Alesso believes looking after your mental health as a DJ is crucial. Courtesy Ultra Abu Dhabi
Alesso believes looking after your mental health as a DJ is crucial. Courtesy Ultra Abu Dhabi
Alesso believes looking after your mental health as a DJ is crucial. Courtesy Ultra Abu Dhabi
Alesso believes looking after your mental health as a DJ is crucial. Courtesy Ultra Abu Dhabi

Swedish DJ Alesso on how to be successful: 'Sleep, healthy food and a good run on a treadmill'


Saeed Saeed
  • English
  • Arabic

The coronavirus has wreaked havoc across the music industry by shutting down various high-­profile festivals including Ultra Miami and Ultra Abu Dhabi. But the sudden break in action could provide welcome respite for those involved in an industry in which the beats drop non-stop.

Taking advantage of this reprieve is DJ Alesso, 28, who is spending the time off perfecting his new single, One Last Time. Released on March 6, the collaboration with Dutch duo DubVision will surely please old-school Alesso fans, as it finds the DJ going back to the anthemic progressive house sound he made his name with. Alesso seemingly acknowledged this on social media when he posted: "I know some of you guys have been waiting for me to drop a song like this for a while."

While Alesso is now in an unfamiliar predicament of not being able to play the track live, he sees the positives. While the frenetic globetrotting may be fun at times, it comes at a price. More than a bad sound system, the true enemy of a global DJ is jet lag. "It ruins everything," he says. "It affects everything, from your performance to even recording. As a DJ you are always creating music on the road, so you need to find a way to deal with jet lag or it is a problem."

So how does the Swedish DJ deal with it? He wills himself to sleep, as well as sticks to a healthy diet and solid runs on the treadmill. "I know that it doesn't sound as cool as people think it is," he says. "But this is this best way to survive in this industry and take it seriously."

But it wasn't always that way. When Alesso first emerged on the scene in 2011, with his stellar remixes of Nadia Ali's Pressure and Sebastian Ingrosso's Calling, he admitted to indulging in the party lifestyle and the perks that come with being an international DJ.

He puts his recent wellness down to the growing discussion about mental health in the electronic dance music scene, which came to the fore after the tragic death of fellow Swede, Avicci, who took his own life in in Oman in 2018.

"There have been some really sad situations that have happened in the industry in the past, so my health has become a real priority now because without it I have nothing," he says.

"That is the most important thing in the industry because it is not as glamorous as it looks. You always have to keep working because if you stop, you will fade away and someone will take your place. So I don't view it as a race, I view it more as a marathon."

But it has ultimately been a rewarding journey, as it took Alesso from Europe to Africa to Asia. His Ultra Abu Dhabi gig was set to be his regional debut performance, so that remains a career notch he is yet to reach. But that will probably happen soon – Alesso says he is content to travel anywhere the music is appreciated.

“You don’t take these things for granted and it just shows how dance music is spreading,” he says. “I feel lucky because this is happening now, but also because of things like the internet. If I was born in another time, I don’t think all of this would have been possible.”

While his live shows may be halted for now, Alesso plans to remain busy in the studio. One Last Time is one of a bunch of new tunes the DJ will release this year. He can't reveal any of his star collaborations yet, but he says the tracks will follow the super-melodic style of last year's hit, In The Middle, and 2015's Heroes, which clocked up more than 200 million streams on YouTube. This is the Swedish way, after all.

"We care more about melodies than the words," he says. "In Sweden, we care more about the feeling that a song gives you. That's why melody is my focus. While it's good to have a strong message, it won't be as powerful if it doesn't have a powerful ­melody behind it."

MATCH INFO

FA Cup fifth round

Chelsea v Manchester United, Monday, 11.30pm (UAE), BeIN Sports

THE SPECS

Touareg Highline

Engine: 3.0-litre, V6

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Power: 340hp

Torque: 450Nm

Price: Dh239,312

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Company: Instabug

Founded: 2013

Based: Egypt, Cairo

Sector: IT

Employees: 100

Stage: Series A

Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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While you're here
Know before you go
  • Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
  • If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
  • By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
  • Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
  • Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.

 

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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
  • Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
  • Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
  • Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
  • Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
  • Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
  • Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
  • Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.

Normal People

Sally Rooney, Faber & Faber
 

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Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.