stood alongside his Swedish House Mafia bretheren in front of a sold out Madison Square Garden crowd. If you were one of the 15,000 plus in attendance, you’ll remember how emotional he sounded when he proclaimed SHM’s spot in history, declaring “We put a nightclub in Madison Square Garden.”

Closing out Electric Daisy Carnival New York at his own label’s impressive stage, Steve was just as proud. Referring back to the MSG show and paying homage to the Super Bowl champions whose house he invaded for the day, the Swede proclaimed, “We put a nightclub in Giants stadium.” The nostalgia was chilling, but his two-hour set was even more powerful. On a stacked day two and playing against heavyweights Avicii and Armin Van Buuren, Steve made it very clear: Size definitely Matters.

Taking the reins from Erick Morillo, Steve Angello introduced himself behind the familiar thumping kick drums that grew into “Greyhound.” Although we all saw the predictable intro coming, it was the perfect catalyst for a two-hour set that would be just as energetic as SHM’s latest original production. Another song that has been working for the Swedes since Coachella, Angello dropped Hard Rock Sofa and Swanky Tunes’ “Here We Go” — just like Sebastian Ingrosso did a few hours earlier. Before the track was ever even identified, people speculated that it was an SHM production because of the acid-house influences that Steve is so famous for. This one fit the mold perfectly.

Hard Rock Sofa & Swanky Tunes – Here We Go

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Following the rage-friendly track, he began an assault on the turntables, crafting a seizure-inducing buildup before dropping Skitzofrenix & Jeff Doubleu’s “Rushing.” Steve’s mashup of the “Leave The World Behind” and “Atom” bootleg came next, another combination that both he and Seb played. While it may have been predictable, the crowd yearned for it and raging commenced as soon as the first bars of the high-energy electro track could be heard. Soon after, Sebastian Ingrosso and Alesso joined Steve for “Calling,” which received the same massive reception as has been for over six months.

The commercial vibes of “Calling” would soon been negated as Steve turned to his after-hours antics, throwing a few dirty club beats in the mix followed by the unleashing of “Troll.” With brand new Size tracks in his arsenal, Steve dropped an unidentified big room banger, incorporating the vocal from Loletta Holloway’s “Love Sensation,” that we believe is the next Third Party song. If this was an attempt to test out new material, he passed; the crowd was jumping along with smiles slapped across their faces. Shortly afterwards, he dropped a throwback in the form of “The Island,” a track that still works just as well today as it did when it was first released (and even before that).

Third Party – ID (Live from EDC NY)

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Known to end his sets with a bang, Steve combined new and old for a grand finale fit for the enormous stadium in which he was playing. He pulled out brand new Size material in the last 30 minutes, playing the massive new Qulinez track that has been identified as “Dynamic.” The future anthem had the crowd ecstatic as he moved into the Swedish House Mafia’s famous “One,” bootlegged with “Somebody That I Used To Know.” As the night wound down, he followed up with SHM’s remix of “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” — an obvious indication of what was to come next. How else would he close the night other than his “Save The World” routine? Halfway through “Save The World” the master instructed the immense crowd to sit down and to jump back up when the beat came back. Only if you’ve never seen Angello before was this little bit new. As he switched it up into the Knife Party remix, the at-capacity football field jumped in hysteria. Confetti and lasers synced for a celebratory close that left each person in the stadium with their mind-blown.

Qulinez – Dynamic (Live from EDC NY)

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After spending much of the day at their tent inside MetLife Stadium, it’s safe to say that Size Records is a family and Steve Angello is the proud papa. Tim Mason, Junior Sanchez, CeCe Peniston, AN21 & Max Vangeli, Thomas Gold, and Erick Morillo all blew away ravers inside the stadium, and Steve helped end things on a high note. The maestro himself brought the party to a climatic ending, even though his set had some of the same tracks as Seb’s earlier in the day. Still, the tracks he did chose to repeat were all among my favorites, and the addition of myriad fresh songs and unforeseeable moments gave this set a distinctly different feel than anything else of the entire weekend.