Avicii
Background information
Birth name	Tim Bergling
Also known as	Tim Berg, Tom Hangs
Born	(1989-09-08) 8 September 1989 (age 22)
Origin	Stockholm, Sweden
Genres	House, Progressive House, Electro House
Occupations	Electronic musician, DJ, record producer
Years active	2008 – present
Labels	LE7ELS, Strike, Joia, Vicious Vinyl, Ministry of Sound
Associated acts	DJ Daaar, Leona Lewis, Flo Rida, Etta James, Amanda Wilson, DJ Shadow, Sebastian Drums, David Guetta, Afrojack, The Eye, DJ eiiBollex, aLmAd
Website	www.avicii.com

Tim Bergling (born 8 September 1989), known professionally as Avicii, Tom Hangs, Ashwin, and Tim Berg, is a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer.^[1] His debut single, "Seek Bromance", reached the top 20 in several countries including Belgium, France, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and Sweden. In 2011, Avicii released "Levels" (sampling the song "Something's Got a Hold On Me" by Etta James), which reached the top ten in Croatia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and topped the charts in Hungary, Norway and Sweden.

In 2011, Avicii was ranked No. 6 on the Top 100 DJs list by DJ Magazine.^[2]

[edit] Early life

Tim Bergling was born on 8 September 1989 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Avicii first began his career in Australia working as a SMSF administrator. He was the co founder of BGL which created the widely used software Simplefund. After spending late unfulfilling nights in the office Avicii decided to pursue a career in music. Avicii emerged in the music industry in 2008, when he was 18 years old, compiling a remix of the theme song to the Commodore 64 video game Lazy Jones. This led to his first release on Strike Recordings, entitled "Lazy Lace."

In 2010, Avicii released a collaboration with fellow Swedish DJ John Dahlbäck, titled "Don't Hold Back." He is additionally working on projects with internationally-recognized DJs Tiësto and Sebastian Ingrosso.^[3] While his work is primarily electronic synthetic tracks, EMI released a vocal version of his track "Bromance," titled "Seek Bromance."^[4]

In October 2010, Avicii signed with the European A&R team with EMI Music Publishing. Based in London and New York, EMI is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the "big four" record companies and a member of the RIAA.

In 2011, his collaboration track, "Sunshine", with David Guetta was nominated for a Grammy award under the category for Best Dance Recording.^[5] His tracks Penguin has gone on to be sampled by Leona Lewis. Though there is conflict and controversy regarding Avicii receiving royalties over his creations.

[edit] Influences

Avicii's influences include Tiesto, Daft Punk, Laidback Luke, Sebastian Ingrosso, Steve Angello, Axwell, Ryan Blair, Eric Prydz, Josef Kelly and Ste Kirwan.

"I’ve always been into music, and growing up with older siblings. I’ve also had loads of different influences when it comes to my music taste. There are loads of other people that have influenced me but I think the biggest inspirations I’ve had aside from my manager has been the Swedish House Mafia guys and Eric Prydz, they were the ones who first got me into house!" Avicii – April 2011^[6]

His first big track, "Manman," was released on Pete Tong's label, Bedroom Bedlam, after winning Pete Tong's Fast Trax with 70% of the votes.

[edit] Touring

[edit] 2010/2011

[edit] North America

In North America, he played at Palace and The Guelph Concert Theatre in Guelph, Ontario; Club Glow in Washington, D.C.; SET and Nikki Beach in Miami; Club Pacha in New York; Electric Zoo Festival at Randall's Island in New York; Ultra Music Festival in Miami; Electric Daisy Carnival at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; Ruby Skye in San Francisco; Vision Night Club in Chicago; The Guvernment in Toronto; Beta Night Club in Waterloo, Ontario; Stages in Kingston, Ontario; Tokyo Club in Montreal; Club Mansion in London, Ontario, The Majestic in Madison, Wisconsin, Congress Theater in Chicago, Illinois, Wet Republic's Daylife in Las Vegas and The Edmonton Event Centre in Edmonton, among other locations.^[7] His New Year's Eve 2010 party in New York City had to be cancelled due to too many tickets being sold and the venue being overbooked.^[8][9]

The largest crowd Avicii has played for to date was on the main stage at the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas on 26 June 2011. On 7 September 2011, Avicii performed at Brock University in St. Catharines, Canada. On 15 September, he played a private set for students of McGill University in Montreal. On 9 September he played at The Necto (nightclub) in Ann Arbor, MI. On 11 September, he performed in Syracuse, NY as part of the annual fall concert series Juice Jam. London, Ontario as part of the O-Week celebration for The University of Western Ontario. On 12 September, he performed at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, New York to a crowd of mostly University at Albany students. On 22 October 2011 Avicii performed at Bert's Warehouse in Detroit, Michigan. On 28 October, he performed at Petco Park in San Diego, CA. On 29 October 2011 Avicii performed at Pic-a-Chic farm in Bloomington, Indiana as part of a Halloween and Indiana University Homecoming celebration.^[9][10] Avicii also played at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ on 29 October 2011 and at Spring Party Weekend at Colgate University in Hamilton, NY on April 20, 2012.

[edit] Europe

Avicii headlined at the 2011 Inox Festival in Toulouse, France. Other appearances include Space in Ibiza; Monaco International Clubbing Show at Grimaldi Forum in Monaco; Fabulous Festival in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands; Ms Connexion in Mannheim; Aquarius Zrće in Novalja; La Dune in Toulouse; Illusions at Festivalpark Complex in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic; AF-Borgen in Lund, Sweden; and Mach 1 in Nuremberg.^[7]

Several of his concerts have been recorded for Sirius XM Radio's Trance and Progressive House channel. On 23 October 2010, in support of his world tour, Avicii presented his work in an exclusive hour-long set on Channel 52 of the Electric Area on Sirius XM Radio.^[11]

[edit] Dominican Republic

Avicii has played at Tara's in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on 8 July 2011, at Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on 9 July 2011, Governors Island, NYC on 17 July 2011.

[edit] Belgium

Avicii played at the Tomorrowland in Boom, Belgium on 23 July 2011.

[edit] Slovenia

On 15 October, he performed in Ljubljana, Slovenia at the International Foam Festival with David Morales and Ian Carey.

[edit] 2012

[edit] Australia

December 2011 Avicii was on the line up for the country wide festival Stereosonic. Avicii and Calvin Harris attended homebar Sydney, Australia on 14 January for charity.

[edit] Sweden

Avicii performed three shows in his hometown, Stockholm, on 2 and 3 March. The concerts were at Ericsson Globe Arena. During the first concert on the afternoon of Friday 2 March, a temporary platform built for the audience collapsed. A total of 26 people were sent to the hospital, and one 17-year old teenage girl suffered a severe concussion. As a result of the accident, the second concert, scheduled for Friday evening, was canceled. A new platform was built in hope that the Saturday evening concert could continue.^[12]

[edit] South Africa

Avicii completed a tour of South Africa in 2012, performing in three different cities over two days. The first show was at Wave House in Durban on 30 March, where he played at 22:00. The second show was at Wild Waters in Johannesburg on 31 March. The venue plays host to South Africa's premier outdoor music festival, H2O. Avicii played the "sunset set" at 17:00 in perfect weather conditions to a fantastic crowd. After playing for 1 hour and 30 minutes, he flew to Cape Town to play the midnight set at Thunder City, where he played for 2 hours and 45 minutes to an even more fantastic crowd. Various South African DJ's accompanied him on the tour, including DJ Fresh, Euphonik, Pascal & Pearce and Goldfish.

