Swedish House Mafia – Miami 2 Ibiza Ft. Tinie Tempah

If you haven’t heard the latest certified banger from Swedish House Mafia, I wouldn’t be too worried. Essentially, you’re not really behind the ball just yet. Instead, if you had effectively acquainted yourself with the hard synths and fucking-give-you-a-heart-attack-and-then-shimmy-over-your-dead-body bass of the electro supergroup’s first commercial effort about a month or so back – ‘One’ Ft. N.E.R.D’s Pharrell which basically took over my life for a week – you have heard ‘Miami 2 Ibiza’. Substitute Tinie Tempah – who’s 2010 chart-topping effort ‘Pass Out‘ still stumps me, listening intently for that redeeming feature millions of Brits heard, compelling them to buy the single in droves – for Pharrell, change up the lyrics to make them a bit more reflective of crazy consumer culture (apparently Blackberries, Louis Vuitton and electronics manufacturer JVC all sell relatively well in Stockholm) and tweak the big synth line and BANGO, you’ve got yourself a hit.

Whether that hit is original or not, needless to say, remains a point of contention. Do I have a problem with Axwell, Sebastian Ingrosso and Steve Angello recycling a tried and tested formula and essentially turning out the same song – albeit to rave reviews – less than a month after their strikingly similar first single engulfed the world? Yes and no. Don’t get me wrong, I fucking hate the fact that dance music can be successful despite being so blatantly formulaic. But at the same time, you can’t really fault the Swedes for sticking to a winning formula. Surely, if I had the capacity to write nonsensical lyrics about partying and sexing Playboy girls and playing to sold out crowds anonymous ravers in the two sleaze dance capitals of the world, hell yes I would! Where ‘Miami 2 Ibiza’ diverges from ‘One’ is that rather than anchoring the vocal mix for this track in unrequited love, the Scandinavians have decided to fuck off reality and just tell you a bit about their lifestyles. Which sound, patently, horribly banal.

So conclusively (as if I ever really reach such finite statements of opinion), I’d say that yes, I was sort of irritated that SHM decided on the Britney Spears approach – if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – in putting together their second single. But that irritation quickly gave way to a whole spate of stupid dancing behind closed doors – the result of a brand of music which is, quite simply, hugely enveloping. Swedish House Mafia doesn’t let you turn the amp down to 2 and quietly listen to them in the background while you’re finishing off your Torts assignment. I know this, I’ve tried. Instead, Axwell and co demand your attention with a keen attention to detail. As I said with ‘One’, this is not difficult music. But the music has been so obviously thought about, the drops ruminated over for hours on end, that the result – regardless of simplicity – is totally arresting. I’m not sure how long the three lads can keep flogging their one-trick pony but if they’ve got more tricks hidden in the stable (and I’m sure they do) I think we better vänja sig vid dem (get used to them).

Swedish House Mafia – Miami 2 Ibiza Ft. Tinie Tempah