John Dahlbäck is one of Sweden's most accomplished DJ exports, which is saying a lot seeing that his hometown of Stockholm has birthed the careers of superstar acts like Swedish House Mafia, Dada Life and Eric Prydz. Producing mostly energetic, progressive and big room house anthems, Dahlbäck has made a name for himself on the worldwide DJ circuit with adrenaline fueled sets in addition to the success of his own label, Mutants Records, which consistently releases club-smashing (and Beatport-charting) productions.This Memorial Day weekend at the US groundbreaking of Mysteryland, John will be bringing his massive beats to Bethel Woods, where he will be appearing on Nicky Romero's Protocol stage. At only 28 years old, Dahlbäck is currently in the midst of an extremely promising career that seems to know no limits. To get you further acquainted with the impressive young star before his upcoming set at Mysteryland, check out our Q&A with the stellar Swede.THUMP: What in your mind is the recipe for the ideal festival set?
John Dahlbäck: Since festival sets are usually much shorter than normal, I have a lot of stuff to squeeze in. But overall I think I play much happier music at festivals— longer breakdowns and vocals. The energy needs to be there as well to keep people partying.How do you adjust your game plan to perform to such a larger crowd?
I try to play some unreleased stuff so I can see what the reaction will be with a bigger audience.What was the first festival you ever attended?
I think the first festival I ever attended was a festival I was actually playing at. It was Dance Valley in Holland and it was so cool to walk around hearing all these different genres. I remember I was really surprised by how big the hardcore scene was there.Can you tell us a funny story about a festival experience you've had?
I remember an overall funny experience I had at at Stereosonic in Australia. It was just great hanging out with everyone, but I laughed when Deadmau5 drove a golfcart up on stage!What does is mean to you to play at the original site of Woodstock? Who would you have been most excited to see at the original festival?
It means a lot for me since my dad was in that sort of progressive rock scene in the late 60s and 70s. I grew up listening to that sort of music. I wouldn't have missed Jimi Henrix if I attended.Who are you looking forward to catching sets from at Mysteryland? Are you going to hang out at the festival for a while?
I might stay for a little bit. I'm playing Nicky Romero's stage so I'll stick around and say hi to him!
Advertisement
John Dahlbäck: Since festival sets are usually much shorter than normal, I have a lot of stuff to squeeze in. But overall I think I play much happier music at festivals— longer breakdowns and vocals. The energy needs to be there as well to keep people partying.How do you adjust your game plan to perform to such a larger crowd?
I try to play some unreleased stuff so I can see what the reaction will be with a bigger audience.What was the first festival you ever attended?
I think the first festival I ever attended was a festival I was actually playing at. It was Dance Valley in Holland and it was so cool to walk around hearing all these different genres. I remember I was really surprised by how big the hardcore scene was there.Can you tell us a funny story about a festival experience you've had?
I remember an overall funny experience I had at at Stereosonic in Australia. It was just great hanging out with everyone, but I laughed when Deadmau5 drove a golfcart up on stage!What does is mean to you to play at the original site of Woodstock? Who would you have been most excited to see at the original festival?
It means a lot for me since my dad was in that sort of progressive rock scene in the late 60s and 70s. I grew up listening to that sort of music. I wouldn't have missed Jimi Henrix if I attended.Who are you looking forward to catching sets from at Mysteryland? Are you going to hang out at the festival for a while?
I might stay for a little bit. I'm playing Nicky Romero's stage so I'll stick around and say hi to him!