Rave Republic

From:Asia

DJ style:“EDM / hard dance / hard rave.”

Best known for:“Sets inspiring surprising singalong action.”

2024 has been a robust year for Mathias Schell and Stas Madorski, the respective Swiss and Australian DJ/producers behind Asia-based duo Rave Republic. “We released more music than ever before!”, they excitedly tell DJ Mag. The pair’s charmingly disheveled shirt-and-tie visual aesthetic belies their sharply versatile dance music stylings; it’s an artistic approach that colourfully blends main stage EDM with other sub-genres towards ever more fantastical outcomes.

This year brought a well-received Rave Republic rework of German pop group Bellini’s 1997 track ‘Samba De Janeiro’, co-produced with Plastik Funk — a pulsating, horn-laced main stage EDM single with glitchy Latin big-room vibes that came out on W&W’s label Rave Culture. Another standout tune: a single titled ‘Do You Think About Me’ with Faustix, which became Rave Republic’s sixth release on Hardwell’s estimable Revealed Recordings.

2024 also presented “one of our busiest tour schedules to date, including multiple big Europe shows,” Rave Republic recall. To wit: the duo played a Revealed Recordings showcase at Ministry Of Sound; made their debut at Parookaville on the Rave Culture stage; and started a new club residency at the Red Theater in Pattaya, Thailand alongside guest headliners such as Steve Aoki.

Fave tune of 2024?

“Fred again.. ‘Adore U’.”

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