[edit] Mexico

Avicii performed at Electro Beach Music Festival in Puerto Vallarta on 8 and 15 March; he also performed at Six Flags Mexico on March 9, 2012. ^[13]

[edit] Taiwan

Avicii performed at Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition Hall on 6 April.

[edit] Singapore

Avicii Performed at Zoukout 2011 in Sentosa Siloso Beach,Singapore.

[edit] Sri Lanka

Avicii performed as the headlining act for the innaugural Sunset Music Festival in Colombo Sri Lanka, December 2011.

[edit] Music

[edit] Levels

Avicii's most notable song has been the single "Levels" which was released officially 28 Oct 2011. The song had already been a major hit in the EDM world all through 2011 but after its official release it became a huge mainstream hit giving Avicii and the EDM movement even greater notoriety. The song was written by Avicii, Ash Pournouri, and an unidentified third party, and contains a vocal sample from the 1962 gospel-inspired "Something's Got a Hold on Me" by Etta James. The same vocal sample was used first by Pretty Lights in his song "Finally Moving" in 2006. This sample was also used by Flo Rida in his single "Good Feeling (song)," which was produced by Avicii, and holds a close resemblance to his single Levels. This song (levels) has been remixed by several artists, including Skrillex.

[edit] 2012

On 23 March 2012, Avicii's unsigned single "Last Dance" was previewed on Pete Tong's show on BBC Radio 1. At Ultra Music Festival 2012 he played a teaser of his remix of Ruth-Anne's "All You Need Is Love". Also, Avicii played two new remixes, Madonna's "Girl Gone Wild" titled "Avicii vs Madonna – Girl Gone Wild (Avicii's UMF Remix) and Avicii vs Lenny Kravitz – Superlove (Avicii's Space Mix).

He is set to play one of the largest shows by a DJ at The O2 arena (London) where the date is billed simply as Avicii in London

[edit] 2013 And Beyond

Avicii has stated that he intends to produce a full artist album in the future, but due to his busy tour schedule and his focus on producing singles, it will not be in the immediate future.^[14]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Mixed Albums

• 2011 – Avicii presents Strictly Miami^[15]

• 2011 – The Singles – EP

[edit] Singles

[edit] Featured artist

[edit] Guest appearances

2008:

[edit] Songs, Remixes, Mash-Up

[edit] 2008

[edit] Songs

• "Lazy Lace"
• "Sound Of Now"

[edit] Remixes

• "When I'm Thinking of You (Avicii vs. Philgood Remix) - Young Rebels (Feat. Francesco Diaz)"
• "Solaris (Avicii Greets Joia Mix) - Roman Salzger"
• "Dancin (Avicii Remix) - Sebastien Benett"
• "Bang That Box (Avicii vs. Philgood Vocal Mix) - Roger Sanchez"
• "Bang That Box (Avicii vs. Philgood Dub Mix) - Roger Sanchez"
• "D10 (Avicii vs. Philgood's Vicious Remix) - Dirty South"

2009:

[edit] Songs

• "Muja"
• "Record Breaker (Feat. Philgood)"
• "Ryu"
• "Strutnut"
• "So Excited"
• "Alcoholic (Avicii Edit)"
• "Even" - Sebastien Drums (Feat. Avicii)
• "Break Da Floor (Vs. Dj Ralph)"
• "Manman"
• "36 Hours"
• "Dukkha "
• "Pastis (Feat. Sebastien Drums)"
• "The Birth"
• "The Last Summer"

[edit] Remixes

• "Born To Rave (Avicii & Philgood Born To Do It Remix) - DJ Ralph"
• "Life Goes On (Avicii vs. Philgood Remix) - Richard Grey (Feat. Shawnee Taylor, Erick Morillo & Jose Nunez)"
• "You Used To Hold Me (Avicii Remix) - D.O.N.S."
• "Whatever Kind (Avicii Remix) - Mic Newman"
• "Somewhere (Avicii Remix) - Abigail Bailey (Feat. Sandro Monte & Albin Myers)"
• "We Are (Avicii Remix) - Dirty South (Feat. Rudy)"
• "Music Around The World (Avicii Remix) - Austin Leeds (Feat. Teacha & Nick Terranova)"
• "Star Airlines (Avicii Remix) - Sebastien Benett"
• "Sometimes I Feel (Avicii's Out of Miami Mix) - Sebastien Drums (Feat. Dim Chris)"
• "Lipstick (Avicii Remix) - Greg Cerrone"
• "Tear The Club Up (Avicii vs Philgood's Two Angry Mix) - Zoo Brazil"
• "Boogers (Avicii's Dumb Dumb Remix) - Harry 'Choo Choo' Romero - (Feat. MYNC & Jose Nunez)"
• "Better Days (Avicii Remix) - The Cut"
• "Shy Shy (Avicii Remix) - EDX"
• "Got 2 Get Up (Avicii Remix) - Mr. Timothy (Feat. Inaya Day)"
• "Touch Me (In The Morning) (Avicii's Massive Mix) - Kid Massive (Feat. Elliotte Williams N'Dure)"
• "Dreamer 2009 Mixses (Avicii Dream On Mix) - Veerus (Feat. Maxie Devine, Viani DJ, Livin Joy & Janice Robinson)"
• "The Drums (Avicii's Mouthful Remix) - Alex Gaudino (Feat. Nari & Milani & Capricorn)"
• "In The Air (Avicii Remix) - Austin Leeds (Feat. Jeremy Carr)"
• "Set Me Free (Avicii Remix)" - Phonat
• "Holiday (Avicii Remix) - Dizzee Rascal (Feat. Chrome)"
• "New New New (Avicii Remix) - Bob Sinclar"

2010:

[edit] Songs

• "Bromance (Avicii's Arena Mix)"
• "My Feelings For You (Feat. Sebastien Drums)"
• "Don't Hold Back (Feat.John Dahlbäck & Andy P)"
• "Abow"
• "Before This Night Is Through (Bad Things)"
• "F**k The Music"
• "Itrack (Feat. Oliver Ingrosso & Otto Knows)"
• "Seek Bromance"
• "Tweet It (Feat. Norman Doray & Sebastien Drums)"

