Jay Hardway

From:Drunen, The Netherlands

DJ style:“House / melodic / main stage.”

Best known for:“Tracks like ‘Electric Elephants’, ‘Wizard’ with Martin Garrix and my melodies.”

It’s been just over a decade since main stage mainstay and EDM maestro Jay Hardway burst onto the scene via his Martin Garrix collab ‘Registration Code’, a tune that set him on the path to becoming a regular headliner at legendary clubs and global events like Tomorrowland, Pacha and EDC New York, AMF, Mysteryland and Omnia Las Vegas.

Becoming a father last year has meant Hardway has been focusing on maintaining that all-important work/life balance: “In my personal life I made sure to spend a lot of time with my family and it’s been amazing being a father. I still love doing shows worldwide, but I’ve made sure to plan my tours in such a way that I’m not on the road 24/7.”

It’s an approach that’s clearly working as 2023 has seen the Dutch DJ/producer continue to deliver high-impact dancefloor gold, including his big Spinnin’ Records collab with Tujamo featuring Bay-C ‘Energy’,high-drama Emo-DM tear-jerker‘Lost Souls’with Jeffrey Sutorius on Revealed, and fresh vocal track ‘On Fire’ featuring Nadia Gattas on Rave Culture, with Hardway’s solo releases like ‘The Sound’ and ‘Red Alert’ all picking up strong DJ support too.

Hero of 2023:“My daughter No

Most Popular

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.