Frenchman Michael Calfan became famous with his anthem “Treasured Soul“, that was released in the end of 2014 and spread all over the world during middle part of 2015.

After that he realeased a couple new tracks like “Mercy“, “Falcon” and “The World” plus remixes on Major Lazer “Powerful”, Duke Dumont “Ocean Drive”and Oliver Holdens “Koala”.

His latest masterpiece is called “Nobody Does It Better” and was released on Spinnin’ Records (as was his previous one “Breaking The Doors” in November 2015) on first of February 2016.  The first stream of this track on SoundCloud is already closing on 2 million plays, and official music featuring young versions of Bonnie and Clyde already passed half a million mark, a good start to be a future hit.

Label: Spinnin’ Records (SP1016)
Release Date: 01.02.2016

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Label: Revealed Recordings ‎(REVR218)
Release Date: 25.01.2016

Afrojack

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Hardwell

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Label: Numbers (NMBRS36)
Release Date: 30.03.2015

Tracklist:
1. Pride
2. First Time
3. Pride (Dub)

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Seven track EP was released for download on Beatport on December 23, 2011, was made available from other music download sites like iTunes and Amazon on December 27, 2011, and will be physically released on January 24, 2012. The EP is a collection of songs that had all been previously played live (with the exception of “Right On Time“) during the Mothership tour, which ended a week before the release of the EP.

On this EP Skirllex created another two tracks together with Sirah “Bangarang” and “Kyoto“, “The Devil’s Den” was produced together with Wolfgang Gartner, “Right On Time” with 12th Planet & Kill The Noise, and “Summit” with Ellie Goulding. The song “Breakn’ A Sweat” was produced as a collaboration between Skrillex and The Doors, made for the music documentary “Re:Generation”.

Another latest masterpieces from Skrilex include his amazing remix of Avicii “Levels” (Dance Energy Selected), half a dozen another remixes for La Roux, Benny Benassi, Rob Zombie, Lady Gaga, Nero, SebastiAn, Robyn and Damian Marley, collaborations with Foreign Beggars “Still Gettin It“, Kaskade “Lick It” and Knife Party “Zoology“. And don’t forget about his collaboration with American metal band KoЯn, he produced two tracks – “Get Up” and “Narcissistic Cannibal” – for their tenth studio album “The Path of Totality” (released on December 2, 2011 in Europe and December 6, 2011 in the US).

Skrillex – Bangarang (Feat Sirah)

Skrillex & The Doors – Breakin’ A Sweat

Skrillex – Summit (Feat Ellie Goulding)

Avicii – Levels (Skrillex Remix)

KoЯn – Get Up (Feat Skrillex)

In recent months you could hear their genre-crossing tracks in different radio shows and mixes (for example on Essential mix live from Space club in Ibiza). And finally on 12 December 2011 they released first EP “100 % No Modern Talking“. The name of the EP “100% No Modern Talking” is a reference to a waveform in Native Instruments’ wavetable-based software synthesizer, Massive, called Modern Talking. It features four tracks: “Internet Friends” (my favorite Facebook psycho story, “Dance Energy Selected”) “Destroy Them With Lazers,” “Tourniquet,” and “Fire Hive“. The EP originally had a track called “Back to the Z-List”, but was replaced by “Destroy Them With Lazers” as they no longer liked that song. It was released digitally through Pendulum’s record label, EarStorm, as a free download from their official website and Facebook, as well as being able to buy on iTunes and Beatport.

Before that Knife Party released some great remixes – on Swedish House Mafia‘s single “Save The World,” which was released on 10 June 2011, Nero‘s single “Crush On You,” which was released on 13 October 2011 and, finally, of “Unison” by Porter Robinson which was released on 19 October 2011 on his debut EP, “Spitfire“, released on OWSLA, Skrillex’s label.

In recent Knife Party mixes you can hear some new tracks “The Box“, “Suffer” (which reminded me the most of Pendulum oldschool sound), “Intro (Where’s the Bloody Knife Party?)” and some great collaboration with Mistajam “Until They Kick Us Out” and Skrillex “Zoology“.

Latest work of Knife Party is collaboration with mighty Swedish House Mafia “Antidote“. And what is even better, this track has two different music videos – “Clean” version and great movie/video game like “Explicit” version.

Of course, as the project name suggests, you  can see Knife Party live in some great parties, especially here in UK – Ministry Of Sound in London on 21 January 2012, and The Junction in Cambridge on 04 February 2012. Latest Knife Party news you can receive through their Facebook and Twitter, music you can listen and even download for free on their SoundCloud.

Swedish House Mafia vs Knife Party – Antidote (Clean)

Swedish House Mafia vs Knife Party – Antidote (Explicit)

The first production from the two was a remix for Phunklarique (one half of Piemont) and Pierce “Swoosh“.  It was done mostly for fun, but as the way it sometimes goes, a bit of fun led to an absolute hit!  Three days after the release, it stayed over a month as #2 on Beatport’s charts in December 2008 and won an award as one of “Beatport’s minimal top 10 selling tracks in 2008”.

After further remixes for Koen Groeneveld and Groove Garcia, they concentrated on their debut “Traction EP” that was released in November 2008 for the Berlin label Micro.fon, increasing sales, and making a name for themselves.

