So after visiting the DJ Mag Top 100, I knew the list. I predicted 15 DJ's earlier. Let see how I did!
The official top 15 goes as follows:
01.David Guetta
02.Armin van Buuren
03.Tiesto
04.Deadmau5
05.Above & Beyond
06.Avicii
07.Afrojack
08.Dash Berlin
09.Markus Schulz
10.Swedish House Mafia
11.Paul van Dyk
12.Axwell
13.Gareth Emery
14.Fedde le Grand
15.ATB
My Top 15:
01. Armin van Buuren
02. deadmau5
03. David Guetta
04. Tiësto
05. Above & Beyond
06. Ferry Corsten
07. Markus Schulz
08. Axwell
09. Sander Van Doorn
10. Avicii
11. Skrillex
12. Afrojack
13. Steve Angello
14. Sebastian Ingrosso
15. Laidback Luke As you can see, I did pretty horrible. I didn't thought House would take so much trance-ground already! Of course Avicii, Afrojack and the Swedish House Mafia forced their way into the list, bouncing out most of the earlier consistent trance producers. And of course, Guetta beat Armin in a duel between House and Trance. I blame the EDM blowup in america. With guys like Avicii and Afrojack finally getting house to the american mainstream, an huge turnup in the votes would probably be from Americans. Trance dj's converting to house (Tiesto, Sander Van Doorn) were a prelude to the fall of trance. I think next year, trance is going to suffer an even harder blow as SHM, Tiësto ect. will push their house beats to the main public even more.
It shouldn't be a surprise that ADE, and especially the DJ Mag Top 100 evening, were both an absolute success! Of course, ADE had nothing to prove anymore and yet again delivered a week-long paradise for EDM-heads!
This happened to be my first ADE. After the top 100 awards party, I know that I have a lot of lost time to catch up to. The other days were filled by workshops, debates, conferences...and of course lineups! Like I said earlier, a EDM paradise...
Just one night. But luckily for me it was the biggest of them all! With a line up of Fedde Le Grand, Schulz, Guetta and 4 times dj of the world, Armin van Buuren, you just know it is going to be a night to remember!
Sidney Samson was a last minute add on to the lineup and he happened to open the night. I originally didn't like his presence all too much, but when I entered the colossal main room of The Amsterdam Cruise Terminal, he pleasantly surprised me!
He performed an absolute splendid warm-up set, varying from his signature electro-house to dubstep and even drum&nass! It got the surprisingly tough crowd a little bit loose for one of the many headliners for this evening: Fedde Le Grand!
The last time I saw Fedde do a set, I was 14 years old. He was gaining a lot of international acclaim for the infamous "Put Your Hands Up 4 Detroit" single. It's quite strange to see a highschool-party dj now headline at such a prestigious event. Since it was so long ago, I really had no clue what to expect. Apart from some of his music, I'd never listened to one of his podcast since I just can't listen to Tech House. And although I was partially right about the Tech-House thing, Fedde showed to be an excellent crowd reader. It must have been one of the more tougher sets I've witnessed in my life, but overall he played beastly. Between the heard Techno and progressive stompers, he ocassionally found some time to play real anthems like this killer remix for Insomnia by Faithless!
Meanwhile, the Top 100 list was begin showning on the big screen behind Fedde, and the countdown began! Sooner than I expected, my personal headliner of the evening arrived: Armin Van Buuren!
I've heard so much about him these last couple of years but experienced so little. Due to the anti-trance period in my life, I know nothing of armin or a trance set until he opened. And let me tell you, it was like witnessing a king! People cheered anf followed and imitated his every move. My earlier prejudgments of trance melted away quickly as his dj-set progresses!
The amount of energy in the set was unbelievable! I was utterly drained after it. Trance has to be one of the most exhausting live music out there. Mesmerizing good melodies and roof trembling loud bass was almost destroying the sound system. My iPhone which I used to record the evening with could barely capture the audio. I loved it!
It was clear that the visitors absolutely loved Armin. And I understand why now. He has to be one of the most sympathetic dj's I've seen. He was constantly smiling and interacting with the public. He even made a picture during his set from all of us! A true dj can make a crowd love him, and not only play the biggest tunes. I think 99% of the people I was sharing the Cruise Terminal with felt he should be #1 again!
Meanwhile, I'd seen 2 faces of my personal top 5:
Mat Zo and Arty ended up being number 73 and 25. My original top 5 was Arty, Mat Zo, Sander Van Doorn, Axwell and Laidback luke at number one. But I feel that top 5 isn't really accurate to my personal DJ top 100. If I had really voted for my top 5 dj list it would be Luke still at one, but then followed by A-Trak, Sander Van Doorn and 2 blanks. I haven't seen enough dj's play to make an honest top 5 imo.
While that thought in mind, the top 20 finally came on screen and not surprisingly it was my number one:
As predicted, Luke was ranked way lower than he should have been, confirming this list is not based on dj skills but on popularity. The rest of the list:
03.Tiesto
04.Deadmau5
05.Above&Beyond
06.Avicii
07.Afrojack
08.Dash Berlin
09.Markus Schulz
10.Swedish House Mafia
11.Paul van Dyk
12.Axwell
13.Gareth Emery
14.Fedde le Grand
15.ATB
16.Sander van Doorn
17.Headhunterz
18.Ferry Corsten
19.Skrillex
and finally, as expected, a final showdown of the two giants of the EDM scene: Armin and David.
Surprised? I was not. Guetta has worked his ass of and has number one in 46 different countries and plays all around the world in the biggest acclaimed clubs of the scene. Left aside from what you think about his music, the man earns a lot of respect for his effort the last couple of years. In the video you can hear some people booing which really made me sick. I wasn't cheering either but I still felt he earned it.