[edit] Remixes

• "Do It With Me (Avicii vs. Philgood Remix) - Austin Leeds (Feat. Etienne Ozborne & Steve Bertrand)"
• "Stop The Rock (Avicii's Showstopping Remix) - Jason Rooney"
• "Can't Fight This Feeling (Avicii Universe Mix) - Junior Caldera (Feat. Sophie Ellis-Bextor)"
• "Cookies With A Smile (Avicii Remix) - Dada Life"
• "Spotlight (Avicii Rising Star Mix) - The Good Guys (Feat. Tesz Millan)"
• "Gettin' Over You (Avicii Vocal Remix) - David Guetta (Feat. Chris Willis, LMFAO & Fergie)"
• "Gettin' Over You (Avicii Dub Remix) - David Guetta (Feat. Chris Willis, LMFAO & Fergie)"
• "I Feel Love (Avicii's Forgotten Remix) - Rhythm Masters (Feat. MYNC & Wynter Gordon)"
• "Getting Personal (Avicii's Italectronic Remix) - Maurizio Gubellini (Feat. Mia Crispin)"
• "Hang With Me (Avicii's Exclusive Club Mix)" - Robyn
• "Escape Me (Avicii's Remix At Night) - Tiësto (Feat. CC Sheffield)"
• "Painted Faces (Avicii Remix) - Paul Thomas (Feat. Sonny Wharton)"
• "Rapture (Avicii's New Generation Mix)" - Nadia Ali
• "Abow\Sex On Fire (Avicii's Bootleg) (Vs. Kings Of Leon)"
• "One Love (Avicii Remix) - David Guetta (Feat. Estelle)
• "Salinas (Avicii Remix) - Dimitri Vegas And Like Mike"

2011:

[edit] Songs

• "Street Dancer"
• "Sweet Dreams (Avicii Swede Dreams Mix)"
• "Snus (Feat. Sebastien Drums)"
• "Malo"
• "Acid (Tim Berg Remix) (Feat. David Tort)"
• "Blessed (Feat. Shermanology)"
• "Collide (Feat. Avicii)" - Leona Lewis
• "Fade Into Darkness (Feat. Andreas Moe)"
• "Jailbait"
• "Levels (song)"
• "Nothing Without You"
• "Penguin"
• "Sunshine - (Feat.David Guetta

[edit] Remixes

• "Drowning (Avicii Remix) - Armin Van Buuren"
• "Can't Sleep (Avicii vs. Philgood Remix)" - Adrian Lux
• "Derezzed (Avicii Remix) - Daft Punk"
• "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall (Avicii ‘Tour’ Mix) - Coldplay"
• "Nothing Without You\Rolling In The Deep (Avicii\Adele) (Avicii Rolling Bootleg) "
• "Drop Zone (Avicii Remix) - Michael Woods"

2012:

[edit] Songs

• "Nicktim" with Nicky Romero
• "Silhouettes (Feat. Salem Al Fakir"
• "All You Need Is Love (Ruth-Anne)"
• "Last Dance"
• "Dancing In My Head (Feat. Eric Turner)"
• "Let Me Show You Love with ASH
• "Put Your Piano On"

[edit] Remixes

• "Girl Gone Wild (Avicii's UMF Mix)" - Madonna
• "Superlove (Avicii's Space Mix)" - Lenny Kravitz

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Avicii on Myspace
• Avicii on Twitter
• Avicii on Facebook
• Avicii on Best4Ears.com
• Salacious Sound Interviews Avicii

Nadia Ali
Nadia Ali in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Nadia Ali
Born	(1980-08-03) August 3, 1980 (age 31) Libya
Origin	Queens, New York, U.S.
Genres	Electronic dance music, trance, house
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Smile in Bed
Associated acts	iiO, Armin van Buuren, Morgan Page, Avicii, Starkillers, Sultan & Ned Shepard
Website	nadiaali.com

Nadia Ali (Urdu: نادیہ علی; born August 3, 1980) is a Pakistani American singer-songwriter, born in Libya and raised in Queens, New York. She gained attention as the frontwoman and songwriter of the band iiO, after their 2001 hit "Rapture" reached No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart.^[1] The song also charted across several countries in Europe.^[2] Their 2006 single, "Is It Love?", reached the top of the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart.^[3]

After embarking on a solo career in 2005, Ali became successful as an oft-requested vocalist in electronic dance music. She released her debut album Embers in 2009. Critics praised her unique songwriting, which combined electronica with ballads, Eastern and acoustic music. Three singles from the album reached the top-ten of the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart, including the No. 1 hit, "Love Story".^[4][5][6] The song was also nominated at the 25th International Dance Music Awards at the Winter Music Conference, while "Fantasy" was nominated for a Grammy award.^[7][8]

In 2010, she released a remix compilation titled Queen of Clubs Trilogy to mark her decade-long career as a singer-songwriter. "Rapture" was re-released as the only single from the compilation and the song was once again a chart success in Europe.^[9] Ali released the single "Pressure" with Starkillers and Alex Kenji in 2011, which became a club and festival anthem and received an International Dance Music Award.^[10] She has also collaborated with several notable producers and DJs, such as Armin van Buuren, Schiller, BT and John Creamer & Stephane K. Ali is currently working on her second studio album titled Phoenix, which is due to be released in 2012.

[edit] Life and career

[edit] 1980–2005: Early life and iiO

Nadia Ali was born in Libya to Pakistani parents in 1980. The family relocated when she was five years old and she was subsequently raised in Queens, New York.^[11][12] An eight year old Ali used any opportunity she could get to sing after a friend heard her humming a Madonna song at school and complimented her.^[13] While continuing singing as a hobby and for the thrill of performing and receiving no formal vocal training, she had also started writing poems and songs for her friends by the time she was 15.^[11] As a teenager her interest in dance music developed after visiting nightclubs in Manhattan and inspired her to dream that she would one day be featured on one of the records playing in the club.^[14]

Ali started working in the New York offices of Versace when she was 17, where she attracted attention by singing at the Christmas parties.^[11] A colleague from Versace introduced her to producer Markus Moser, who was looking for a female singer to collaborate on some of his original production for a girl group in Germany.^[13] The two teamed up with Moser working on production, while Ali wrote the lyrics and vocals for the songs.^[15] Her first song was the single "Rapture", which she wrote in 30 minutes based on an encounter with an Australian nightclub patron.^[16] A demo of the song was first played at the New York club Twilo in 2001 and received early support from influential DJ Pete Tong who played the demo on his show on BBC Radio 1. The song eventually became an Ibiza favourite after support from prominent DJ's such as Sasha, Danny Tenaglia and Sander Kleinenberg during the summer season.^[17] Released in late 2001 by Ministry of Sound, the single became a commercial success peaking at No. 2 on UK Singles Chart and Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart, while charting in several countries in Europe.^[1][2][3] The success of "Rapture", Ali said, caused the formation of iiO as the music they were initially working on was quite different from dance music and were asked to come up with a project name to promote the single.^[18] They originally named themselves Vaiio after the Sony VAIO laptop Ali used to write the lyrics on.^[2] The duo toured internationally and released several more singles, including "At the End", "Runaway", "Smooth", and "Kiss You". Their first studio album, Poetica followed in 2005.^[4]

Ali left the group in 2005 to pursue a solo career, while Moser continued to release iiO material featuring her on vocals. Most notably, these releases include the 2006 single "Is It Love?", which reached No. 1 in America on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart,^[3] the 2007 remix album Reconstruction Time: The Best Of iiO Remixed^[4] and the 2011 studio album Exit 110.^[4] When asked about her decision to pursue a solo career, she said her time with iiO was a great learning experience but she decided to leave because she didn't want to restrict herself to one style of music but explore her creativity and also to have the freedom to collaborate with others artists.^[19]

