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Alesso is the stage name of Swedish DJ, music producer and remixer Alessandro Renato Rodolfo Lindblad, born on 7 July 1991 in Stockholm. One of the most recognisable figures of the early-2010s progressive house generation, he helped take the emotional aesthetic of the Swedish electronic scene from clubs to the world’s biggest festivals, while building a long-running career at the intersection of progressive house, electro house, EDM and dance-pop.
Among Alesso’s most important tracks are Calling (Lose My Mind), Years, City of Dreams, If I Lose Myself, Under Control, Heroes (We Could Be), Cool, I Wanna Know, Let Me Go, Remedy, Midnight, When I'm Gone, Words, Never Going Home Tonight, Surrender, Inside Our Hearts, FADE and In Your Eyes. His career can be divided into at least two clearly defined strands: large-scale melodic festival productions and more club-focused experiments, which later developed into a separate direction through the Body Hi project.
Stockholm and Music Before Alesso
Alessandro Lindblad grew up in Stockholm and has both Swedish and Italian roots. His musical education began with the piano, which he started playing at around the age of seven. His interest in electronic dance music came considerably later, at roughly sixteen, when the future producer discovered recordings by Daft Punk and early work by artists from the emerging Swedish house scene.
Unlike many artists who first became known as club DJs and only later moved into production, Alesso followed almost the opposite path. He has explained that he began by making his own music and only then started taking DJing seriously. His first performances took place in Stockholm before the Alesso name became internationally recognised.
Early Releases: Joia Records and E:P
Alesso’s first full release appeared in 2010. The E:P, released on the Swedish label Joia Records, contained three tracks: Think It's Time, Moma and Workaholic. This release is important to the chronology of his career: Alesso was already putting out original music two years before Years and before his major international breakthrough.
His early tracks did not yet contain the fully developed sound for which he would become known several years later. Nevertheless, they already featured extended club arrangements, gradually evolving melodic themes and a clear orientation towards progressive house, a style that was rapidly gaining momentum in Sweden at the time.
Sebastian Ingrosso and Refune
A key figure in the early stage of Alesso’s career was Sebastian Ingrosso of Swedish House Mafia. In early 2011, Ingrosso contacted the young producer and suggested that they work together. In later interviews, Alesso described Ingrosso as his mentor and as someone who helped him not only improve his production skills, but also learn the professional side of DJing.
In March 2011, Ingrosso’s label Refune Music released the Dynamite EP, featuring Dynamite and Nillionaire. The latter began appearing regularly in sets by leading figures of the Swedish house scene and significantly expanded Alesso’s audience.
That same year, Alesso remixed Pressure by Nadia Ali, Starkillers and Alex Kenji. His version became one of the defining recordings of his early career: a powerful climax, an extended melodic progression and emotional female vocals already contained virtually all the key elements of the style of progressive house that would soon make his name known around the world.
Calling: The Foundation of His Festival Sound
One of the first major collaborations between Alesso and Sebastian Ingrosso was the instrumental track Calling, released in 2011. Vocals by Ryan Tedder were later added, and the final version was titled Calling (Lose My Mind). Matthew Koma is also credited among the songwriters. The vocal version was officially released in 2012.
Calling (Lose My Mind) became an important example of the festival progressive house sound of that period: a restrained opening and vocal section gradually build towards a huge synthesiser climax designed for large venues. In the United Kingdom, the track entered the main national chart and peaked at number 19.
The track’s importance proved long-lasting. It strengthened Alesso’s creative connection with the Swedish House Mafia circle while also establishing him as an independent producer capable of creating more than functional club music: emotionally driven tracks with full vocals and pop-oriented structures.
Years and the Golden Era of Progressive House
The next important release was Years, featuring vocals from American singer-songwriter Matthew Koma. Released in 2012, the track gradually became one of the defining works of Alesso’s early discography.
Years particularly clearly demonstrated his melodic approach: simple piano harmony, emotional vocals and a bright synthesiser-driven finale. This balance between song structure and festival electronics would later become the foundation of many of his most commercially successful productions.
The same period also included Raise Your Head, Clash and the Dirty South collaboration City of Dreams. Alesso quickly became one of the central young artists of the international EDM boom, and by 2012 he was already appearing at major festivals and on selected dates of Madonna’s MDNA tour.
If I Lose Myself: The Remix That Earned a Grammy Nomination
In 2013, Alesso reworked If I Lose Myself by the American band OneRepublic. Rather than remaining a conventional club remix, his version developed such a strong identity of its own that it was released under the billing OneRepublic vs. Alesso and later appeared both on expanded editions of OneRepublic’s album Native and on Alesso’s own debut album.
Alesso’s version reached number eight on the UK chart and became one of the most recognisable tracks of the festival progressive house era. In 2014, it received a Grammy nomination in the category Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical — the first and, to date, only Recording Academy nomination of Alesso’s career.
Under Control and the Top of the UK Chart
Another major success in 2013 was Under Control, created by Alesso together with Calvin Harris and featuring the British band Hurts. The track combined Alesso’s characteristic melodic sensibility with Harris’s more direct, pop-oriented production style.
