Alesso

From:Sweden

DJ style:EDM

Best known for:‘Remedy’, ‘Heroes (We Could Be)’, ‘Let Me Go’.”

The electronic music lifer Alesso has been one of EDM’s mainstays almost as long as we’ve been calling it EDM, with a festival-wrecking discography packed with big tunes to prove it. He’s been one of the most consistent stars of that world over the years — 2024 marks his 13th straight appearance in our Top 100 DJs poll — but that doesn’t mean the Stockholm-born star doesn’t have a few surprises up his sleeve. Take ‘I Like It’, released this past summer — a collaboration with country music artist Nate Smith, it’s a country-pop-dance crossover gem that isn’t shy about placing its guitar chords, along with Smith’s vocodered vocals, front and centre. Whatever you think about pouring shots and stacking up those bottles, it’s as addictive a tune as they come.

There was also his anthemic collaboration with David Guetta, ‘Never Going Home Tonight’, a nostalgia-tinged tune that harkens back to festivals of years past; there was the frothy and fun ‘Zig Zag’ track, and the club-focused ‘Hypnotize’ EP, plus the relentless touring which, in just the past few months, has taken him from the UK’s Creamfields to the Korean iteration of Ultra to every edition of Tomorrowland the world has to offer.

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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