Her decision to pursue a career as a singer was not initially encouraged by her Pakistani parents who were academically inclined and wanted her to pursue a more stable career. She has said since then they have evolved and are one of her biggest supporters.^[12] Speaking of her identity as a Pakistani and Muslim woman, she has said it is very important to her to set an example that they are able to contribute positively and capable of taking their career into their own hands. Explaining further, she said that she feels it as her responsibility to any women who are sometimes stereotyped to show that they can contribute to arts or any professional field.^[11] Her ethnicity, she has stated, has been an advantage and helped her stand out in the entertainment industry.^[20] She has said that over the years, she has met South Asian women who have told her that her story has inspired them to pursue something they loved.^[21]

[edit] 2006–09: Embers

Nadia Ali performing at Avalon, Boston in 2006

Ali started working on her debut solo album soon after leaving iiO, a process which took her four years. She attributed the delay to her busy tour schedule and the fact that she was still learning and "trying to establish her identity as a songwriter and co-producer".^[18][22] Her first solo release was the 2006 single, "Who is Watching?", a collaboration with Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren, which appeared on his album Shivers.^[23] She has described "Who is Watching?" as one of her most meaningful songs, the song described one's struggle to reach the top, only to realise once one is there how lonely it is and how one has forgotten their priorities and the important people in their life.^[24] This was followed by "Something to Lose" in 2006, a duet with singer-songwriter Rosko, produced by John Creamer & Stephane K and released by Ultra Records. The track was licensed to Roger Sanchez's Release Yourself, Vol. 5, as well as Sharam Tayebi of Deep Dish for his Global Underground debut Dubai.^[25][26]

In June 2008, she released "Crash and Burn", the first single from her solo album. The single became a club success peaking at No. 6 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart.^[5] She released the second single, "Love Story" from the as-yet untitled album in February 2009. It topped Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart in April 2009 and was nominated for the Best Progressive/House Track at the 2010 International Dance Music Awards at the Winter Music Conference.^[6][7] Ali was featured on MTV Iggy in March 2009, where she recorded three live acoustic videos, performing "Rapture", "Crash and Burn" and "Love Story".^[27]

The third single "Fine Print" was released in July 2009. Ali announced that the single preceded the release of her debut solo album Embers.^[28] The single peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play Chart.^[29] Embers was released in September 2009. Co-produced by Sultan & Ned Shepard, Alex Sayz and Scott Fritz, Ali self-released the album on her own label, Smile in Bed Records.^[22] Embers generally received positive reviews, Chase Gran from About.com called it a "well rounded, gourmet album with impressive songs".^[30] Gail Navarro from Racket magazine complimented Ali on her songwriting saying, "It wasn’t just her sultry sound mixed in together with that enchanting singing voice; her songwriting got me hook, line and sinker".^[31] Speaking about the self-release of the album, she has cited her creative independence and the pressure of deadlines as the main reasons why she created her own record label.^[32][33] She chose to release her singles and albums digitally citing the nature of the electronic music audience with the listener choosing to click a button and getting music instantly and the traditional method of distribution deals in the United States.^[32]

Ali released two collaborations in 2009, the first "Better Run" with Tocadisco was released on his album TOCA 128.0 FM and "12 Wives In Tehran" with Serge Devant was released on his album Wanderer.^[34][35]

[edit] 2010–2011: Queen of Clubs Trilogy

Ali's first release in 2010 was the track "Try", a collaboration with German producer Schiller, chosen as the lead single from his album Atemlos, the music video premiered on YouTube in February 2010.^[36] In April 2010, Ali released "Fantasy", the fourth single from Embers. The track was chosen as a single by her fans after a poll conducted by Ali on her Facebook page.^[22] The music video for "Fantasy" was set to the Morgan Page remix, which served as a prologue to Ali's next project; Queen of Clubs Trilogy: The Best of Nadia Ali Remixed. Speaking about the project, Ali mentioned that she wanted a remix compilation, which spanned the 10 years of her career from her one-half as iiO, to her solo album and collaborations.^[37] Explaining the name of the concept, she said she wanted to incorporate her upbringing in Queens and the fact that her music is predominantly played in nightclubs.^[38] Using that inspiration, she decided to use the playing card "Queen of Clubs" as the title, portraying herself as the Queen, a move she described as "audacious" but something she felt she could prove because she had the substance.^[37] The package was broken into three releases: Ruby Edition (August 2010), Onyx Edition (October 2010) and Diamond Edition (December 2010). It featured collaborations with, and remixes by, Armin van Buuren, Gareth Emery and Avicii amongst several other prominent DJs and producers.^[39]

I think the fact that it (electronic dance music) is mostly male dominated makes females stand out that much more if they are driven enough. I believe anything is possible with hard work.

– Nadia Ali^[40]

With a decade-long career, MTV described Ali as one of the "enduring empresses" of electronic dance music and the Queen of Clubs Trilogy as "aptly titled".^[41] Noted for being the "definitive" and "unmistakable" voice of dance music, she is said to have "enriched" and "invigorated" the genre.^[21][42] Ali has went on to become an oft-requested collaborator by DJs and producers.^[22] She was praised for acquiring notability in a male and DJ-dominated genre where vocalists serve as supporting acts.^[40][43] In December 2010 she received her first Grammy nomination when the Morgan Page remix of "Fantasy" was nominated in the Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical category.^[8]

Her first track with iiO, "Rapture" was re-released as a single from Queen of Clubs Trilogy with remixes by Tristan Garner, Gareth Emery and Avicii. A new music video for the track was shot based on the "Queen of Clubs" theme and released on January 24, 2011.^[44] The song peaked at No. 3 on the Romanian Top 100 chart, while charting in other European countries.^[9]

Nadia Ali performing at Armin Only in Poland

Throughout 2010, Ali's collaborations with DJs and producers were released. These included remixes of her upcoming collaboration "That Day" with Dresden and Johnston, which were released on compilation albums. The next, "The Notice" with Swiss duo Chris Reece was released on July 13 on all digital retailers.^[45] Ali was featured on the track "Feels So Good" on Armin van Buuren's fourth album Mirage. Released as the fifth single from the album, the song was voted as the Best Trance Track at the 27th International Dance Music Awards in the Best Trance Song category.^[10][46] She was also a featured guest on his Armin Only tour.^[12]

During 2011, Ali announced the release of collaborations with several DJs and producers. The first of these was "Call My Name" with the duo Sultan & Ned Shepard, released by Harem Records on February 9. "Call My Name" was a club success, charting at No. 5 on Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Chart.^[47] The second track "Pressure", a collaboration with Starkillers and Alex Kenji was released on February 15 by Spinnin' Records.^[48] The Alesso remix of "Pressure" became a club and festival anthem and received support from notable DJs such as Armin van Buuren, Tiesto, Swedish House Mafia and Calvin Harris and was voted the Best Progressive House Track at the 27th International Dance Music Awards.^[10][49]