In February 2009 they presented their newest EP, “Pipe!” on the Cologne label MBF, followed by further remixes for Access Denied, Holgi Star, Christian Fischer, Extrawelt and many more. With their “Zapateria EP” (MBF 12055), they created their first summer hit and title song, the a-side “Espandrillo” got very high in the Beatport charts as well as selling very good through Kompakt distribution as vinyl.

Then followed “Amalfino” which evolved as the biggest hit they had so far. Climbing up to no3 in the Beatport sale charts and staying in the charts for over 3 months, “Amalfino” was hitting the bulls-eye in every respect. Richie Hawtin, Laurent Garnier, Stephan Bodzin, Dubfire, Tiefschwarz were among the many to celebrate the track in their sets and to boost the popularity of Kaiserdisco.

Releases on Terminal M, Drumcode (collaboration with Flavio Diaz “Le Feu EP“), Kling Klong and Micro.fon showed that their potential was huge. Their re-interpretations of Booka Shade “Bad Love”, Umek “No One Could Have Suspected” and Robyn “Hang With Me” firmly established their reputations as excellent remixers.

Kaiserdisco debut album “In No One´s Shadow” was released in November 2010 and compiled ten new and previously unreleased tracks plus their chart breakers “Aquja” and “Carachillo“. Much of the album delivers efficient, solidly produced tech-house that’s neither too minimal nor excessively embellished. The two former singles slot into the tracklist nicely, still sounding like firm highlights, while the two furthest departures from the duo’s formula arrive at the beginning and end of the album: the strong, melodic opener “Tripping Lure” and my personal favorite “Djuma Of Love“, which features some fairly wooly acoustic guitar deployment.

Latest releases from Kaiserdisco include album of remixes of “In No One’s Shadow“, new EPs “Victoria Harbour” and “City of Kings“, plus some new remixes on Martine Eyerer & Kosheen “Your Move” and Heartik “Mini Swing”.

Kaiserdisco – Amalfino

Kaiserdisco – Aguja

Kaiserdisc0 – Djuma Of Love

Skream

As a teenager, Jones worked at Big Apple Records, a Croydon-based record store that was at the center of the early dubstep scene; even prior to this, Jones had become acquainted with Hatcha, another dubstep pioneer, because Jones’ brother worked on an adjacent floor in Big Apple Records. As a result of this encounter, Hatcha was the first DJ to play Skream dubplates.

Jones began producing music at the age of 15 using FruityLoops and claims to now have roughly 800 songs in varying stages of development. Skream’s early productions were often with another alumnus of Big Apple, Benga, and are of a decidedly darker and less melodic nature than later releases. As dubstep gained notice from conventional media such as The Guardian and Pitchfork Media, Jones’ music started to take on a more melodic sound; less overtly influenced by the darker, UK garage influenced sounds of early dubstep artists with dub, house, and even jazz influences instead.

The 2005 Skream track “Midnight Request Line” has been described as “dubstep’s most recognizable crossover hit,” and has been praised by producers as diverse as grime producer Wiley, and minimal techno producer Ricardo Villalobos. The key change in the chorus, which The Wire has described as “an epic change of key and tempo that recalls the classicist mannerisms of Derrick May,” has been credited as being a key factor in the evolution of a more melodic sound in the dubstep genre.

Skream has released records on a variety of UK record labels, such as Tempa, Tectonic, and Big Apple Records, including a self-titled album “Skream!” which was released in 2006 on the Tempa label. He collaborated with Benga, Niall Henshaw (otherwise known as Spectrum), Cluekid, Distance, Hijack, Loefah, Warrior Queen, Freckles, D Bridge, JME and many others musicians and vocalists. Since 2006 he produced 5 volumes of his “Skreamizm” EP.

In 2009, he rose to further prominence when his remix of “In for the Kill” by La Roux became firstly an underground hit in the early part of the year before bursting onto the mainstream, being used in promotional material for the 2010 video game Bayonetta and was featured in an episode titled “Hair” on the hit HBO series Entourage. Skream also created great remixes for Bat For Lashes, Toddla T, Klaxons, Dave Gahan, Chromeo, DJ Zinc, Donaeo, Lethal Bizzle, Digital Mystikz and Katy B.

In the summer of 2010, Skream released his second full-length album “Outside the Box“. He also making records as a part of Magnetic Man, a live electronic music project consisting of dubstep producers and DJs Skream, Benga and Artwork. From January 2011, Skream, along with Benga, will be replacing Alex Metric in his ‘In New DJ’s We Trust’ slot on BBC Radio 1.

Latest hits from Skream include his collaboration with Example “”Shot Yourself In The Foot Again” and new great megahit remix of Casssius “I Love U So” which recently became Essential New Tune in Pete Tong’s Radio 1 show Essential Selection.

Skream – Midnight Request Line

Skream – Funkanomika

La Roux – In For The Kill (Skream Remix)

Skream & Example – Shot Yourself In The Foot Again

Cassius – I Love You So (Skream remix)

Night clubs are arranged in alphabetical order, so some biggest and most popular night clubs are mixed with small, niche clubs. In the future I planning to create list of Top 10 best night clubs in Riga and to write special post series about the most popular night clubs, with photos, videos, and some information about DJs, so stay tuned and check this blog more often.

