From: San Francisco
DJ style: “Eclectic, diverse, random, anything with bass and energy.”
Best known for: “'Rock The Party', 'Feel The Volume', 'Deeper Love'.”
What’s the next new big track? “'Trouble' by Offaiah.”
Breakthrough DJ/producer of 2016: “The Chainsmokers.”

From on-stage shark motifs to hanging out in pools with No.1 DJ Martin Garrix, this year has gone swimmingly for the San Fran-born, LA-based DJ, JAUZ (pronounced “Jaws”).
An EDM upstart with a hip, punky-street edge, he takes as many cues from the likes of Skrillex and Diplo as he does from his aforementioned Dutch superstar bezzie. His noisy, hybrid take on bass/dubstep has captured the buzz of EDM's new breed, crossing over and scoring him arena slots, even across the Atlantic at festivals like Creamfields, Reading and Leeds this summer.

Bigging up kids making waves in his surrounding, infested waters, he's the face of a fresh, nascent movement rather than a fading old guard — “kids like Slushii, Crankdat, Illenium, Odd Mob, Sunday Service, etc...” — and optimistic about the future of EDM as a whole, too. “I think proof enough that electronic music is taken seriously is watching things like Skrillex, Diplo, DJ Snake and so on work with artists like Justin Bieber, producers like Burns writing songs for Britney Spears, and The Chainsmokers going from festival DJs to popstars overnight,” he says.

Judging by the company he keeps and his entry into this poll, JAUZ could be at the top of the dance music food-chain very soon too. 

What have been the new frontiers for you this year?
“I've always tried to break away from what feels 'comfortable' for me in my productions.”

Is electronic music taken seriously enough as an art-form?
“The only people who don't take electronic music seriously enough are the ones who can't accept that it's become such a significant factor in popular culture worldwide.”

What’s the best new bit of DJ/production technology, and why?
“These new Pioneer CDJ Tour 1s are pretty insane.”

If you had to switch your style to another genre, what would it be?
“My style already is all about switching from genre to genre all the time, and that's just the way I like it.”

What can be done to prevent drug-related deaths at dance music events?
“I think the only thing so far that I'm convinced DOESN'T work is simply telling kids not to do it and reprimanding them.”

How can we increase diversity in dance music?
“I think the only answer really is time.”

WORDS: ADAM SAVILLE