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Axwell at Melbourne, 2007.
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Background information | |
Birth name | Sven Axel Christofer Hedfors |
Born | 18 December 1977 |
Origin | Lund, Sweden |
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Years active | 1995–present |
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Website | axwell |
Sven Axel Christofer Hedfors (born 18 December 1977), better known by his stage name Axwell, is a Swedish DJ, record producer, remixer and owner of Axtone Records. He was a member of Swedish House Mafia along with Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello. He is a two time DJ Awards winner and in 2013 he was placed 19th on the DJ Magazine Top 100 DJ Poll.
Axwell's interest in music appeared at an early age, having taught himself to play the drums by age nine. Four years later, the 13-year-old exchanged his drums for a computer so he could create each element of his music independently. Axwell released limited copies of a techno/hard trance EP on vinyl under the name OXL in 1995. During the mid-90s, he was also active in the tracking music scene under the moniker Quazar, releasing acid techno tracks made with FastTracker 2 and NoiseTracker.
By late 2004, Axwell released "Feel the Vibe", which was re-released through Ministry of Sound in 2005 with new lead vocals from Tara McDonald who also wrote the song as "Feel the Vibe ('Til The Morning Comes)". McDonald's voice and writing helped secure the track as a radio winner and this track became one of the biggest cross over dance records of 2005. It was a breakthrough record for both Axwell & Tara McDonald. It peaked at #1 in UK Dance Singles Chart and #16 in the UK Singles Chart.
Also leading the way has been Mambana, his collaboration with Isabel Fructuoso (of Afro Medusa fame). Signed to Soulfuric Recordings, they have released three tracks since 2002. "No Reason" was their debut single, which hit the top spot in all the Hype/Buzz charts that Summer and was featured in the sets of all the top DJs including Little Louie Vega, Danny Rampling and Ben Watt. The follow ups were "Felicidad" and "Libre". "Libre" was released in 2003 and was arguably bigger than its predecessor. "Libre" was licensed to more than 12 different territories and featured on compilations that sold in excess of half a million copies.