In December 2013, Under Control reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. It became one of the biggest commercial achievements of Alesso’s career and confirmed his transition from the club-oriented electronic scene into the international pop industry.
That same year, he achieved his highest-ever position in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs, ranking 13th. DJ Mag associated this period with appearances at Ultra Miami, Creamfields and Electric Zoo, as well as the widespread use of his If I Lose Myself remix in festival sets.
Heroes (We Could Be) and the Move into Pop Music
In 2014, Alesso signed with Def Jam Recordings and began preparing his first full-length album. One of the first notable releases of this period was the instrumental Tear the Roof Up, but the major mainstream success came with Heroes (We Could Be), featuring vocals from Tove Lo.
The song retained the emotional climax characteristic of Alesso’s earlier work but was considerably closer to radio pop than his previous club productions. Heroes (We Could Be) entered the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the tracks that firmly established Alesso not only within EDM, but also within international pop music.
Forever — Alesso’s Only Studio Album
On 22 May 2015, Alesso released his debut and, so far, only full-length studio album, Forever. It combined previously released material with new productions, including Heroes (We Could Be), Tear the Roof Up, Cool, Sweet Escape, Scars, Under Control and his version of If I Lose Myself.
The album clearly reflects the transitional nature of this phase. Profondo and Payday preserve the festival-electronic foundation, while Cool with Roy English and Heroes are much more strongly structured as pop songs. Ryan Tedder, Noonie Bao and other vocalists and songwriters also contributed to the album.
Forever debuted at number one on the US Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart. After its release, Alesso no longer structured his discography around traditional studio albums, instead favouring standalone singles, EPs and smaller projects.
After Forever: I Wanna Know, Falling and Let Me Go
Following the album period, Alesso began moving more freely between progressive house and pop music. In 2016, he released I Wanna Know with Norwegian duo Nico & Vinz, followed by Take My Breath Away. In 2017 came Falling and Is That for Me, recorded with Brazilian singer Anitta.
A particularly important release was Let Me Go, recorded with Hailee Steinfeld and featuring Florida Georgia Line and producer watt. The project combined electronic pop with country elements and became one of Alesso’s most commercially significant releases of the second half of the decade.
Remedy and the Return of His Club Side
In 2018, Alesso began a new stage of collaboration with Universal Music Group and released Remedy. While several previous singles had moved noticeably towards radio pop, Remedy once again emphasised the large melodic climax associated with his early discography.
However, this was not simply a return to the formula of Years or Calling. In the projects that followed, Alesso increasingly separated accessible vocal material from music designed primarily for DJ sets.
Progresso: Music Outside the Pop Format
In March 2019, Alesso released Progresso Volume 1. The project allowed him to present a more club-focused, less radio-oriented side of his sound. Its follow-up, Progresso Vol. 2, arrived in June 2021. These releases are not conventional studio albums and are generally treated as a separate mixtape series within his discography.
At the same time, he continued making vocal-driven tracks. In 2020, Alesso released Midnight with Liam Payne, and in 2021 he joined Marshmello and James Bay for Chasing Stars.
When I'm Gone and Words
At the turn of 2021 and 2022, one of Alesso’s major pop releases was When I'm Gone, a collaboration with Katy Perry. The song continued the model he had been developing since Heroes: a powerful pop vocal placed within an electronic arrangement suitable for both radio and festival sets.
In 2022, Alesso collaborated with another Swedish singer, Zara Larsson, on Words. Billboard included it among the year’s notable dance tracks. During the same period, he also released more club-oriented productions such as Only You with Sentinel, In My Feelings with Deniz Koyu and We Go Out with Sick Individuals.
2023: Between Festival Progressive House and New Formats
In 2023, Alesso’s discography expanded with Caught a Body featuring Ty Dolla $ign, Without You, Call Your Name with John Newman and Free, recorded with Dillon Francis and Clementine Douglas. This period clearly demonstrates Alesso’s lack of interest in remaining confined to a single narrowly defined subgenre.
Body Hi: A Separate Space for Club Music
In 2024, Alesso began developing Body Hi, his own music platform combining a record label and live concept. The idea was to separate more intimate, club-oriented and experimental music from the large pop releases and festival anthems with which the wider audience typically associated his name.
The first major expression of this new direction was the Hypnotize EP, released on 10 May 2024. It contained Hypnotize, Zig Zag and The Rhythm of the Night. The music was noticeably darker and rhythmically stricter than typical Alesso productions, with melodic progressive house giving way to more tech house and hypnotic club structures.
The live version of the Body Hi concept was presented on the Do LaB stage at Coachella, where Alesso played a longer and stylistically freer set than his standard performances on major EDM stages.
I Like It and Never Going Home Tonight
While developing Body Hi, Alesso did not abandon large-scale vocal projects. In July 2024, he released I Like It with American country singer Nate Smith, combining Smith’s distinctive voice with an electronic dance foundation.
