From: Belgium/Greece
DJ style: “An eclectic fusion of post-rave, gabber and hard techno.”
Best known for: “Being the ambassadors of Tomorrowland, and producing records such as ‘Mammoth’ and ‘The Hum’.”
This year marks a decade-long reign in the top five of the Top 100 DJs poll for Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. As well as that, the Belgian-Greek duo take home the award for The World’s No1 DJ Group — another accolade that's been in their hands for quite some time.
With one of the most loyal fanbases in dance music, DVLM have had the support to evolve and change up their sound this year, tapping back into their roots of early rave sounds, gabber, and techno, with the full support of their fans. “We’ve been digging into the sounds that made us fall in love with electronic music in the first place,” Dimitri says, “it’s refreshing to see all barriers have clearly been broken. It’s been fun pushing the envelope this festival season.”
Frenetic festival energy and the chaos of club stages have dominated the last 12 months for DVLM, who recently finished up their summer residency with Tomorrowland at Ibiza’s Ushuaïa, taking over the open-air club every Wednesday from June through September, joined by the likes of Alok, Lost Frequencies, MATTN, Timmy Trumpet and Yves V. Creamfields, Tomorrowland, Germany’s Open Beatz and Medusa Festival in Spain have also been privy to the new and improved DVLM sound this year. And, it's been received with open arms, says Mike: “We’ve experienced a lot of crazy energy at so many big festivals, especially Tomorrowland — this summer was a constant high.”
DVLM have also been seeking balance in their careers this year. As Dimitri puts it, the duo are “juggling”. On his side, there’s the responsibilities that come with being a new dad and a touring DJ, but he stresses that he’s still “having more fun than ever”. For Mike, the balance this year has been finding time for self-exploration, to heal “physical and mental damage and trauma”, while spending time in nature and meditating, alongside the highs and lows that come with life on the touring circuit. It’s been a transformative year of both sound and mind for Mike, who has also quit smoking and taken some time to consider his relationship with alcohol: “Doing those things during the heavy months of our summer season made me feel like I can conquer anything.”
Still finding time to hit the studio, DVLM have dropped a number of high-profile collabs with the likes of Ne-Yo, Akon, Showtek and Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, and Dimitri also confirmed that a new DVLM full-length album is in the works. With plenty of other plans already underway for 2024, they “can’t wait to crank it up even higher”.
Hero of 2023:
“Our grandparents, for still coming to every show they can. At 87 years old, they still managed to come to five shows at Ushuaïa in Ibiza, and all our shows at Tomorrowland 2023.”
Fave tune of 2023:
Dimitri: “Luciid ‘Fxck’.” Mike: “Adam Ten, Maori ‘Spring Girl’.”
Best DJ set you’ve seen in 2023:
Dimitri: “Amelie Lens at Tomorrowland Winter.” Mike: “Kevin De Vries at Tomorrowland (Crystal Garden).”
What was the most exciting tech development of 2023? Mike: “AI has come a long way this year. Along with having somewhat of a scary scenario as a possible outcome of its expanded use, it has proven to be very helpful in so many ways.”
Rising star DJ/producer of 2023:
Dimitri: “I think Creeds really opened the gates for harder festival sounds, making a big re-entry to DSPs and airwaves after the insane success of ‘Push Up’.” Mike: “Argy.”
What gives you hope for 2024?
Dimitri: “It feels like the world has finally fully returned to ‘normality’ (whatever that means) and we’re enjoying people reuniting all over the world again — enjoying music together and spreading love and good vibes.”
Mike: “Seeing a positive evolution in the kindness of humanity, especially in our younger generation. People are definitely taking a step towards a more positive outcome for all mankind, our planet, and existence as a whole.”
