15
?16
CALVIN HARRIS
From: UK. Style: EDM/pop.
16
?30
NERVO
From: Australia. Style: “Big room house.” Best known for: “‘Hold
On, Like Home’ (with Nicky Romero), ‘Reason’ (with Hook N
Sling).” Tune of 2013: “Our tune, ‘Like Home’ (with Nicky Romero)
has been getting a great reaction! Aside from that, we’d say
Showtek’s ‘Cannonball’ was a highlight of many of our sets, and Chris
Malinchak’s ‘So Good To Me’ is a ray of sunshine.” Breakthrough DJ/
producer of 2013: “Ummet Ozcan, Martin Garrix, and Vicetone.”
060 djmag.com
CALVIN Harris was superkeen to answer questions
for his Top 100 DJs pro?le
in previous years when he
was establishing himself
as a DJ rather than a pop
singer, but this year he was
uncontactable. Which is a
shame, as his leap of 16 places
in this year’s poll re?ects the
fact that it’s been a bumper
year for him — in terms of
both his productions and his
DJ gigs. Most of the tracks
from his ‘18 Months’ album
— featuring Kelis, Ne-Yo,
Ellie Goulding and Rihanna
amongst others — have
been released as singles and
have sold by the bucketload.
Remarkably, ‘18 Months’ is the
?rst album in history to have
nine Top 10 singles in the UK
singles chart — he overtook
Michael Jackson to achieve
this honour.
Meanwhile, Harris was cited
by the respected Forbes list
as being the highest paid
DJ of 2013, grossing an
estimated $46m. Reportedly
earning over a quarter of a
million dollars for each gig
as part of his residency in Las
Vegas, Harris has leapt into
the superstar league. KIM
O’CONNOR
THE NERVO twins have gone from strength-tostrength over the last 12 months, cementing
their position as the most popular female
DJ act on the planet. Australian twin sisters
Miriam and Olivia (Mim and Liv to their pals)
originally started out penning pop songs
before co-writing ‘When Love Takes Over’ with
David Guetta. They started DJing while still
writing for pop acts like Kylie, Cheryl Cole and
Britney Spears, but since 2011’s Tomorrowland
— about which they wrote ‘The Way We See the
World’ with Afrojack — they haven’t looked
back, and have immersed themselves in global
dance culture.
“It has been an incredible 12 months,” the
gals tell DJ Mag. “Gigs have gotten crazier,
and the fans more interactive. Our music is
being heard by more and more people, so we’re
super happy. We’re literally pinching ourselves
everyday.”
Mim and Liv promised themselves some time
off to work on their debut album this year, but
say that it’s been hard to ?nd the time between
their punishing DJ schedule. “Does anyone
know a great scientist? We’d like to clone a
third NERVO to help share the workload for
next year,” they joke. CARL LOBEN
Have DJs’ fees got out of hand? “We are not entirely sure whose fees are what, but generally
we think as long as everyone is happy — the promoter, the club, the DJs, and most importantly
that the fans don’t feel ripped off — then the fees are fair.” Has dance music become the
new pop? “It depends on which genre within dance music you’re referring to. There’s still
a buzzing underground scene which doesn’t come close to pop music.” If you could be any
animal, what would you be? “On days that we are exhausted, probably a sloth.” Should DJs
do ‘heart hands’? “Why not? Show the people you care.” Do DJs have a duty to speak out
about drugs? “Each to their own. Talk about what you feel passionate about.” What would be
on your fantasy rider? “All of our best friends, so they could party with us at the gig!”