Angerfist

From:The Netherlands

DJ style:“Hardcore techno.”

Best known for:“‘Raise Your Fist’.”

Masked marauder Angerfist dented 2023 with a host of festival appearances and new productions. The Dutch hardcore DJ/producer (real name Danny Masseling) brought his riotous sound to events like Tomorrowland, Hardtribe, Hardfest, Nexus, Defqon.1, Nature One and Decibel through the summer, while also finding plenty of time to hit the studio. His track with Miss K8, the cerebellum-smashing ‘Breinbreker’, hit hard in May, while in June, ‘Lethal Assassins’ with GridKiller did damage. He capped off the season with the festival anthem for Dortmund event Syndicate, ‘Syndicate Of Noise’. It was produced with Nolz, and marked Angerfist’s most collaborative year yet, after 2022’s succession of solo releases.

This year, the DJ also hit the landmark of one million YouTube channel subscribers, swelling his horde of followers. Meanwhile, a new look mask announced a different Angerfist moniker. M4ZE PUSHER is dedicated to lower tempo styles, and will explore Masseling’s love of techno, progressive house and trance. On his Instagram, the artist said: “I’ve been looking to do something like this for quite some time now and it has given me some solid inspiration in the studio”. Fans shouldn’t worry, though: his first track under the name, ‘Swarm’, is similarly thumping.

Hero of 2023:“M4ZE PUSHER.”

Fave tune of 2023:“Deadly Gun

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Le Shuuk

From: Stuttgart, Germany

DJ style:“Hard dance / electro / hardstyle / techno / EDM.”

Best known for: “The tracks ‘Sandmann’, ‘Toast Hawaii’ and ‘Konje’, as well as being a resident and face of WORLD CLUB DOME Festival.”

A mainstay of the electronic scene for almost 20 years now, Stuttgart native Le Shuuk is no stranger to the rigours of touring. In the last 12 months, he decided to overhaul his lifestyle, committing to exercising regularly and abstaining from drinking during his shows. As a result, the DJ and producer, who is a favourite of the German festival circuit, says that he is having more fun on stage than ever. He credits these changes with allowing him to connect on a deeper level with his audiences, as well as redefine his career goals and look with renewed focus to the future.

The new healthy habits clearly agree with him. As well as recently performing at festivals and clubs across Europe, and holding his own Le Shuuk & Friends parties in his home city, he continues to build on the momentum of tracks like 2020’s peak-rave, German language tune ‘Sandmann’ and 2021’s hypnotic ‘Goodbye’ (featuring Xillions). This year he had another star turn with the explosive ‘Konje’, a collaboration with B-Stylezz that combined modern techno and EDM with the traditional elements of Bulgarian folk songs, with the track receiving big support from the likes of Armin van Buuren, Amelie Lens, and Joyhauser.