From: The Netherlands

DJ style: “House.”

Best known for: “PYHFD.”

House DJ/producer Fedde Le Grand was typically hectic this year, playing US club dates in Texas, California, Washington DC, Pennsylvania and New York in March and April, while this summer he landed in the UK, Croatia and Spain, before bringing his brand of beats to Boom in Belgium for Tomorrowland. He was no slouch in the production department either, releasing plenty of originals and remixes. 

He added an upbeat, big room sheen to D*Note’s ‘Shed My Skin’, and put a fresh twist on Static Revenger’s 2001 disco house hit ‘Happy People’, while his track alongside Muntu, ‘B2B’, was a skippy, swung house caper with snippets of rap vox. ‘All Over The World 2023’ gave a new lease of life to his 2019, Fatback Band-sampling hit, and ‘Elektro’ turned the clock back to the late 2000s electro-house heyday, with its acerbic synth bassline. Then there was Fedde’s pop-driven ‘To The Lonely’, featuring Simon Ward, a big vocal singalong designed with festivals in mind. 

The DJ/producer’s Darklight Recordings label had a prolific 2023, putting out no less than 19 releases (so far), from artists such as Umut Eser, Jay Robinson, The Cabas and Dario Nunez, while you can catch Fedde at gigs in Poland and Thailand before the year is out. 

Hero of 2023: “Tony Romera.”
 

Fave tune of 2023: “Tony Romera ‘Boheme’.”
 

Best DJ set you’ve seen in 2023: “Matroda, EDC Las Vegas.”
 

What gives you hope for 2024? “My daughter.”