In September came Never Going Home Tonight, a collaboration with David Guetta featuring vocals from Madison Love. Rather than the fictional “Future Rave joint album” sometimes mentioned elsewhere, this track is one of the genuine major collaborations between Alesso and Guetta.
At the end of 2024, Alesso also released Lonely Heart with John Alto, using the release to further develop Body Hi as an independent label.
Surrender and Inside Our Hearts
In April 2025, Alesso teamed up with British singer Becky Hill on Surrender. The track contains noticeable trance elements combined with the emotional festival-style progression typical of Alesso. Hill had previously contributed to the writing of Words, but Surrender became their first released collaboration featuring her own lead vocals.
An even more anticipated collaboration was with Martin Garrix. Inside Our Hearts, featuring Maltese singer-songwriter Shaun Farrugia, was released on 25 July 2025 through STMPD RCRDS after unfinished versions had been played at festivals for an extended period.
Other releases from this period included Freedom with Sentinel, Upside Down with Sentinel and Sick Individuals, and Destiny with Sacha. In the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs 2025 ranking, Alesso placed 51st, with the magazine highlighting Surrender and Inside Our Hearts among his key tracks of the year.
FADE and the Return to OneRepublic
In February 2026, Alesso released FADE with Australian-British electronic group Pendulum. The track became one of the first major releases of a new phase of his career and coincided with the start of a series of solo US shows, including a performance at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
In March, a new version of Years appeared, recorded with Tomorrowland’s orchestral project Symphony of Unity. The symphonic arrangement highlights how central melody has always been to the original track: even without the classic festival-house production, its harmonic structure remains instantly recognisable.
On 5 June 2026, Alesso reunited with OneRepublic for In Your Eyes. The new track continued his creative relationship with Ryan Tedder, which began during the era of Calling (Lose My Mind) and If I Lose Myself. Universal Music described In Your Eyes as their first new collaboration in more than a decade.
Why Alesso’s Sound Is So Recognisable
The foundation of Alesso’s classic style remains the melodic progressive house associated with the Swedish school of the early 2010s. His most characteristic productions are built around simple, memorable harmonies, piano chords, gradual increases in tension and emotional synthesiser climaxes.
Unlike harder big room house, Alesso’s best early work rarely relies solely on a massive percussive drop. Melody is usually the central element, which is one reason Calling, Years, If I Lose Myself and Heroes have remained recognisable far beyond their original festival context.
At the same time, his catalogue extends far beyond progressive house. The album Forever includes dance-pop, later vocal singles move closer to contemporary pop, the Progresso series brings the focus back to club material, while Body Hi gives him room to explore tech house and more minimal rhythmic structures. Alesso himself has emphasised that he does not want to limit his work to a single type of dance music.
Main Album and Other Major Releases
Studio album:
- Forever — 2015
Major EPs and projects:
- E:P — 2010
- Dynamite EP — 2011
- Progresso Volume 1 — 2019
- Progresso Vol. 2 — 2021
- Hypnotize EP — 2024
The chronology highlights an important feature of Alesso’s discography: despite a long international career, he has released only one traditional studio album, while the majority of his work exists in the form of standalone singles, collaborations and smaller club-oriented projects.
Selected Alesso Tracks
- Nillionaire — 2011
- Pressure (Alesso Remix) — 2011
- Calling / Calling (Lose My Mind) — 2011 / 2012
- Years — 2012
- City of Dreams — 2012
- If I Lose Myself — 2013
- Under Control — 2013
- Heroes (We Could Be) — 2014
- Cool — 2015
- I Wanna Know — 2016
- Let Me Go — 2017
- Remedy — 2018
- Midnight — 2020
- When I'm Gone — 2021
- Words — 2022
- Call Your Name — 2023
- Zig Zag — 2024
- Never Going Home Tonight — 2024
- Surrender — 2025
- Inside Our Hearts — 2025
- FADE — 2026
- In Your Eyes — 2026
This sequence shows how dramatically the musical context around Alesso has changed: from the peak of Swedish progressive house and the global EDM boom to the streaming era, pop collaborations and renewed interest in more club-focused house sounds.
Alesso’s Place in the History of Contemporary Electronic Music
Alesso was not a founder of progressive house and entered the international electronic music scene at a time when Swedish artists were already gaining influence rapidly. Nevertheless, he became one of the artists who most clearly expressed its melodic side. His early career developed alongside Sebastian Ingrosso and Swedish House Mafia, but Pressure, Calling, Years and If I Lose Myself quickly established an independent production identity.
What distinguishes his later career is his ability to operate across several musical spaces at once. Alesso can record radio-oriented pop with Katy Perry or Zara Larsson, release festival progressive house with Martin Garrix, work with Pendulum and simultaneously develop more club-focused music through Body Hi. This range has allowed him to maintain an international career well beyond the original EDM boom of the early 2010s.
At the centre of his music, however, remains the idea that defined the most important stage of his early career: building dance music around an emotional melody. That is why Calling (Lose My Mind), Years, If I Lose Myself, Under Control and Heroes (We Could Be) remain central landmarks in his catalogue, while his later projects continue to reinterpret the same balance between club energy and fully developed songwriting.