In April, iiO released the studio album Exit 110, which featured Ali on vocals. She distanced herself from the album and stated she had no involvement in the project besides her vocals and words from nearly 10 years ago being used for the songs.^[50] She described it as "interesting" that there was new material featuring her released by iiO when she hadn't worked with Moser since 2005.^[19] She further said that she hadn't spoken with Moser since her departure and when asked whether the split of iiO was amicable, she refused to explain the circumstances surrounding the dissolution of the duo.^[19] On May 23, her next collaboration, "Free To Go" with Alex Sayz was released by Zouk Recordings.^[51] She was featured on Sander van Doorn's second studio album Eleve11 on the track "Rolling the Dice", a collaboration between van Doorn, Sidney Samson and her.^[52] Her next release was the single "Believe It" with the German duo Spencer & Hill, which was released on October 3 by Wall Recordings.^[53] She collaborated once again with Starkillers on the single "Keep It Coming", which was released on December 26 by Spinnin' Records.^[54]

[edit] 2012–present: Phoenix

As of November 2010, Ali had begum working on her second studio album.^[12] A music video for the lead single from the album, "When It Rains", was released on her YouTube channel on August 17 2011 with a release date to be announced.^[55] She attributed the delay in the release of the album once again on her busy touring schedule citing the demand to perform live particularly in the United States.^[56][57] However, beginning in February 2012 she took 40 days off to finalise the album, which she said would be titled Phoenix.^[56] She chose the name as an allusion to what she felt was a relaunch of her career.^[58] Explaining the creative process behind the album, she said she chose to work with a mix of international producers in an effort to combine the North American understanding of good songwriting with the European expertise in production to create a high energy dance album catered for her dance music fans.^[57][59] She said she had tried to bring together the DJs who she had released songs with in the last few years to make one cohesive compilation.^[58] The theme of the album, she elaborated, was trying to get the listener to understand the "artist personality" and the singer-songwriter behind the music.^[59]

Her first release in 2012 was "This Is Your Life", the fourth single from Swiss DJ EDX's album On The Edge.^[60] That was followed by "Carry Me", a collaboration with Morgan Page on his third studio album, In the Air.^[61] In addition, Ali also collaborated with BT on a track for his upcoming album.^[13]

[edit] Musical style and influences

Ali is perhaps best known for her characteristic voice and vocal abilities.^[21][31][62] Reema Kumari Jadeja from MOBO described her work as "masterfully encapsulating euphoric and melancholic, Ali’s signature music style sees Eastern mystique caressed with intelligent electronica and fortified with soul".^[21] The songs on Embers were likened to Madonna's work in her prime and a "modern re-intepretation" of Stevie Nicks. Billboard praised her voice for having "too much life on its own".^[42][31][62] Ali has been influenced by an eclectic mix of artists, which she credits to her Eastern background and upbringing in Queens.^[18][33] She listed alternative, folk, Indian and Pakistani music as her biggest influences.^[16][18] Some of her vocal and songwriting influences, she said, were Stevie Nicks, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Madonna, Sade and Bono.^[13][16][32]

	"Crash and Burn" (2008) noicon "Crash and Burn" combines Ali's signature music styles: Eastern, electronic and acoustic
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Her debut album was noted for a blend of electronica, acoustic and Middle Eastern melodies.^[30] Speaking about Embers, Ali said she did not want a typical dance record and chose to experiment, particularly with the number of ballads on the album.^[18] Meanwhile, her second album Phoenix, she said would be a more "high-energy" dance album, where while she maintained her characteristic vocal style, she also experimented with the musical style.^[58] She said while working on the album she was inspired and influenced by indie pop and the styles of Avicii, R3hab and Skrillex.^[58] Ali has collaborated with DJs from a broad range of genres and styles in electronic dance music. Some of the resulting work has been described as minimal trance,^[63] "sad disco"^[36] and "mainstream pop".^[45]

She has been praised for her songwriting, describing personal experiences with people, which "hit a powerful and striking chord" with the listener.^[31] Ali has said she almost always prefers to sing a song she has written herself and that the best songs are mostly written when they narrate a true account.^[13][14] The songs on Embers, Ali has stated, describe the relationships she has experienced and the emotions they have left behind.^[40] The song "Fantasy", she said, summed her up how she likes to be recognised, "an emotional songwriter who loves being a part of electronic music".^[22] Ali has said in the future she would like to focus more on production and songwriting and has written songs for Tocadisco, Avicii, Hardwell, Sultan & Ned Shepard, EDX and Pete tha Zouk.^[21][24]

[edit] Discography

Studio albums

• Embers (2009)
• Phoenix (2012)

Compilations

• Queen of Clubs Trilogy: Ruby Edition (2010)
• Queen of Clubs Trilogy: Onyx Edition (2010)
• Queen of Clubs Trilogy: Diamond Edition (2010)

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] References

[edit] External links

	Biography portal
	Asian Americans portal

• Official website

David Guetta
David Guetta at the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards
Background information
Birth name	Pierre David Guetta
Born	(1967-11-07) 7 November 1967 (age 44) Paris, France
Genres	House, electro house, hip house
Occupations	DJ, record producer, songwriter
Years active	1984–present
Labels	EMI Music France, Virgin, Positiva, Astralwerks
Website	DavidGuetta.com

Pierre David Guetta (7 November 1967), known professionally as David Guetta (French pronunciation: [daˌvid ɡɛˈta]), is a French house music producer and DJ.^[1] Originally a DJ at nightclubs during the 1980s and 1990s, he co-founded Gum Productions and released his first album, Just a Little More Love, in 2002. Later, he released Guetta Blaster (2004) and Pop Life (2007). His 2009 album One Love included the hit singles "When Love Takes Over" (featuring Kelly Rowland), "Gettin' Over You" (featuring Chris Willis, Fergie & LMFAO) and "Sexy Bitch" (featuring Akon), the last becoming a top five hit in the United States and all three reaching #1 in the United Kingdom, as well as another internationally known single called "Memories" featuring Kid Cudi which became a top five hit in many countries. Guetta has sold over three million albums and 15 million singles worldwide.^[2] He is currently one of the most sought-after music producers.^[3] As of 2012, David Guetta is the world's most popular DJ, claiming the #1 poll position of the DJ Mag 100 popularity poll.^[4]

[edit] Biography

[edit] 1984–2000: Early life and career

At age 17, Guetta began DJing at the Broad Club in Paris.^[5] He first played popular songs, and he discovered house music when he heard a Farley master Funk track on French radio in 1987. The next year, he began hosting his own club nights.^[6] In 1990, he released "Nation Rap", a hip-hop collaboration with French rapper Sidney Duteil.^[7]

In the mid 1990s Guetta played in clubs including Le Centrale, the Rex, Le Boy, and Folies Pigalle.^[5][8] Released in 1994^[7] Guetta's second single, a collaboration with American house vocalist Robert Owens titled "Up & Away", was a minor club hit.^[6] In 1994, David Guetta became the manager of Le Palace nightclub and he continued to organise parties there and in other clubs, such as the "Scream" parties in Les Bains Douches.^[9]

[edit] 2001–2006: Just a Little More Love and Guetta Blaster

In 2001, David Guetta along with Joachim Garraud founded Gum Productions, and in the same year Guetta's first hit single, "Just a Little More Love", featuring American singer Chris Willis was released. Willis was vacationing in France when he met Guetta.^[6] Guetta's debut album Just a Little More Love was released in 2002 on Virgin Records and sold over 300,000 copies. The follow-up singles, ("Love Don't Let Me Go", "People Come People Go" and "Give Me Something"), were released in 2002. Guetta released a compilation, Fuck Me I'm Famous, in 2003, named after his party in Ibiza. It included "Just for One Day (Heroes)", a remix of David Bowie's song "Heroes".^[6] Later in his career, Guetta continued recording compilations under that title.