I’ll try to update this list with new spots, and erase places that are closed. If you know some place in Riga that I did not include in this list please leave  description of it in the comments.

You can find all the mentioned clubs on this special Google Map Of Night Clubs In Riga, Latvia.

List Of Night Clubs In Riga, Latvia

And one of the first posts is dedicated to Soweto Gospel Choir, gospel group from South Africa. Mixing African gospel with traditional hymns, Jamaican reggae, American pop, and spiritually themed secular songs, the Soweto Gospel Choir are an impressive performing unit. Formed in Soweto in 2002 by choir directors David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, the group includes 30-some members and the show it produces is a powerful expression of hope and joy full of gorgeous South African vocal harmonies.

The choir’s debut album “Voices from Heaven“, appeared in 2005 from Shanachie Records, followed that same year by “Blessed“, also on Shanachie. “African Spirit” was released two years later in 2007 on the same imprint. In December of 2009 the choir lost co-founder and musical director David Mulovhedzi to cancer. In January of 2010 they released “Grace“, their fifth album on the Shanachie imprint.

The world-renowned singers recently have been again nominated for a Grammy Award for their fifth album, “Grace“, in the Best Traditional World Music Album category. It’s the group’s fourth Grammy nomination in five years. The albums “Blessed” and “African Spirit” won Grammys for Best Traditional World Music Album in 2007 and 2008 respectively. Other silverware in the choir’s trophy cupboard includes an American Gospel Music Award for Best Choir in 2003; Gospel Music Award for Best International Choir in 2004; and a Helpmann Award, Australia’s prestigious Performing Arts Award, for Best Contemporary Music Concert in 2003.

“Grace“, released on the Universal Music label, was produced by Robin Hogarth and Zwai Bala, and directed by Lucas Bok, Vusi Shabalala and Diniloxolo Ndlakuse, working with engineer Richard Mitchell.

The choir has performed with international heavyweights such as U2, Celine Dion, Peter Gabriel, Queen, Diana Ross, Johnny Clegg, Jimmy Cliff and Bebe Waynans. It has performed sold-out concerts around the world and sung for Oprah Winfrey and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and former presidents Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki and Bill Clinton, to name a few.

Part of the choir’s philosophy is giving back to the community. This is done by donating money it raises to orphanages and community groups. At the conclusion of each performance, the Soweto Gospel Choir invite audiences to donate with funds 100% of the funds going to the many AIDS Orphans Establishments which receive no government or private funding with 100% of the funds collected through concert donations going direct to the charity. To date, Soweto Gospel Choir have raised almost $1 million from audience donations and last year fed, clothed and housed over 600 orphans.

In 2003, it founded its own Aids orphan foundation, Nkosi’s Haven Vukani, an outreach program that helps home-based organizations in townships. Those it helps include Sizanani Home-based Care in Orange Farm, Tsogang Sechaba in Protea South, Rosca House in Braamfontein, Living Hope in Germiston and Hillbrow Home of Hope.

“Vukani was made what it is today with the donations that we have received at our shows,” Bryer says. “We are seriously trying to make a better life for orphans. We have to play a part in assisting those children.”

If you want to see how Soweto Gospel Choir looks when they sing, I collected 10 videos from their Live performances, starting with classical Christian hits and following with traditional African songs.

Soweto Gospel Choir – This Little Light Of Mine

Soweto Gospel Choir – Amazing Grace

Soweto Gospel Choir – River Jordan

Soweto Gospel Choir – World In Union

Soweto Gospel Choir – In The Canteen

Soweto Gospel Choir – Ahuna Ye Tswanang Le Jesu

Soweto Gospel Choir – Bayete

Soweto Gospel Choir – Hakeleje

Soweto Gospel Choir – Woza Moyam

After moving to San Francisco from Los Angeles when he was nine, Moore received his first guitar, which he would write songs on throughout his childhood. At age 12, Moore’s family moved back to Los Angeles, where he started attending local concerts. Moore started a street punk band called The Riots when he was 13, along with friends he met at these concerts. His second band, Hazel-rah, experimented with a more ambient rock sound. He was also in the band At Risk before he joined From First to Last at age 16.

During his time in From First To Last he released two albums – “Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Body Count” in 2004 and “Heroine” in 2006. With high record sales, the band found themselves part of many successful tours, until Moore started suffering vocal problems, causing the band to resign from several tours. After going through a successful surgical procedure, on February 27, 2007, Moore announced he had left From First to Last to pursue a solo career.

He then launched a Myspace page displaying three demos (“Signal“, “Equinox“, and “Glow Worm“). This led to Moore’s first performance since his leaving From First to Last. On April 7, 2007, alongside harpist Carol Robbins. After recruiting a new band lineup, Moore toured North America on the Alternative Press Tour, supporting bands such as All Time Low and The Rocket Summer, and appeared on the cover of Alternative Press’ annual 100 Bands You Need to Know issue. During this tour Moore’s line-up consisted of Sean Friday on drums, Christopher Null on guitar, and Aaron Rothe on keyboards.

In June 2008, Moore went into recording for his debut album, titled “Bells“, alongside producer Noah Shain. Although no official statement has been given regarding the album, Moore has been reported in interviews and at events saying “Bells” will no longer be released. On April 7, 2009, he released “Gypsyhook EP“, a digital EP, which featured three songs and four remixes. Also included was a Japanese version of “Mora” entitled “Kai Sui”.

