FOR Martin Solveig, 2012 was the year that he went from skirting the peripheries of pop-house stardom to world touring support man for Madonna. Oh, and he also produced a sizeable chunk of her album, ‘MDNA’. Nothing trivial, then. “Let’s say it takes a bit of organisation,” he says of his current schedule. “Sometimes we have played three shows in one day, in three different countries. We did Hungary, Germany and Belgium in the same day. It’s a lot of adrenaline.” He impressed Madge so much on her jaunt through Europe that she invited him on to the US leg, too.
PETE THA ZOUK
PETE Tha Zouk has had a busy year. Ricocheting between the studio and the airport, so he can fly off to one of his well- attended gigs, he says he’s had hardly any time to think. “I’ve played a lot in Brazil this year,” he says. “The scene is blowing up there and the parties are epic. But I’ve also played all over Asia, Africa and the USA.” Continent-hopping is so time-consuming, it’s a wonder the Portuguese DJ has had any time for production work. But, this year, he’s had a flurry of success with collaborative production projects such as stomper ‘Learn To Love’, that he co- produced with Rae, and ‘We Are Tomorrow’
Style: “Big room house and trouse.” Best known for: “I hope I’m best known for throwing unforgettable parties.” Tune of 2012: “SHM’s ‘Don’t You Worry Child’.” Breakthrough DJ/producer of 2012: “Alesso is the one that stands out.”
— a collaboration with Deepblue and Yasmeen — which caused ripples in house and trance DJs’ sets in 2012.
This year, Pete says, he’s been particularly excited about the “new fusions of trance”. “It’s all part of the same thing, all these different genres,” says Pete. “Dance music is an ever-changing, worldwide phenomenon.” CLAIRE HUGHES
If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be? “Batman! He lives in the night, just like me, and every time he leaves the batcave it’s to do some good.” Should you play to the crowd or for yourself? “You should play to the crowd, but also play the music you believe in.” What does EDM mean to you? “A universal language that brings joy and happiness to everyone.” Should celebrities be DJs? “Why not? Ce- lebrities have a career that exposes them publically and they go on from there.” Have you ever been thrown off the decks? “No, never!” Are you a DJ if you don’t beat match? “I don’t think so. Beat matching is as easy as counting so if you can’t do it, why call yourself a DJ?” Where’s the next dance music capital? “LA: it’s the place to be.”
tyle: “House.” Best known for: “‘Smash’.” Tune of 2012: “Zedd & Nicky Romero ‘Human’.” Breakthrough DJ/producer of 2012: “Dillon Francis.”
But have all these arena-hopping, five- star hotel shenanigans changed him? He bursts out laughing. “That’s some question! But I guess everything you do in your life makes you change, right? But I try to keep my feet on the ground. Did I manage? I certainly hope so. Well, except for when I crowd- surf. I enjoy doing that a lot. And it’s now part of my sports programme.” He has big plans for 2013, but he won’t say what. But if they’re anything like 2012, expect much more crowd- surfing to come. BEN ARNOLD
If you were a superhero, what would your superpower be? “To fly, so I could check out the crowd from every angle.” Should you play for the crowd or for yourself? “Always for the crowd. It’s my deep philosophy.” What does EDM mean to you? “Elderberry and dragon muffin.” Should celebrities be DJs? “Should DJs be celebrities?” Have you ever been thrown off the decks? “Oh yes. It was in France and a billionaire client of the club asked for a track I don’t like. I refused, the owner asked me to play it, I refused again, and they turned off my decks and played it anyway. And I left. That was last year.” Can you be a DJ if you don’t beat match? “Yes. David Mancuso was not beat matching anything. The music is stron- ger than the technique.” Where’s the next dance music capital? “New York.”