Guetta's second album, Guetta Blaster, was released in 2004. It released four singles: "Money" and "Stay" featuring Chris Willis and "The World Is Mine" and "In Love With Myself" featuring JD Davis. In 2006 the Just a Little More Love single "Love Don't Let Me Go" was re-released as a mash-up with the Tocadisco remix of "Walking Away" by The Egg. The mash-up single entitled "Love Don't Let Me Go (Walking Away)" was charted higher than the original release of the song.

[edit] 2007–2008: Pop Life

Guetta performing, May 2007

In 2007, Guetta's third album Pop Life was released. The album was successful in the UK and Ireland as well as in mainland Europe. According to EMI in 2010, the album has sold a total of 530,000 copies worldwide. The lead single "Love Is Gone" reached Number 1 on the American Dance Chart and charted on the Billboard Hot 100.

He played in many countries around the world to promote the album. He played in Mauritius in January 2008, accompanied by French rapper JoeyStarr. In the same year, he and his wife Cathy also planned a new event which took place in the Stade de France on 5 July 2008. The event was called "UNIGHTED", he performed with Tiësto, Carl Cox, Joachim Garraud and Martin Solveig in front of a crowd of 40,000.^[10]

In 2009, he was placed third in the "Top 100 DJs" poll by DJ Magazine,^[11] and was elected "Best House DJ" by DJ Awards in 2008. Since April 2009, Guetta had his own radio show on the internet radio station RauteMusik on Saturday evening. The show was afterwards moved into Radio 538, being aired every Friday evening after Tiësto's Club Life. Its name is DJ Mix. Guetta performs a one-hour set of house music, presenting mainly new talents inside.

[edit] 2009–2010: One Love and international breakthrough

David Guetta's fourth studio album, One Love, was released in August 2009. Its first single "When Love Takes Over", which featured Kelly Rowland, peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart and topped many other countries worldwide. His second single from the album, "Sexy Bitch" featuring Akon, became his second #1 in the UK. "One Love" featuring Estelle, "Memories" featuring Kid Cudi and "Gettin' Over You" featuring Chris Willis, Fergie and LMFAO followed. As of May 2011 the album had sold three million copies worldwide.^[12] Guetta's fourth studio album One Love was nominated as "Best Electronic/Dance Album" at the 52nd Grammy Awards.^[13] His song "When Love Takes Over" featuring American R&B singer Kelly Rowland received two nominations; Best Dance Recording and Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical, and won the latter. After conflicts over whether or not an album re-issue should go ahead, One More Love was released on 29 November 2010. First single, titled "Who's That Chick?" featuring Rihanna was released a few weeks prior.^[14]

On 16 June 2009, The Black Eyed Peas released the David Guetta-produced "I Gotta Feeling" as their second single from their fifth studio album, The E.N.D.. It became a worldwide hit topping the charts in seventeen countries. It became the most downloaded song of all-time in the United States with almost 7.5 million downloads and in the United Kingdom selling more than 1 million copies.^[15][16] He was nominated twice for his work with The Black Eyed Peas at the 52nd Grammy Awards; in the category Record of the Year for "I Gotta Feeling" and Album of the Year for their album The E.N.D.. In 2010, David Guetta co-wrote and produced Kelly Rowland's "Commander" from her third album Here I Am. It peaked at number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart in the United States, and reached top ten positions in Belgium and the United Kingdom. Guetta has also co-produced "Forever and a Day", which was Kelly's next UK single from that album.^[17][18] Guetta also produced the singles "Acapella" and "Scream" for American singer-songwriter Kelis's fifth studio album, Flesh Tone, released on 14 May 2010. "Acapella" was released as the lead single on 23 February 2010 and topped the dance charts in the United Kingdom and United States. On 28 June 2010 American rapper Flo Rida released the single "Club Can't Handle Me" featuring David Guetta. The song is included on the soundtrack album to the American 3D dance film Step Up 3D.

Guetta on the One Love Tour, January 2010.

[edit] 2011–present: Nothing But the Beat

Guetta's fifth studio album, Nothing But the Beat was released on August 30, 2011. It was released as a double-disc album; one disc being vocal and the other being electronic.^[19] The French DJ was inspired by rock bands such as Kings of Leon and Coldplay to add rock influences to his dance productions.^[20] "Where Them Girls At" featuring Nicki Minaj and Flo Rida, the first single off the album, was released worldwide on May 2, 2011.^[21][22] "Little Bad Girl" featuring Ludacris and Taio Cruz, was released as the second single on June 28, 2011.^[19][23] The third single "Without You" featuring Usher was released on September 27, 2011. Guetta also released three promotional singles for Nothing But the Beat, "Titanium" featuring Sia, "Lunar" with Afrojack and "Night of Your Life" featuring Jennifer Hudson. The album also features the hit single "Sweat" with Snoop Dogg.

Guetta is also scheduled to perform alongside Nicky Romero and Nervo at London's Alexandra Palace on June 1, 2012.^[24]

[edit] Personal life

Guetta and his wife Cathy in January 2012 at the NRJ Music Awards ceremony.

His father was a restaurateur of Moroccan Jewish descent,^[25] and his mother is of Belgian descent.^[26][27][28] He is married to socialite and night club manager Cathy Guetta; they have two children, Tim Elvis Eric (born 2004) and Angie (born 2007).^[29]

[edit] Discography

• Just a Little More Love (2002)
• Guetta Blaster (2004)
• Pop Life (2007)
• One Love (2009)
• Nothing but the Beat (2011)

[edit] Awards and nominations

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• David Guetta on Myspace
• David Guetta on Twitter
• David Guetta's channel on YouTube
• David Guetta at the Internet Movie Database
• David Guetta official store
• David Guetta information at Ultra Records
• Review of 'Memories' on the Daily Music Guide
• David Jeffries. "David Guetta biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p572357. Retrieved 2008-09-22. 
• David Guetta in PACHA NEWS
• David Guetta at Billboard.com
• Review of 'Gettin Over you' on the Daily Music Guide

Laidback Luke
Laidback Luke
Background information
Birth name	Lucas Cornelis van Scheppingen
Also known as	Laidback Luke, Nouveau Yorican
Born	(1976-10-22) 22 October 1976 (age 35) Manila, Philippines
Genres	Electro house, House, Dance
Occupations	DJ, Producer
Instruments	Software (Ableton, Fl Studio)
Labels	Mixmash Records
Website	laidbackluke.com

Laidback Luke (born Lucas Cornelis van Scheppingen, 22 October 1976 in Manila, Philippines) is a Dutch DJ, producer. He was voted #46 on DJ Mag's Top 100 DJ list in 2008, before jumping to #27 in 2009 and jumping up 10 places in 2010.^[1][2]

Laidback Luke grew up in The Netherlands and made his name as a graffiti artist before turning to making music. He has worked with artists such as David Guetta, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell, Example and Junior Sanchez and played throughout Europe and North America as well as shows in Japan and Ibiza. He has released two studio albums: Psyched Up (1998) and Electronic Satisfaction (2002) as well as a successful mix album, Windmill Skill (2003). In 2003, van Scheppingen did a remix of the Daft Punk song "Crescendolls" for the duo's remix album Daft Club. Luke has also released his own mix album, titled Ibiza Closing Party, as a free covermount CD in the October 2008 issue of Mixmag. He has currently released his new album on the 4th of July 2011, called Cream Ibiza Super You & Me.