In 2008, Moore began DJing under the alias Skrillex at clubs in the Los Angeles area. On June 7, 2010, Moore released his official Skrillex debut EP, “My Name is Skrillex” as a free download. In the summer of 2010, Moore provided programming and vocals for English metalcore band Bring Me the Horizon on their third studio album “There Is a Hell, Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let’s Keep It a Secret“. Later in the year, Sonny began a nationwide tour with Deadmau5 after being signed to mau5trap recordings and released his second EP “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” on 25 October 2010, which became huge hit and dominated the charts with tracks “Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites“, “Kill Everybody” and “Weekends“.

Before joining the Mau5trap label, Moore had been signed to both Atlantic and Interscope records to produce a variety of dance remixes for some of the biggest names in the business, including Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. Under name Skrillex he also remixed Black Eyed Peas “Rock That Body”,  La Roux “In For The Kill”, Bring Me The Horizon, Casxio, Frida Gold, The All-American Rejects and Twin Atlantic.

Lissat & Voltaxx

2008 was a very successful year for the duo. Their remix of “Silence” by Delerium hit the top 10 charts in 8 different countries. In addition, the Lissat & Voltaxx remix for Eddie Thoenick’s “Watcha Want” not only hit the top of international charts, but also was on the playlists of many global jocks. Their biggest success came in September 2008 with their own release titled “Release Yourself“. The track hit #1 on several digital platforms and was re-released in 2009 with a hot remix package.

2009 has been another rewarding year for Lissat & Voltaxx. With remixes for Roger Sanchez, Nick Bridges and Austin Leeds, they have quickly become the go to guys in the remix world. Their tracks on Eric E’s label have been doing damage on the international scene gaining them acclaim and recognition.

Most recently, Toolroom has welcomed back Lissat & Voltaxx for their third release on ‘Leader’s Of The New School’. Hot on the heels of their fantastic “Sunrise Over Mali” release (which featured standout mixes from D-Nox & Beckers, Phunk Investigation & more), their production technique and profile is pricking the ears of some of the biggest Dj’s in the scene like Dubfire, Fedde Le Grand, Paolo Mojo, Groove Armada, D Ramirez, Tocadisco, Thomas Gold, Roog, David Penn, Chris Lake and more. Their track “The Music And Me” comes with great remixes from DJ Wady, Manuel De La Mare, Eric Entrena, Kid Chris, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, whilst not forgetting the Original Instrumental from Lissat & Voltaxx themselves.

On February 9th, 2010 Lissat & Voltaxx released “8 Days In Kazantip” on label 303 Lovers with a superb remix pack by Marshall, Manuel De La Mare and Alex Kenji. Then followed another release on Toolroom/LONS  “High & Horny” with a megablast of remixes from the likes of Saeed Younan, Ahmet Sendil, Stefano Noferini, and DJ Wady.

They also produced and remixed new single “Emergency” for their very own DJane/Vocalist Betty Bizarre, which was released on Stefano Noferini’s label, Deeperfact. Their latest remixes include Hoxton Whores “Staunch”, Peter Rauhofer & Lula “The DJs List”, Tomcraft “Loneliness 2010”, Saeed Younan “House Is”, Genji Yoshida “Loud” and mighty remix on Tom Novy “Now Or Never” which for a long time lingered in Beatport Top 10.

My personal favorite track from Lissat & Voltaxx is “Droid” which can be found on “Ministry Of Sound Dance Anthems” compilation. It’s one of those songs where you can dance and learn something new in the same time!

Lissat & Voltaxx – 8 days in Kazantip (Lissat & Voltaxx Vox Mix)

Lissat & Voltaxx – Sophisticated (Radio Edit)

Tom Novy – Now Or Never (Lissat & Voltaxx Remix)

Since his first EP dropped in 2008 (“Hold Up“) he has gained praise from the major players of the scene including Hervé, Sinden, Annie Mac and Crookers and in 2008 Detboi signed to Skint records releasing the widely acclaimed “Come Rest Up / Jump Up & Down” EP, appearing on the Count & Sinden Essential mix and Tommie Sunshines “Relax, This Won’t Hurt” mix series.

Detboi also contributed to Hervé’s Machines Dont Care collaboration project producing with Hervé, Sinden and Trevor Loveys. Swiftly signing to Cheap Thrills Records and going on to remix for labels such as Southern Fried, Skint and Epitaph, whilst also doing a highly acclaimed “In New DJs We Trust’ mix for BBC Radio 1. He also remixed Chelley “Took The Night”, Hadouken “M.A.D.”, Herve “Cheap Thrills”, Uffie “Hot Chick”, Kid Sister “Beeper”, and colaborated with Dub Frequency on “Drop” and Foamo on “Girls Dem Go“.

In 2009, he released his first Cheap Thrills EP “Y’all Want Mo“, which again gained a lot of support from international DJs Like Crookers, Don Rimini, Zinc, Foamo, Don Diablo, His Majesty Andre, Plump DJs, Fake Blood, Annie Mac to name a few.

