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“THIS year has been fantastic,
I have worked harder than
ever and travelled more
than ever so I’ve had a really
intense schedule,” says Alesso,
whose year has been de?ned
by headline performances
at UMF Miami, Cream?elds,
Electric Zoo. You name it, he’s
played it (including Ibiza’s
trendy Ushuaia) and has often
dropped his own electrocharged hit of the year, a remix
of One Republic’s ‘If I Lose
Myself’.
Despite all the touring, the
prominent Swede has still
found time to be in the studio
this year, and has worked
with Brit pop sensation Calvin
Harris as well as on plenty of
new tracks for his upcoming
Uprising Tour in the US this
autumn.
?07
ALESSO
From: Sweden. Style: “Arena/
progressive house.” Best known for:
“My music productions.” Tune of
2013: “‘Reload’ by Sebastian Ingrosso
& Tommy Trash.” Breakthrough DJ/
producer of 2013: “Hard Rock Sofa.”
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Another highlight for Alesso
this year was his Brazilian
tour, which included playing
‘Insomniac’ to hundreds
of thousands of people.
“I always do my best to connect
with the crowd no matter the
number of people attending,”
he reckons. Testament to his
ability to do just that is his
assured place amongst the
Top 100 elite once again this
year. KRISTAN J CARYL
Have DJs’ fees got out of hand? “As long as there is a demanding market that works
all ways, it’s the market itself that decides what’s out of hand or not.” Has dance music
become the new pop? “It’s the fans that decide what becomes popular or not. If the type
of music I make and love gets recognition, I’m just thankful!” If you could be any animal
what would you be? “A free bird that can ?y and watch the world from above!” Should
DJs do ‘heart hands’? “Ha, that’s for every DJ to decide for themselves.” Do DJs
have a duty to speak out about drugs? “There are so many people involved in this
industry and everybody has a responsibility. I say no to drugs and always have, music
is my addiction.” What would be on your fantasy rider? “A teleportation device,
so I can really take my time at every place I visit and skip all the travelling hours.”
“THE last year has been crazy in
general,” Dutch duo W&W tell DJ Mag
excitedly. “We released so much new
music, collaborated with two of the
world’s biggest DJs — Armin van Buuren
and Hardwell — and we did more than
twice as many shows as 2012.”
It’s little wonder Willem van Hanegem
and Ward van der Harst are hard pushed
to single out a particular highlight.
“Getting our ?rst Beatport No.1
hit with ‘The Code’ was de?nitely a
milestone,” they say. Aside from that
particular stomping, trance-edged
anthem, their fans played a vital part
in the release of another of their huge
tunes this year.“We ?nished our track
‘Thunder’ in a hotel room about six
hours before we premiered it at UMF
in Miami,” reveal the duo. “We didn’t
want to release it but after we saw
the massive reaction from the crowd
we had no choice!” IAN ROULLIER
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W&W
From: Holland. Style: “Energetic big room music.”
Best known for: “Our productions and dynamic DJ
sets.” Tune of 2013: “Armin van Buuren feat Trevor
Guthrie ‘This Is What It Feels Like’.” Breakthrough
DJ/producer of 2013: “Blasterjaxx.”
056 djmag.com
“Working with Calvin was great.
We brought Theo from the
band Hurts on board who sings
the vocals, which we think ?ts
perfectly. You get inspiration
from each other and develop
something that you wouldn’t
have created by yourself.”
Have DJs’ fees got out of hand? “If a certain amount of people are willing to
pay a certain amount of money to see a certain DJ play, and the fee is based
on the calculation of those numbers, then it’s justi?ed.” Has dance music
become the new pop? “It hasn’t completely merged yet. Except for maybe a few
territories, dance music is still seen as an underground genre.” If you could be
any animal what would you be? Willem: “Gorilla, because they’re boss!” Ward:
“Giraffe, because they can eat the leaves nobody else can reach.” Should DJs do
‘heart hands’? “Why not? DJs should do whatever they feel like doing, just like
everybody else.” Do DJs have a duty to speak out about drugs? “Should sport
players speak about violence during and after a game? We can always advise
not to do drugs, but in the end it’s out of our control. People have to decide for
themselves.” What would be on your fantasy rider? “Quesadillas, a Maserati
Quattroporte and a backstage swimming pool!”