Fedde Le Grand

From:The Netherlands

DJ Style: “House.”

Best known for:“‘Put Your Hands Up For Detroit’.”

Fedde Le Grand’s days follow a committed path: “Producing, playing, producing, playing, etc,” he tells DJ Mag of recent routines. That cycle proved fruitful for the Dutch artist who in 2024 dropped a number of invigorating four-to-the-floor singles on notable labels and worked alongside a crew of collaborators who’ve defined the American house scene since the ‘90s.

Let’s start with Fedde’s sweltering springtime release on Armada Music: the stomping piano house original ‘Head Up High’ ushered in sunnier times with help from a soulful Mike James on vocals. Effervescent and uplifting, it’s the type of festival-ready tune the main stage mainstay is known for. More recently, however, the European artist hit the iconic NYC imprint, Nervous Records, alongside old school masters DJ Disciple and Progression on ‘Got To Believe’ for a tune boasting a more classic swagger, before joining forces with another Big Apple legend — Todd Terry — on ‘Baby Can You Reach’, propelled by the powerful tones of British songstress, Rowetta. Longtime listeners know that Fedde Le Grand’s always had a soft spot for the midwest US city of Detroit, but recent stops suggest Fedde’s undertaken a comprehensive house history tour this year with gigs in Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and Manhattan popping off in past months. Sure enough, the resulting grooves have us putting our hands up for those clubland meccas, too.

Fave tune of 2024:

“‘I Just Wanna Party’.”

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Faustix

From:Denmark

DJ style: “Big techno.”

Best known for: “Collaboration with Diplo, Faustix, Imanos and Kai called ‘Revolution’.”

Everything about 2024 was big and bold for Faustix. The Danish dance music lifer found a new sound over the course of the past year, where ropey and dramatic arpeggios dart in and out of brash techno kicks and every drop feels like barreling down a dopamine rollercoaster. Each release seemed to push the envelope further and further — from the soaring emotions of ‘Lead Me To Love You’ with vocalist Mougleta to ‘All My Friends Are Hot’, whose cheeky vocal flip (“All my friends are hot and only listen to techno”) was the perfect summer festival anthem. Add to that a teased remix of Belgian Stromae ‘Alors on danse’ and it’s clear that 2024 was, without a doubt, the year Faustix found a whole new groove.

While he’s certainly been busy in the studio, Faustix has also played everywhere — from 13,000 person raves in the middle of Copenhagen to gigs on the Faroe Islands. Faustix, in other words, hasn’t taken his foot off the gas for even a second. And, with each gig and release, he is testament to how much people still love pumping, hard-edged techno.

Fave tune of 2024?

“Dash Berlin ‘Till The Sky Falls Down’, it’s an all-time classic and still gets me