After an incredible tour of Japan, which seen Detboi play 4 cities in 5 nights he came back refreshed and inspired to complete his first studio album “Curse Of The Voodoo Drums“. In 2010 on Cheap Thrills Detboi released “Rainbows” (feat Blisscotheque) which was picked by Fatboy Slim for his forthcoming Mixmag CD. Then Detboi and Hervé team up on the first release from his mini album to produce the massive “Voices in Heaven” (feat Ubber Wallya) with a Hervé remix on the package. Then in August 23, 2010 came “Curse Of The Voodoo Drums“. 9 tracks, including “Rainbows”, and “Voices In Heaven”, as well “Demdems”, “I Am”, “Sirens”, “The Whistler”, “Oooooooh”, “Bass Go Deep” and “Deepah Cry”.

Detboi – Rainbows (Feat Blisscothque)

Detboi & Foamo – Girls Dem Go

Detboi Remixes

Detboi – Voices In Heaven (Feat Ubber Wallya)

Kultur & Colombo

Separately, both components have already obtained many successes in their country. Kultur (real name Francisco Gil) is the instigator of the Spanish Breaks Scene, he started as Breaks DJ in 1995, getting in 2 years to turn this genre in the favorite of the ravers in Southern Spain, through the radio show “Mundo Evassion”, in which he was a collaborator from a state broadcaster.

Pioneer in creating labels purely of Breaks in Spain (“Weekend: Breaks records.” 1999) it was in 2001 when he launched what would be his first own label “Reflexmusik”, which later would have two sub-labels “Zeroes & Ones” and “Tum Tum Pak”. Through these labels he published more than 60 releases (vinyl 12″s, mixed CDs), betting on young producers in the country.

In 2002 he appeared in front of 14,000 Breaks ravers in the biggest event of this kind of music in the world, the 5th Anniversary of “Mundo Evassion” (Málaga, Spain). He actually manages 3 new labels dedicated to launch digital releases: “Metamorph Muzik”, “Logico Beatz” and “Kultura Breakz”, latter share the name with his own weekly radio program, broadcast on iBreaks Radio every Thursday from 22h to 00h (UK time).

The other component of the project, Colombo (real name Alex Rojo), is a promising Spanish producer, which has showing his worth and his abilities in his compositions since 2000. He has published several productions under the label “Reflexmusik” getting a tremendous success and a great acceptance by DJs and Breakers.

From 2006 Kultur & Colombo released many great tracks such as “Babe“, “Konflict“, “Stronger To My Beat“, plus some nice remixes on Hihat, Krapula Concept, Laurent Garnier, Merka, Robosapiens, Triple Agent and Valentina Lafuente. Colombo also released some solo records – “Throazhan” on Kultura Breaks, “Inzekt” on Metamorph Muzik and “Heep Hoop” on iBreaks.

In 2010 Kultur & Colombo delivered six tracks for “Kissing The Funk EP” for iBreaks Funk, distributed in three parts, first part contained tracks “Blow Me” and “1, 2, 3… Breakbeat“, second “Muzik” and “Take It On“, the third “The Good Times / Robotiko” was released on December 13th 2010 on Metamorph Muzik. “The Good Times” took number 1 spot in Beatport Breaks chart with “Robotiko” following a little behind. You can hear latest tracks and remixes from Kultur & Colombo on their SoundCloud.

Kultur & Colombo – The Good Times

Kultur & Colombo – Robotiko

Kultur & Colombo – Stronger To My Beat

Kultur & Colombo – Muzik

Afrojack

He started playing piano when he was only five. Being a very creative student, Afrojack spent most of his time listening to all kinds of music while studying. It was no surprise that it didn’t take him long to turn the tables and start making music instead of just listening to it.

At the age of 11, Afrojack gets hold of a program called Fruity loops. At this point in time his talent and passion for creating music truly surfaces. Rapidly acquainting himself with and appreciating Fruity Loops, it becomes his program of choice, which he uses to this day (he even named one of his first EP “Fruity“). Afrojack finishes school and decides to proceed with his musical career. Not being able to make a living out of it yet, he starts to work part-time in bars and catering. Now he has more than enough time to discover the club scene in Rotterdam, starting with his first night out in the old club Las Palmas when he was only 16 years old. After this, many club nights, side-jobs, small DJ-gigs for the fun of deejaying and a lot of studio time followed.

In 2006 he sets off to Crete (Greece) deejaying for five full months straight in every club that would have him, learning the craft and making his first ‘flight hours’. It was also in Crete where he landed his first small hit, called “Fuck Detroit“. When returning home to the Netherlands, he was fired up and started producing more and more tracks, determined to get ihis productions released on a label. With a little help from Sidney Samson and Laidback Luke, Digidance decides to give it a shot, and it worked; Afrojack “In Your Face” scored #60 in the Dutch Top 100 and #3 in the Dutch dance Top 30. Not too bad for the first release of an 18 year old kid.

In 2007 Nick starts performing under the name Afrojack, determined to try to make it to the top as a DJ and producer. Track after track and remix after remix follows and he even starts his own label ‘Wall Recordings’. Afrojack is rarely seen outside of his studio. When he’s not deejaying, he is producing and it starts to pay off. His tracks start being supported by international DJ’s like Josh Wink, Dave Clarke, Laidback Luke, Fedde Le Grand, Marco V and Benny Rodrigues.

