Afrojack

From:Rotterdam

DJ style:“Depends on the mood.”

Best known for: “Afrojack music.”

Afrojack’s 2024 releases tell a story about the power of connection. His tech-house banger with David Guetta, ‘Raving’ arrived this August on Spinnin’ Records, and it’s another chapter in their winning friendship — literally: a lengthy list of Grammy Awards, nominations, and a collection of top charting tunes with shared credits (see also: ‘Titanium’) prove it. The Dutch artist also reunited with Pitbull and Ne-yo on the summer-scorched ‘2 The Moon’, a worthy follow-up to their 2011 worldwide smash ‘Give Me Everything’, which still bangs a decade or more later.

From his teenage years DJing in Crete to propelling the international EDM boom with iconic big room cuts like ‘Take Over Control’ alongside Eva Simmons, relationship building remained integral to Nick van de Wall’s success. Now, he’s building meaningful bonds with the next generation of producers — close to home and around the globe.

The 800,000-square-foot Wall Studios serves as the high-tech headquarters for Afrojack’s Wall Recordings imprint, and its mega yacht-inspired interiors are filled with rising stars like Gil Glaze and Sven Fields who excel under van de Wall’s mentorship. The lessons Afrojack bestows to his homegrown roster reached a wider audience this summer when the Top 100 DJ released Wall Pro Academy to help aspiring artists transform their talents into professions. “We didn’t start this thi

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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