Claptone

From:“Planet Earth.”

DJ style:“House.”

Best known for:“Being unknown, and for my golden mask, of course.”

Fave tune of 2022:“Claptone, Rune ‘Calabria (Claptone Remix)’.”

Rising star DJ/producer of 2022:“James Hype.”

For the past decade, the masked enigma Claptone has continued to rise, enthralling crowds of thousands with his catchy records and engaging DJ sets. Rising to fame with his early hits ‘Cream’ and ‘No Eyes’ featuring Jaw on Exploited, he’s kept up a consistent run of releases ever since, last year releasing his third studio album ‘Closer’ that featured guest appearances from Seal, James Vincent McMorrow, Like Mike and more. This year he’s kept his foot firmly on the dancefloor, remixing Rune’s iconic ‘Calabria’, and has collaborated with Mylo for a rework of ‘Drop The Pressure’, as well as releasing a single ‘Make Love Not War’ featuring the vocals of Nathan Nicholson.

This summer his renowned Masquerade parties returned for a season at Pacha in Ibiza, inviting the likes of Kerri Chandler, Todd Terry, Paul Woolford and many more to join him. The Masquerade parties have gained worldwide recognition and this year he took the concept round the globe with events in Peru, Bogota, Barcelona, Amsterdam and is heading to Melbourne, Australia in November.

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

“Fatboy Slim at The Masquerade @ Pacha Ibiza.”

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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