Building an early underground following in his native Holland, Afrojack’s initial explosion onto the scene came with the release of his single ‘Take Over Control’. The song was an instant hit, filling dancefloors all over the world and even reaching Platinum status in the US.
Around this time Afrojack also launched his label imprint ‘Wall Recordings’, a place where he could begin to nurture and grow new EDM talent under his tutorage. He also became one of the first artists to sign a residency in Las Vegas, performing there over a dozen times. Its moves like this that have helped him to ranked by Forbes as one of the highest paid DJ’s in the world.
Collaborations with the likes of EDM royalty such as David Guetta and pop superstars like Chris Brown and Madonna, helped to build Afrojack’s profile and it wasn’t long before he was headlining festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival, playing to over 300,000 people.
2014 saw the release of his debut album ‘Forget The World’ and was a huge success, spurred on by monster singles like ‘The Spark’. His talents have not only been recognized through commercial success but he has been voted at number 9 in ‘Dj Mag’s top Djs’ two years in a row. All of this makes for an impressive resume for someone who is young enough to have plenty left to give – expect to hear a lot more about Afrojack in years to come.
Hailing from London, England, Mundell began making music in 2007, debuting with the track “Your World” released on Intrinsic Records. Following the release, the producer formed a relationship with the Liverpool-based drum and bass label Viper Recordings who would release all of his music until 2013. In 2008 Metrik issued the singles “Moving On / Stranger” and “Technicolour / Zero Gravity”, and a year later the singles “Sunset / Forward Approach” and “Time To Change”, which despite proving popular in some circles failed to raise the profile of the young musician.
The following year however, with the release of the EP “The Departure” Mundell enjoyed his greatest success to date. Led by the recognisable single “T-1000”, the record hosts contributions from techno producers Christian Smith and John Selway as well as the Welsh electronic artist Jan Burton. 2010 also marked the the start of Mundell’s remixing career, notably crafting remixes of Funkstar Deluxe’s “Do You Feel” and Skepta vs. N-Dubz’s “So Alive”.
In 2011 the producer issued his sophomore EP “Between Worlds” featuring the singles “T-2000” and “I See You”, the latter of which with vocalist Kathy Brown. The free-download EP “Flightwave” followed in 2012, spawning the single “Engine Room” and “Freefall / Drift”, which marked Mundell’s final releases on Viper Recordings. In November 2012, the producer signed with independent drum and bass heavy weight Hospital Records, who issued his fourth, self-titled EP in 2013. The musician subsequently collaborated with Camo & Krooked on the track “Aurora”, before returning to the studio to record his debut full-length album.
Ahead of his highly-anticipated debut, Metrik issued the single “Want My Love” featuring Elisabeth Troy. It was Mundell’s first charting single, peaking at No. 61 on the UK Single Chart and No. 31 on the UK Dance Chart. The full-length “Universal Language” was released in September 2014, peaking at No. 13 on the UK Dance Chart and spawning the subsequent hit “Human Again” with vocals from Jan Burton.
Robin Schulz started making music in 2007, at the age of 20. At an early age, Schulz developed a love for electronic music beginning to mix and create sets in his adolescence. He was initially inspired by the likes of Richie Hawtin, Sven Väth, MANDY and Booka Shade, incorporating tracks by these artists into his mixes. Between 2007-2009, Schulz became involved with the local party series, known as “Electro Snippets,” helping to develop his own ideas. His initial creations were minimalist affairs, although as his experience developed, he moved towards a deep house/tech house sound. Other influences include Todd Terry, Armand Van Helden, Roger Sanchez and Tiesto.
In creating his music, Schulz often uses FL Studio and his Edirol PCR-300 MIDI keyboard, produced using Ableton Live 8. In 2013, he remixed the track, “Waves,” by Dutch hip hop artist Mr Pobs, which went on to be a huge hit. It reached the top spot of the German, Austrian, Norway, Swedish, Swiss and UK charts, as well as reaching the top ten in seven other countries. It was certified Gold and Platinum in several countries.
