Plastik Funk

From:Spain / Germany

DJ style:“Bass house, disco house, tech-house.”

Best known for:“‘Dare Me’ with NERVO, ‘Reveille’ with Timmy Trumpet, and ‘WHO’ with Tujamo.”

From the motoring house of his guitar-licked take on Madison Avenue’s ‘Don’t Call Me Baby’ to the sleazier and squelchier body mover, ‘Uh Huh’ — a collaboration with Toxic Joy — it feels like barely a month has passed without a single or EP from Plastik Funk. Already renowned for his work ethic, the Spanish-born, Germany-based DJ and producer (real name: Rafael Xienez-Carrillo) proudly tells us that this year has seen him put out more new music than ever. Not least the appropriately named garage-inspired banger, ‘Skank’.

But those moments are less significant than FUNK YOU Musik. The label launched late-2023 as a platform for his own productions alongside output from select names that excite and inspire him. Xienez-Carrillo has publicly stated any deals will be offered on music alone, and decisions will not be “based on followers or monthly listeners”. Born into the chaos and beauty of ADE 2023 via a sold out club showcase, the imprint’s tone was set with its debut release: a reworking of Jamie Lewis and Nick Morris’s 2000 club hit, ‘Welcome To The Sunshine Motel’, turning the page to start the next chapter in a Plastik Funk story which already stretches back no less than 20 years.

Fave tune of 2024?

“Dom Dolla ‘Saving Up’.”

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