He announced on the maiden voyage of Holy Ship that he was engaged to Gina Turner^[3]

[edit] Discography

• Cream Ibiza - Super You And Me (2011)

[edit] Singles

[edit] Remixes, Bootlegs, Edits and Unofficial Reworks

• 1996: Green Velvet - The Stalker (LBL Remix)
• 1998: Lambda - Hold on tight (LBL Remix)
• 2002: Damon Wild & Tim Taylor - Bang The Acid
• 2002: Green Velvet - Land Of The Lost
• 2003: Daft Punk - Crescendolls (LBL Remix)
• 2004: Steve Angello - Voices (LBL Remix)
• 2004: Jaimie Fanatic - B Boy Stance
• 2005: MYPD - You're Not Alone (LBL Remix)
• 2006: Hardrox - Feel The Hard Rock (LBL Remix)
• 2006: Another Chance - The Sound Of Eden (LBL Remix)
• 2007: TV Rock vs Dukes Of Windsor - The Others (LBL Remix)
• 2007: DJ DLG & Laidback Luke - Ambition (LBL Remix)
• 2007: David Guetta feat. Cozi - Baby When The Light (LBL Remix)
• 2007 Denis Naidanow - Ascension ( LBL Remix )
• 2008: Natalie Williams - U Don't Know (LBL Remix)
• 2008: Roger Sanchez - Again (LBL Remix)
• 2008: Paul Johnson - Get Get Down (LBL Remix)
• 2008: Juice String - Sex Weed (LBL Remix)
• 2008: David Guetta feat. Tara McDonald - Delirious (LBL Remix)
• 2008: TV Rock feat. Rudy - Been A Long Time (LBL Remix)
• 2008: Steve Angello - Gypsy (LBL Remix)
• 2008: Underworld - Ring Road (LBL Remix)
• 2008: The Black Ghosts - Repetition Kills You (LBL Remix)
• 2008: Martin Solveig - I Want You (LBL Remix)
• 2008: Roger Sanchez feat. Terri B - Bang That Box (LBL Remix)
• 2008: Hervé (DJ) - Cheap Thrills (LBL Bootleg)
• 2008: Madonna vs Dirty South - 4 Minutes To Let It Go (LBL Bootleg)
• 2008: Joachim Garraud - Are U Ready (LBL Remix)
• 2008: Bob Sinclar - Gymtonic (LBL Bootleg)
• 2008: Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (LBL Remix)
• 2008: Beyonce - Me, Myself & I (LBL Bootleg)
• 2008: Coldplay - Viva La Vida (LBL Bootleg)
• 2008: Tocadisco - Streetgirls (LBL Remix)
• 2008: Surkin - White Knight Two (LBL Remix)
• 2008: Zombie Nation - Kernkraft 400 (LBL Bootleg)
• 2008: Daft Punk - Teachers (LBL Rework)
• 2008: Dada Life - Rubber Band Boogie (LBL Remix)
• 2008: Ray Parker Jr. - Ghostbusters Theme (LBL Remix)
• 2009: Notorious B.I.G. feat. Puff Daddy & Mase - Mo Money Mo Problems (LBL Bootleg)
• 2009: David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland - When Love Takes Over (LBL Remix)
• 2009: Nas - Made You Look (LBL Bootleg)
• 2009: Tiesto - I Will Be Here (LBL Remix)
• 2009: MSTRKRFT feat. John Legend - Heartbreaker (LBL Remix)
• 2009: Junior Sanchez feat. Good Charlotte - Elevator (LBL Remix)
• 2009: Avicii - Ryu (LBL Edit)
• 2009: The Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feelin' (LBL Remix)
• 2009: Dizzee Rascal feat. Chrome - Holiday (LBL Remix)
• 2009: Martin Solvieg feat. Dragonette - Boys & Girls (LBL Remix)
• 2009: Sandro Silva - Prom Night (LBL Remix)
• 2009: Depeche Mode - Fragile Tension (LBL Remix)
• 2009: Robbie Rivera - Rock The Disco (LBL Edit)
• 2009: Calvin Harris - You Used To Hold Me (LBL Remix)
• 2009: System F - Out of The Blue 2010 (Laidback Luke's remix)
• 2009: Korgis - Need Your Lovin' (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2010: Wynter Gordon - "Dirty Talk" (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2010: Jay-Z feat. Swizz Beatz - On To The Next One (Laidback Luke Bootleg)
• 2010: Moby - Wait For Me (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2010: Christina Aguilera - Not Myself Tonight (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2010: Carte Blanche Feat. Kid Sister - Do! Do! Do! (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2010: Bad Boy Bill feat. Eric Jag - Got That Feeling (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2010: Lil' Jon feat. Kee - Give It All You Got (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2010: Steve Angello vs. Dr. Dre - Knas Episode (Laidback Luke & Junior Sanchez Mashup)
• 2010: Afrojack Vs. Radioclit Vs. Armand van Helden - I Want Your Divine Control (Laidback Luke Mash Up)
• 2010: iSquare - Hey Sexy Lady (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2011: SHM vs. Bingo Players - Save Everything Tonight (Laidback Luke Mashup)
• 2011: Benny Benassi feat. Gary Go - Cinema (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2011: Alice Deejay - Better Off Alone (Laidback Luke Bootleg)
• 2011: Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) (Laidback Luke Bootleg)
• 2011: Jump Jump Dance Dance - 2.0 (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2011: Laura LaRue - Un, Deux, Trois (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2011: Skream feat. Sam Frank - Where You Should Be (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2011: Anjulie - Brand New Bitch (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2011: GTA feat. Zashanell - U & I (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2011: Chris Brown feat. Benny Benassi - Beautiful People (Laidback Luke Edit)
• 2011: Patric La Funk - Time And Time Again (Laidback Luke Edit)
• 2011: Kanye West feat. Rihanna - All Of The Lights (Mata vs Laidback Luke Edit)
• 2011: Pitbull feat. Marc Anthony - Rain Over Me (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2011: David Guetta feat. Nicki Minaj - Turn Me On (David Guetta & Laidack Luke Remix)
• 2012: Aaron Smith ft. Luvli - Dancin' (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2012: Madonna feat. M.I.A. & Nicki Minaj "Give Me All Your Luvin" (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2012: Felix Cartal ft Polina "Dont Turn On The Lights" (Laidback Luke Remix)
• 2012: Tiesto ft Dino - Beautiful World (Laidback Luke Remix)

[edit] Notes

1. ^ DJ Mag Top 100 2009 http://www.djmag.com/top100
2. ^ DJ Mag Top 100 2009 http://www.djmag.com/top100
3. ^ http://digi10ve.com/2012/01/06/laidback-luke-gets-engaged-to-gina-turner/

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Laidback Luke discography at Discogs
• Laidback Luke on Myspace
• Interview on Clubplanet

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009)

Salem Al Fakir
Live in November 2007
Background information
Birth name	Lars Salem Al Fakir
Born	October 27, 1981(1981-10-27)
Genres	Soul, pop, Jazz
Occupations	Musician, singer
Instruments	Vocal, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, violin
Years active	2006–present
Labels	EMI
Website	http://www.salemalfakir.com

Lars Salem Al Fakir (born October 27, 1981) is a Swedish soul/pop musician and singer of Palestinian and Syrian origin.

