From: The Netherlands

DJ style: “Big-room / hard dance / techno.”

Best known for: “Big melodies, goosebump moments, energetic drops.”
 

High energy is what characterises Dutch duo Blasterjaxx. From their fast and fun-filled sets, to their vigorous, vocal-laced productions, Thom Jongkind and Idir Makhlaf rarely seem to sit still. Between an action-packed touring schedule and the business of running their label Maxximize, Blasterjaxx still effortlessly manage to keep up the pace on the release front, too.

This year they’ve added another clutch of big-room tracks to their already plentiful catalogue, including the workout-friendly ‘Guns Out’, the powerful hard dance banger ‘New Generation’ with LePrince, and their remix of Kris Kross Amsterdam’s ‘How You Samba’, as well as their collaboration ‘Nasty’ with 3 Are Legend (aka Dimitri Vegas, Like Mike and Steve Aoki). The biggest collaboration of all though was undoubtedly ‘Fuego’. The marching, Latin-flavoured track saw them team up with Zafrir and Timmy Trumpet, six years after ‘Narco’ (with Trumpet) made them an EDM household name. Still want more? ‘Spirits’ is one of their latest tunes to receive an official release, after becoming an absolute staple of their performances over the summer months. As Blasterjaxx themselves say, “the fact that a couple of our originally bootlegged tracks are now getting official releases is something we absolutely dig!”

Hero of 2023: “Fred again.., but also Skrillex killed 2023 once again.”
 

Fave tune of 2023: “John Summit ‘Where You Are’.”
 

Best DJ set you’ve seen in 2023: “Fred again..”
 

What was the most exciting tech development of 2023? “Whether it’s for vocals or finding the right technical formula, AI has made our studio time more fun.”
 

Rising star DJ/producer of 2023: “Eli Brown.”
 

What gives you hope for 2024? “The fact that more and more people are into up-tempo tracks makes our DJ sets more fun!”