Deborah De Luca

From:Scampia, Napoli, Italy

DJ style:“HARD POP.”

Best known for:Ibiza residency, rocking dancefloors

Deborah De Luca has had an unforgettable year in more ways than one. Most importantly, she has been dealing with recovering from having a malignant tumour removed. “It’s not work-related, but it was very important,” she says, adding that it has taught her that “time is precious”. Also this year she released her new album, ‘Hard Pop’, and did so in style with a special set in New York’s Times Square. “I was the first Italian to do it after Måneskin,” she says. “It was a surprise event for the public, and despite that, more than 2,000 people showed up even though it was 5pm on a Tuesday!”

The album is a perfect distillation of her sound. “Still melodic but a bit harder,” she says of its trance-tinged tracks, which naturally come with the sort of rich and evocative synth designs that lodge deep in your brain. She followed that up with an opening set for major Italian rapper Geolier in front of 45,000 people, and has continued to play all across Europe.

Although the album is barely six months old, Deborah is already teasing the next. “”I might release another one because I have so much new music that it’s hard to keep it to myself!”

Fave tune of 2024?

“Mau P ‘On Again’.”

Rising star DJ/producer of 2024?

Most Popular

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