In 2008 he hits the clubs with “Math” and “Do My Dance” and both tracks get picked up by every big name in the industry. Afrojack hooks up with the Partysquad to add vocals to “Do My Dance” and a couple of weeks later, the “Drop Down (Do My Dance)” co-op mix is born. This track hits the Dutch top 20 and gets crowned “Tune of the Week” by the biggest Dutch radio stations and even the biggest Dutch music television network “TMF”. Afrojack starts appearing at many important festivals, like Mystery Land, Tomorrowland (Belgium), Extrema Outdoor and Sensation.

The world heard more and more from Afrojack in 2009 and it didn’t take a long time for David Guetta to notice Afrojack’s talent. They decided to meet up in the studio, which resulted in “Toyfriend“, a collaboration between the two, and an Afrojack remix of Guetta’s track “Sexy Bitch“. Afrojack also played at David Guetta’s ‘F*** Me I’m Famous’-events.

With a peerless reputation as a producer , his signature style is bringing him the kind of remix requests that most dance artists will only ever dream of (Lady Gaga, Madonna, David Guetta, Duck Sauce, Example, Greg Cerrone, Kelly Rowland, Kid Cudi, Laidback Luke, Larry Tee, Princess Superstar, Sidney Samson, Steve Angello, Tocadisco, etc).

When Lady Gaga requested the “Alejandro” remix, Afrojack’s first thought was to concoct a trendy pop confection for radio consumption. But Ms. Gaga was more interested in pushing limits than maintaining the status quo. “First I thought, ‘Let me just give them a soft mix,'” Afrojack told MTV News. “And they were like, ‘No — we want that crazy Afrojack vibe.’ And so I went really crazy. I was even in the studio like, ‘This is pretty damn hard.’ I sent it and they were like…‘Yeah!'”

Gig-wise, he’s rocked the world’s biggest floors including Pacha Ibiza, Miami Ultra Music Festival and Electric Daisy Carnival in LA. Afrojack’s rise to fame as a producer has brought him a roll call of A-list champions – from Pete Tong to David Guetta, and Josh Wink to Fedde Le Grand, along the way collaborating with some of the world’s most respected producers and artists like David Guetta, Steve Aoki, Tocadisco, Gregor Salto, Diplo, Kid Cudi, Pitbull and Black Eyed Peas.

His most recent single, “Take Over Control” featuring Eva Simons, is currently one of the hottest club anthems on the planet, not least in the UK where it’s been championed by Radio 1’s Annie Mac and Pete Tong. The track hit No 2. on Beatport and has already reached over 1 million views on YouTube. It also have great remixes from Adam F, Drumsound & Bassline Smith, Ian Carey, Spencer & Hill, Apster, Barletta, Marco Belz, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano.

Recently on his own label Wall Recordings Afrojack also released another big tune “Replica“, which immediately soared to Top 10 of most downloaded songs on Beatport. Filled with extremely fat basses, thick beats and high pitched leads, “Replica” has that clear-cut signature Afrojack sound the world has come to love. It premiered on Pete Tong’s BBC Radio 1 show and was instantly picked up by Tiesto, David Guetta and Sander van Doorn.

Afrojack – Replica

Afrojack – Take Over Control (Feat Eva Simons)

Afrojack – Bungduck

Afrojack – Take Over Control (Feat Eva Simons)

Tensnake, aka Marco Niemerski, was born in 1975 in Hamburg and was brought up listening to the strains of New Romantic on the radio. “I grew up in the suburbs where there was nothing to do except listen to music so the radio was the most exciting thing around me.” That started his appetite for records, records and more records. He started producing in the mid-2000s and was inspired by the Disco strains of Metro Area and uninspired by the Minimal sounds that had engulfed Germany.

He created the name Tensnake from a random word creation. “I was searching for something unique – for example, in Google, you immediately find me and it looks good, iconic even. I seem to remember seeing the words written on my desk. Even Japanese people can say it!”.

In 2006 with two friends he started label Mirau, where he released his first “Restless EP“. Then followed a couple of releases on Players Paradise, Radius Records (“Fried Egg EP” in 2007), Endless Flight (“Keep Believin” in 2008) and Running Back (“In The End (I Want You To Cry)” in 2009 which included track “Holding Back My Love“).

But it was his track “Coma Cat” that placed him on the global map of dance music. Since release in 2010 it became really great crossover hit, played by everyone from Annie Mac and Pete Tong to Trevor Nelson, Radio Slave, Prins Thomas and many others. The song was re-released on different labels, and latest remix from Round Table Knights became “Essential New Tune Of The Year” in “Essential Selection”, influential show of Pete Tong on Radio 1 .

Tensnake is now being swamped with remix duties, making remixes on Aloe Blacc “I Need A Dollar”, Azari & III “Reckless For Your Love”, Goldfrapp “Alive”, Junior Boys “FM”, Scissor Sisters “Any Which Way”, Vega “No Reasons” and Toby Tobias “In Your Eyes”.

Tensnake – Coma Cat

Tensnake – Remix Selection

Tensnake – Coma Cat

Chasing Shadows

They came to prominence in 2009 when their dark production style broke through massive remix of Damian Marley “It Was Written“. They got signed by H.E.N.C.H Recordings, where they started with release of “Ill / Amirah” and followed by “Dr Sin / The End” receiving heavy support from Mary Anne Hobbs, Pendulum, Plastician and others.