He returned in 2014 with another successful remix, of Lilly Wood & The Prick’s track, “Prayer in C,” from their 2010 album, “Invincible Friends.” “Prayer in C” topped the charts in several European countries and was a massive dance-floor hit, reaching number one in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, as well as several others. His debut album, “Prayer,” was released in September 2014, reaching the top ten in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and in the US Dance Chart.
Starting out playing the guitar before trading it in for a sequencer, Wilkinson’s drum and bass beginning came on December 13, 2010 when he released his debut single “Moonwalker / Samurai” through the revered Andy C.’s RAM Records on the compilation album “Nightlife 5”. Wilkinson’s follow-up split single “Every Time / Overdose” featuring vocals from Marcus Greff was the 99th single released of RAM Records and first of Wilkinson’s to have a music video.
2012 brought a handful of single releases included “Need to Know / Direction”, “Take You Higher / Crunch” and “Heartbeat” featuring P Money and Arlissa. The singles - along with the additional “Afterglow” which represented Wilkinson’s biggest commercial success, peaking at No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart - were all taken from his debut studio album entitled “Lazers Not Included”. The album was released October 28, 2012 and peaked at No. 46 in the UK Albums Chart. The same year Wilkinson won the award for Best Breakthrough Producer at the U.K.'s National D&B Awards 2012.
Wilkinson has worked with a handful of artists since this album release including Katy B, Wretch 32, Angel Haze and Knytro. A deluxe version of his debut “Lazers Not Included 2.0” was intended for an August 2014 release. However, this plan was scrapped to allow work on his sophomore studio album.
The DJ and music producer subsequently released the single titled “Dirty Love”, which was premiered on BBC 1Xtra and features vocals from Talay Riley.
Europe is the birthplace of EDM music, so obviously the best artists are European. Nick Van De Wall, better known as Afrojack, is the Netherlands greatest contribution to the world of EDM, and rightly so. His set at Ultra Music Festival 2014 was so unbelievable.
One of the current top reigning EDM artist, Afrojack ALWAYS delivers during his live sets. Making an entrance by starting his tracks and then popping out from below them. He builds it up by addressing the crowd, getting them as pumped up as possible. It also helps that he has a ridiculous amount of stage electronics as well (ie lights, LED screen, even flames and air cannons). He moves as much as the crowd is moving, dancing as he controls his music. He attracts huge crowds making his stage the most fun and energetic around.
When he started spinning take over control, the crowd went wild, and for a while I could really only hear the crowd singing. And if that weren’t enough, he would show a hell of a lot of love to the crowd by picking up the mic and turn the level up even more. It’s like he has endless amounts of energy, which makes for the best dance party ever.
professional rap superstar, the live version of his songs are way much better than what you're listening in your bedroom. aaahh, get out, buy the ticket and have a great night. I LOVE HIM.
Metrik, a.k.a Tom Mundell is London based DJ/Producer who has been making huge waves since his debut in 2008 and his live show matches the stature of his psychedelic drum & bass. He continues to impress crowds across the UK and Europe with his huge dance floor fillers which are a mixture of original tracks and remixes for some of the most prolific artists including Subfocus and Ellie Goulding. Tom confesses to having a varied music taste ranging from progressive rock such as Pink Floyd & Incubus to the classic fathers of electro The Prodigy and contemporaries such as Eric Prydz. This mixture of influences is reflected in his sound and therefore his electro style is really varied which for a live show means the audience are currently being surprised by huge melodies and hooks that you may not find from Metrik's peers.
This variation keeps crowds engaged, excited and hanging on each of Mundell's movements as he mixes and drops with complete fluidity to create hysteria in the baiting audiences. Recently performing a killer set at Global Gathering, he'll be returning to the UK for a night at the O2 Academy in Brixton before heading to Manchester, Birmingham and Bournemouth to name a few later in the year to take part in the legendary Hospitality nights with High Contrast and Camo & Krooked. Assured to be a fantastic show for any fans of electro and dub step, get your tickets soon.