Mochakk

From:Brazil

DJ style:House

Best known for:Charismatic performances

If there’s one name that would have felt like a glaring omission in this year’s Top 100 DJs poll, it’s that of new entry Brazilian DJ and producer Mochakk. Real name Pedro Maia, the 26-year-old artist has been releasing music since 2017, but it was the videos of him ldancing behind the booth in recent years, lost in house music, as well as milestone moments like his iconic Cercle music set from Seville’s Plaza de España, that really made dance music fall in love with Mochakk.

A regular face at Circoloco in Ibiza this season, Mochakk has also hosted his own Mochakk Calling events in Sao Paolo, Miami, Lisbon and New York, played sets at CRSSD, Time Warp, Primavera Sound, Kappa FuturFestival, and Neopop Festivals, and joined Peggy Gou as a guest at her one-day London event this summer. More recently, he also played B2B with Disclosure.

After the release of his 2023 Ibiza anthem ‘Jealous’ on Circoloco Records, he returned to the imprint this year with the ‘Locomotiva Ibiza 2099’ EPs, and made his Defected debut alongside Dogghauz label mates Jay M

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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