In 2010 they released rework of Depeche Mode classic “Dream On“, remixes of Laid Back “Red“, Foreign Beggars “Typhoon“, Master Shortie “Daydream” and their own “Odyssey“. And in December 2010 the remix of Chasing Shadow track “Amirah” from breakbeat legend Elite Force topped Beatport breaks chart.

Chasing Shadows – Dr Sin

Chasing Shadows – Amirah

Chasing Shadows – Amirah (Elite Force Revamp)

Chasing Shadows – Dr Sin

He started his musical career in 2005 creating breakbeat tacks  “Hell Yeah“, “Leave It” and “Stale” for great labels Lot49. Then he released some tracks on Burrito Records (“This Is Hip Hop” in 2005, “Forget It All” n 2006), Four:Twenty Recordings (“Holding” in 2006), Spin Out Records (“Spilt Milk” and “U Ready” in 2006) and Beats Records (“Space Hopper” in 2007).

In 2007 Alex Metric found himself signed to Adam Freeland‘s Marine Parade label, where he promptly offered one great EP afther another – “What She Wants“, “Deadly On A Mission“, “In Your Machine” and “Head Straight“.

Alex Metric came to prominence in 2008 after being voted ‘Best Remixer of the Year’ by London radio station XFM. He earned it by remixing works for Splittr, La Roux, Fenech-Soler, Ladyhawke, Reverend And The Makers, Alphabeat, Infadels,  Freeland, U2, Phoenix, Kenneth Bager, Bloc Party, Gorillaz, Ellie Goulding, Beastie Boys. He also worked as a producer for acts such as The Infadels, Charli Xcx and Adam Freeland.

In 2009, Metric joined Radio 1’s ‘In New DJs We Trust’ with his first show on June 12, 2009. In January 2010 Clash Music magazine ranked him at number two in their list of the best DJs of 2010, second only to Brodinski.

In 2010 he also released his one of the biggest hits “It Starts“. “It Starts” sees Alex taking up vocal duties once more, backed with quick-stepping drums, crackling synths and guitar from no less than Bloc Party’s Russell Lissack, this is a real statement of intent from Metric, showcasing his ever-expanding pop sensibilities and all-encompassing love of both indie and electronic music.

Currently he keeps himself busy by mastering his debut album due to release in 2011, touring with his live show and producing next album for Infadels. He also decided to leave Radio 1 show ‘In New DJs We Trust’ to focus more on his production and touring.

Alex Metric – Deadly On A Mission

Alex Metric – What She Wants

Alex Metric – Head Straight

Alex Metric – It Starts

Michael Woods

Michael’s musicality stems from his ability as a pianist – both he and his sister (singer Marcella Woods) were taught piano by their father and got up to grade eight. He started his music career as the apprentice engineer to label mate Matt Darey. Michael’s break came when his sister Marcella Woods, Matt and himself collaborated on the M3 release “Bailamos” on Inferno.

But it was his debut single “Warrior” that finally propelled Michael to his current status of dance music’s man of the moment. It was one of the hottest anthems of the summer 2000, reaching No 1 in the UK Club Chart, and it even entered the UK top 40 at #19. Michael followed up with “Voodoo“, creating another great dance anthem.

Then he started to experiment with different monikers, releasing “Into The Dawn” in 2001 and “Blind Visions” in 2002 under Accadia moniker, “Heaven Sent” as M1 and “Released” as Praetorian (both in 2002). In 2003 he returned as Warrior releasing “If You Want Me” with Juliet Jaimes (Holly Valance “Kiss Kiss”) responsible for the memorable lyrics and Australian model Imogen Bailey on vocals and another less successful track “X” , both released in 2003 on label Incentive.

Following “If You Want Me” Michael had an even bigger taste of success with “Solex (Close to The Edge)“. The record became a favourite not only in the record boxes of Judge Jules, Tiesto and Paul Van Dyke but it was play-listed on the UK’s Radio 1.

In 2005 he enlisted his sister Marcella Woods (singer on Matt Darey’s “Beautiful” and “Liberation”) to add her dynamic vocals to his latest record and collaboration with Judge Jules “So Special“. After that in 2006 followed “Hit The Bricks” under Mike Hunt moniker on Data Records.

And finally in 2007 he released his first track as Out Of Office, another collaboration with Marcella Woods. “Hands Up” on Frenetic quickly became commercially successful, with “Break Of Dawn” replacing it in the charts during next year. He also became well sought after remixer, remixing hit after hit from Tillmann Uhrmacher, Salt Tank, Energy 52 “Cafe Del Mar”, Solar Stone, Delerium, Lost Tribe “Gamemaster”, Art Of Trance “Madagascar”, Matt Darey, Chicane.

In 2008 he released “Dancing In The Dark“, my most favorite track from this producer, huge mind blowing club anthem. Since that Michael Woods went underground releasing more dancefloor oriented tracks than chart toppling hits. In 2008 he released “Natural High“, next year – “Drop Zone”, “Made In South America”, “No More Waiting”, “Envolver / Black Strip” and together with Ant Brooks tracks “Yemba” and “Wobble“, plus remixes of Way Out West “The Gift”, Chicane “Hiding All The Stars”, “Patrick Hagenaar  “We Feel The Same”, John O’Callaghan “Find Yourself”, Temper Trap “Science Of Fear” and Deadmau5 “Strobe”.