[edit] Early years

Salem learned to play violin at the age of four and subsequently toured Russia as a solo violinist at the age of fourteen, but returned to Sweden to study jazz piano.

[edit] Recording artist

During his career he has worked with artists including Robyn, Wille Crafoord and Snook. Along with elder brother Nassim, he is a member of the FakirKarlsson trio which teamed up with fellow jazz musicians the Örjan Hultén Trio and have released two albums as H3FK, most recently "Nubiska Nätter" released in 2008.

In the autumn of 2006 Salem released his first single, the "Dream Girl" EP, and his debut album was released in January 2007 to commercial success and critical acclaim. The album was recorded in Salem's basement and bedroom, and he was solely responsible for writing, mixing and producing the album. Salem also played all instruments on the album himself apart from horns played by his brother Sami, and drums on "Dream Girl" and "Bright Side Of Life" played by Tim Lundblad.

"Good Song" and "This Is Who I Am" were also released as singles. Dance producers Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso have also released their own remix of "It's True".

His re-recording of "It's Only You", a track from his debut album - now titled "It's Only You (Part II)" - is featured in a commercial for the Volvo XC60 car. An EP featuring "It's Only You Part II", "Twelve Fingers", "Dream Girl" and "It's True" was released in several European countries in November 2008.

Salem released his single "Astronaut" in Sweden on 4 March 2009. This was followed by the album of the same name on 18 March 2009.

"Roxy" was the next single to be released from the album "Astronaut".

On 16 November 2009, Salem Al Fakir was announced as a wildcard participant in Melodifestivalen 2010, the Swedish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. He took part with the song "Keep on Walking", which he wrote and composed himself.^[1]

On 6 February 2010 Salem competed in the first heat of Melodifestivalen and qualified directly to the final in Globen, Stockholm on 13 March 2010 when he reached second place with "Keep on Walking".

"4 O'Clock" was the next single released from his third album "Ignore This". The song was also featured in a television advertising campaign for the Telia phone company in 2010.

Also, he co-produced in 2011 with Avicii, in his song '"Silhouettes", adding the vocals to this song. The song was officially released in April 27, 2012.

[edit] Touring

Salem played a number of live concerts and festivals in Sweden in 2007 and was also part of the "Parksommar - Just Another Summer" tour with Moneybrother and Sakert. Also summer 2007, Salem appeared at the "Grattis Victoria" concert which took place to celebrate the 30th birthday of Swedish Crown Princess Victoria. In 2010 Salem premiered a new song "All Day Love", which was specially written for Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling, at a concert in Stockholm Konserthuset on the eve of their wedding in June 2010.

In 2008 Salem played live in Norway and Denmark, where his debut album "This Is Who I Am" was also released. Salem also collaborated with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra at three concerts in Berwaldhallen, Stockholm in November 2008.

Salem undertook a short Swedish tour in April 2009 and then played a showcase gig at the Viper Room in Los Angeles during the MUSEXPO international music business event. During summer 2009, Salem played several Swedish dates including a further appearance at this year's birthday concert for Crown Princess Victoria. He also appeared on the "Polar Music Prize" ceremony which this year honoured Peter Gabriel; Salem sang "Solsbury Hill" at the beginning of this ceremony.

Towards the end of 2009 Salem played a short series of live dates in Sweden, culminating in three concerts at Berwaldhallen, Stockholm in December 2009 where he performed with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

In summer 2010 Salem undertook a summer tour of Sweden to promote his third album "Ignore This".

[edit] Awards and prizes

In September 2007 Salem was named as one of the recipients of the Monica Zetterlund scholarship, awarded in memory of the late Swedish jazz singer.

In October 2007 Salem received the Swedish music publishers' award for "Best Newcomer".

In January 2008 Salem was announced as this year's winner of the Expressen newspaper's "Spelmannen" prize.

Salem Al Fakir was nominated in seven categories for the Swedish Grammis which took place on 9 January 2008, at which he also performed "It's True". The categories are: best album ("This Is Who I Am" / newcomer / producer / male artist / song ("Good Song") / composer / lyricist. He won four awards, for best male artist, best newcomer, best composer and best producer, the most awards for any one artist at this year's ceremony.

Salem was also nominated in the newspaper Aftonbladet's "Rockbjörnen" music awards in the best newcomer category, whilst he received two nominations in Swedish radio station P3's "P3 Guld" awards, in the best male artist and best live act categories. However he failed to win any of these awards.

[edit] Awards and niminations

In 2010, Salem Al Fakir won the Composer Award for the Melodifestivalen-related Swedish Marcel Bezençon Awards for his song "Keep on Walking"

[edit] Personal life

Salem Al Fakir's father Nabil is of Syrian origin and originated from Damascus, whereas his mother, Inger, is from Sweden. Salem is the fourth of six siblings (Aminah, Ayman, Nassim, Salem, Sami and Fares).

Nassim Al Fakir (known as Nassim), born on 21 March 1977, is a musician and television personality particularly with children program Bolibompa on Swedish television SVT. He is also a comedian with following particularly online. He released his debut album Ute och cyklar in February 2012.

Salem has a daughter born March 6, 2012 with his wife Caroline (born 1981)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• 2007: This Is Who I Am (#1)
• 2009: Astronaut (#7)
• 2010: Ignore This (1#)

[edit] EPs

• 2006: Dream Girl

[edit] Singles

(all top positions in the Swedish Singles Chart)

• 2006: "Dream Girl" (#25)
• 2006: "Good Song" (#36)
• 2007: "It's True" (Axwell & Sebastian Ingrosso vs. Salem Al Fakir) (#38)
• 2008: "It's True" (#42)
• 2008: "This Is Who I Am" (#43)
• 2008: "It's Only You, Part II" (#41)
• 2010: "Keep on Walking" (#1)
• 2010: "4 O'Clock" (#48)
• 2010: "Split My Personality" (-)
• 2011: "I'm So Happy" (with Josephine Bornebusch)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Salem Al Fakir

• Salem's official website
• Salem al Fakir on Myspace
• Planet Salem: the international Salem Al Fakir fansite