Alan Walker

From:Norway

DJ style:“Uplifting/energetic.”

Best known for:“Wearing a mask.”

Fave tune of 2022:Justin Bieber, The Kid Karoo ‘Stay’.”

Rising star DJ/producer of 2022: “LUM!X.”

While metrics only tell you so much, Norwegian DJ and producer Alan Walker’s following of 115 million people across social media and 8.7 billion plays on YouTube gives some indication of the growing size of his Walkers fanbase. Bursting onto the global scene with 2015’s ‘Faded’, which has now racked up over three billion views on Youtube, his unstoppable momentum has seen the last 12 months consist of “mainly touring and working on different projects alongside new music.”

Recently filmed feeding pizza to fans queuing outside a gig in London, part of a UK tour, it follows a summer of European festivals — where he showed his tongue-in-cheek humour by dropping a Rickroll at Tomorrowland — and a whistle-stop tour of Asia, taking in Malaysia, Korea, India and more. In amongst it all has been new music, ‘Extremes’ featuring Trevor Daniel having just dropped as a taster of forthcoming album ‘Walkerverse Pt. II’. And while the rest of the world does its best to put Covid behind it, Alan continues to stay protected behind his trademark mask.

What’s the best DJ set you’ve seen this year?

“As I’m a big fan of Armin van Buuren, I found his set at Tomorrowland very entertaining.”

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Cuebrick

From:Germany

DJ style:“Progressive house.”

Best known for:“‘Squid Game’ with Blasterjaxx.”

Fave tune of 2022:“James Hype ‘Ferrari’.”

Rising star DJ/producer of 2022:“Marten Horger.”

What’s the best DJ set you’ve seen this year?“Tale Of Us, Afterlife show at the Brooklyn Mirage.”

After finishing just outside of the Top 100 in 2021, this year German DJ and producer Cuebrick breaks in for the first time this year. He now sits at the top table of global dance music after standout shows everywhere from Los Angeles to San Francisco, Singapore to Bangkok.

While releasing big tunes on labels like Spinnin Records, Armada and Ultra Music, he also works as a radio-host on bigFM’s nitroX show, which is the biggest radio platform for electronic music in Germany.

This year he has worked on a new sound which he says “can best be described as a fusion of different elements from genres such as techno, hard techno, and trance. Hard techno kicks are the foundation, with classic trance synthesizers.” It’s a sound that has seemingly connected with fans, who will be pleased to learn Cuebrick has signed a deal meaning “Smash the House will be the main home for my music for at least the next two years.”

Name one great festival you played for the first time this year…

“Hypercat Festival at Noa Beach Club.”

What’s the longest DJ set you’ve