In 2010 he released his own solo tracks “Dropzone” and “Dynamik“, together with Chris Lake “Domino’s“, together with Funkagenda track “Alchemy“, and of course some new  remixes on Deadmau5 & Chris Lake “I Said”, Meck “Feels Like A Prayer”, Diagram Of The Heart “Death Famous”, Estelle “Freak”, Hannah “I Believe In You”, Kylie Minogue “All The Lovers”, Kaskade “Dynasty”, Robyn “Dancing On My Own”, Katie Melua “The Flood”, Moguai “Oyster”, Underworld “Always Loved A Film”, La Roux “In For The Kill”, Martin Solveig “Hello”, Alexis Jordan “Happiness” – surely, 2010 was one of the most active year for Michael Woods. But it was not all.

On November 1st, 2010 he released his “Nitro EP” on Toolroom Records, with two great tracks – “Nitro” and “Midnight Run“. And the latest work from Michael Woods is mighty “No Access“, a fusion of electro, techno and progressive elements blended with the uplifting synth riffs, contrasted with dirty bass lines. It was released on Michael Woods new label Diffused Music at Beatport on 10th December, 2010, and quickly became huge hit with Deadmau5, Pete Tong, Judge Jules and many others.

Michael Woods – Nitro

Michael Woods – Dynamik

Michael Woods – No Access

Kollektiv Turmstrasse

Nico Plagemann was born 1979 in Wismar, a little town at the Baltic sea, and found his way to electronic music at the age of 14 – within the early tracker and demo scene. Fascinated by the possibilities of programming his own tracks, he became a tracker on his own, programming mods with Scream- and Fasttracker. This hobby developed and improved rapidly, and after buying the first electronic hardware instruments, it transformed into a passion.

Christian Hilscher was born 1979 in a little coast town named Boltenhagen, in the eastern part of Germany. Already in early years he developed an interest in music and created his first musical pieces with, at those days, popular Tracker tools. After his first open air- and underground parties Christian figured out that there would be no way back for him. With his first MKII he started to work on his DJ talent and spent a lot of time making music and working active in culture. He organized his own events which became insider tips in the regional electronic music scene pretty fast.

Their collaboration started as a typical apartment-sharing community in 1999. Both had been infected early by electronic music. True to the slogan “Youth explorers” they brew sounds inside the KTS laboratory, influenced by the Basic Channel at that time. Relatively quickly did they fall in love with the upcoming netaudioscene, that was so idealistic and became quickly a new way of publicity for the duo. KTS produced in silentio until 2004, when no-response.org, a netlabel for free electronic music, was formed.

In the following years, new plans were forged and their own sound has been rasped until 2006, when their own label Musik Gewinnt Freunde came into life. They also released on such labels as Connaisseur, Dynamik, Cocoon and Ostwind.

With their big tunes “Tristesse” and “Grillen im Park“, the guys had already played themselves into the hearts of their permanently growing fanbase. However, their big breakthrough came in 2009, with the “Kollektiv Turmstrasse Let Freedom Ring Rmx” for Federleicht’s “On The Streets”.

In November 2010, the duo presented their long-awaited first longplayer “Rebellion der Traumer” (Rebellion Of The Dreamers), which was released on Connaisseur Recordings. With such tracks as “Addio Addio” and “Schwindelig” it quickly became big hit in Beatport Chill Out Top. In the YouTube you can also find official video on mu favorite song of theirs Bjork-like “Kontakt” and beautiful fan-made video on “Tristesse“, which I embedded in this post. Please watch it, it really great story, and if you can, please tell me the original name of this animation and who made it in comments!

Kollektiv Turmstrasse – Kontakt

Kollektiv Turmstrasse – Schwindelig

Kollektiv Turmstrasse – Kontakt

Kollektiv Turmstrasse – Tristesse

He started his career by remixing music of Sugababes, The Joy Formidable, Foreign Beggars, Faithless, Deathary Trebuchay, using different dinosaur moniker such as Microceraptor, Hererodontosaurus or Diceraptor  for different remixes. For example remix of Faithless “Kind Of Peace” was named “Pteradactyl’s Tropic Love Remix”.

His first Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs EP “All In One Sixty Dancehalls” was released on the Greco-Roman record label run by Joe Goddard from band Hot Chip on June 15th, 2009. It contained tracks “Moon Hits The Mirrorball“, “Bournemouth“, “Sickly Child” plus remix of “Moon Hits The Mirrorball” by 2BadMice.

His second EP “All in Two Sixty Dancehalls” was more successful, especially because it contained “Garden“, a surprisingly delicate boy-girl duet with Luisa Lampshade from Lulu & The Lampshades. Another tracks on EP was breakbeat-powered, dancehall-flavored “Blood Pressure” featuring Riko, a gorgeous house tune “That One” and minimalistic “Dipper“.

He also started to use name Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs for his official remixes, which include tracks from Crystal Fighters, Fenech-Soler, Lee Mortimer, Professor Green, Sky Ferreira and Killa Kela.

His latest EP “Household Good” was released on November 8, 2010, and contained tracks “Household Goods“, “Waulking Song” and “How Far“. Recently TEED also created MiniMix for Annie Mac’s Radio 1 show, she was one of the first who started to play his songs on radio.

TEED – Household Goods EP

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs – Garden