Daniel Savio (born 6 April 1978),[1] is a Swedish electronic musician, composer and DJ. He is recognized as the originator of the genre term skweee, describing the sparse electronic music style initially released on Scandinavian record label Flogsta Danshall.[2] With their release of the single "The Bubble Bump" in 2006, the label also debuted Daniel Savio's solo material.

Daniel Savio
Savio in May 2012.
Savio in May 2012.
Background information
Birth nameDaniel Savio
Born (1978-04-06) 6 April 1978 (age 46)
OriginSödermalm, Stockholm, Sweden
GenresElectronic, Skweee, IDM
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, remixer
Instrument(s)Synthesizers, piano, electronics, drum machine, sequencer, sampler, turntables
Years active1999–present
LabelsHouse Of Wisdom
Flogsta Danshall
Flora & Fauna
Dødpop
Losonofono
MYOR
Poisonous Gases
Disques Mazout
Permanent Vacation
Websitedanielsavio.com (archived at Wayback Machine)

Early life

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Born to artist parents, Daniel Savio was encouraged to embrace creativity early in life. The record collections of his uncle's and cousin's made music his starting point. While focusing entirely on DJing, his Stockholm childhood and early teenage years involved brief encounters with breakdancing and graffiti. Savings from a summer job at the age of fourteen gave him access to a sampler. The first music he produced were beats made for himself to rap to.[3]

Career

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Following high school, Daniel would go on to form the electro and dub techno group Hundarna Från Söder with friends Aksel Friberg and Tor Löwkrantz. As a member of Hundarna Från Söder, Savio was awarded the Swedish Grammis (Club/Dance) in 2004 for the trio's self-titled debut album. The group was also nominated at the Sveriges Radio P3 Guld awards, as well as the independent Manifest awards.[4] After two albums, and after no real disbanding of the group (in an interview Daniel Savio stated that "it just fizzled out"), Savio continued producing and recording music as a solo artist.[3]

While departing from making music with Hundarna Från Söder, Savio simultaneously started releasing music under his birth name – as well as under the alias "Kool DJ Dust". As Kool DJ Dust he produced the mix and re-edit concept album "The Disco Opera" using samples sourced from obscure European prog- and disco-influenced fusion. The album was released locally on label High Feelings, along with an EP called "The Space Opera". Following the wider re-release of the CD mix album on Service,[5] Pitchfork gave plaudits to the album, comparing "The Disco Opera" to the music of Todd Terje and The Avalanches.[6] Svenska Dagbladet proclaimed Daniel, in the guise of Kool DJ Dust, as "...a Swedish DJ Shadow in terms of the sampling of collages of vinyl, or a one-man Radio Soulwax intertwining the most remarkable combinations of tunes into a suddenly logic entity".[7] In conjunction with the release of "The Disco Opera", Daniel cited influences like Italian composer Dario Argento. He also explained how he endured listening through piles of cheap LPs by saying "it is no worse listening to a bad record from 1972 than it is to listen to the radio on any given day".[8]

Musical style

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A technique employed by Daniel Savio is committing himself to using a single synthesizer in the making of an entire song, or even full collections of songs. Using this method, the drum sounds, melodies, bass rhythms, pads and sequencing of a track may all be done using just one piece of hardware. The original purpose of the synthesizer in use would typically be considered insufficient for the purpose of making detailed and complete songs.[10]

Savio's music has been compared to productions by Timbaland and Neptunes, echoing early 2000s R&B to a greater degree than his skweee counterparts.[11]

Selected discography

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While Savio's solo albums have had digital releases, a longtime preferred format for his singles were 7-inch vinyl. Several releases on his own House Of Wisdom imprint have been 12" vinyl and have been geared more towards house music with an electronic disco influence.[12] Other labels which released records by Savio include Flogsta Danshall, Permanent Vacation, Flora & Fauna, Romb, Dødpop, Harmönia and Losonofono.[13]

Studio albums (as Daniel Savio)
  • Dirty Bomb (2009)
  • Nekropolis (2010)
  • Daniel Savio (2012)
  • Ill Eagle (2013)
  • Against All Odds (2014)
  • Plejjern från Plejaderna (2017)
DJ mix albums (as Kool DJ Dust)
  • The Disco Opera (2008)
Studio albums (as member of Hundarna Från Söder)
  • Hundarna Från Söder (2003)
  • Troika (2005)
Studio work

References

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  1. ^ Tax office population register, Ratsit.se. Accessed 12 July 2012.
  2. ^ McDonnell, John (7 April 2009). "Scene and heard: Skweee". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Interview with Daniel Savio". Weekday Magazine. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  4. ^ Paulsson, Johanna (9 February 2004). "Hundjobb på heltid för söderkisar". Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  5. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. Daniel Savio at AllMusic. Retrieved 24 September 2012.
  6. ^ "New Music: Kool DJ Dust: "Comin to Getcha"". Pitchforkmedia.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  7. ^ Thungren, Stefan (22 September 2008). "Kool Dj Dust ger loppisvinylen nytt liv". Svenska Dagbladet. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  8. ^ Wahlöf, Niklas (20 September 2008). "Vinylfynd blev dansant discoopera". Dagens Nyheter. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Daniel Savio biography at Residentadvisor.net". Residentadvisor.net. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  10. ^ Savio, Daniel (14 October 2012). "In Space No One Can Hear You Skweee". XLR8R TV (Interview). Interviewed by Ken Taylor. Archived from the original on 5 July 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  11. ^ Marcia, Dave (16 September 2008). "Inside Skweee – The strange world of Scandinavian R'n'B". Clash Music. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  12. ^ "PREMIÄR: Daniel Savio - "Race To The Bottom"". Musikguiden i P3 (in Swedish). 22 May 2017. Sveriges Radio. P3. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  13. ^ "Daniel Savio discography at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  14. ^ Britney (booklet). Britney Spears. New York City, NY: Jive Records. 2007. 01241-41776-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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