After the award, I was too exhausted by Armin's set that I felt like going home. I was certainly an experience that I will look back too with joy. My first ever ADE night happened to be one of epic proportions! But even a roll of Dextro and 3 energy drinks couldn't keep my eyes open. Trance events are apparently too much for me at this point. But I'm certain I will visit one again.
For me, this was a very short but thrilling ADE. And next year I will most certainly do the whole week. Until then!
Although I might have slammed the whole concept down in one of my earlier post, I still think it's fun to guess. So let's walk through a top 20 that I think will be on the list!
Top 15 prediction:
01. Armin van Buuren - As always, this trance king will be at the top for his ongoing effort to please his many many fans. Not only does he supply them with numerous albums and ASOT shows, but also epic live performances all around the world! Might see him at ADE!
02. deadmau5 - With the amount of people (half the internet), you're bound to end up high in an online poll. Although musically, Joel Zimmerman hasn't quite impressed me lately, he is on his way back. "Professional Griefers" is going to be huge! I have high hopes for his next album.
03. David Guetta - ...
04. Tiësto - Really started appreciating this guy. Does a lot for the youngsters out there. His musical choices aren't half bad either :).
05. Above & Beyond - This year, I've really been exploring the trance scene, and if you do that, you can't go around these guys. With a brand new fantastic album released, the trance giants will def end up high.
06. Ferry Corsten - His fanbase will always be massive for what he did a few years back. But his new track "Check It Out" and "Brute" with giant Armin Van Buuren, will re-ignite his boosters to climb this poll!
07. Markus Schulz - Will probably end up high again due to his giant all ages fanbase.
08. Axwell - My number two. Although his production-rate is one of the slowest, "Heart Is King" will surely be in my top 3 of this year. Together with Steve and Sebastian, the name Swedish House Mafia has only gained more ground. The three are constantly asking fans to vote for the three separately, so chances are the three will get tons of votes for their work!
09. Sander Van Doorn - My number five. With a brand new album, tons of shows, his podcast work and further full fan dedication, he simply deserves to end up in the top 10 again!
10. Avicii - Probably the fastest growing artist of this year. With so many big releases, and his podcast hitting number one on the first day, his fanbase will raise him to a number ten spot!
11. Skrillex - Got a ridiculious rise this year. Fanbase is one of the biggest.
12. Afrojack - With his huge succes in America, Nick will end up very high this year. Although he's producing more POP than house, it will surely grant him a high spot. But true EDM fans will keep him out of the top 10.
13. Steve Angello - With his SIZE label and SHM work, steve will surely end up way higher than last year.
14. Sebastian Ingrosso - Calling made a huge impact. SHM also does have a lot to bring for ingrosso.
15. Laidback Luke - My number one. The best DJ will end up 15. Sad but true. Production-wise, Luke is trying to keep his own style and not to sell out. It's not always good for him, but it grants him a very select group of dedicated fans who will vote for him. Most underrated DJ of the list, should be in the top 3 purely for his DJ skills!
I've talked a lot about why Laidback Luke should be at number one, but I could also show it:
I won't make it a too long story, but I get a little bit overflown with DJ Mag bullshit lately. Look, I have nothing against their intentions. It is, no would be, quite interesting to see DJ's compete with each other. Yes would, because the whole thing failed from the beginning. Mainly because 9 out of 10 people who vote, vote for their favorite producer. Since trance has the biggest fanbase...well I don't even have to explain anymore.
Anyways, the whole point of the DJ Mag is the live performance of the artist in question. And once again, I wouldn't have made a topic about it if I didn't get that DJ Mag crap thrown in my face every single day.
Now let's look at last year's top list:
Top 10
1. Armin van Buuren
2. David Guetta
3. Tiësto
4. Deadmau5
5. Above & Beyond
6. Paul van Dyk
7. Gareth Emery
8 .Markus Schulz
9. Ferry Corsten
10. Axwell
11 t/m 100
11. ATB
12. Sander van Doorn
13. Infected Mushroom
14. Steve Angello
15. Dash Berlin
16. Sebastian Ingrosso
17. Laidback Luke
18. Judge Jules
19. Afrojack
20. Aly & Fila
21. Fedde le Grand
22. Carl Cox
23. Swedish House Mafia
24. Cosmic Gate
25. Bobina
Alright, as I said before, a trance guy is number one. I can sort of rationalize that by sayg they play crowds nearing and surpassing the 10.000 people. It's pretty impressive to move such a crowd every single time. Tiesto and Armin van buuren move masses with their music, and show in their radio shows, they have the heart to find new exciting stuff for their sets, nobody has heard about. The rest of the trance sets are utterly boring. You're lucky if you get to hear 10 tracks in two hours.
Spot 3, Guetta? GUETTA?!
His musical pieces aside, have you ever heard this guy live? I did, and I wish I haven't...The most obvious tracks, mixed every 5 or 6 minutes or so. 90% of his crowd consist of drunk mtv people who don't give a shit about house music. How they managed to take the time to vote is a miracle..o wait, every facebook,twitter page you dare to go to, you get smacked in the face by a banner or promo video. Even my mail isn't safe from this madness. Utter bullshit.
Moving on...Tiesto and deadmau5. No problems against Tiesto, well deserved spot for him. But deadmau5? A guy that plays the same tracks over and over. A guy that uses almost nothing but premixed tracks for his effects to synchronize?? Don't get me wrong, random album title was one of the best things I've ever heard, but the guy himself even claims he isn't a dj. What is he doing in the DJ top 100??? ON SPOT 4?! Madness...
trance trance trance trance trance AXWELL! Solid entertainer. Put's heart into his sets as well as lesser known stuff (Arty for example, though is he's now becoming a colossus. Also a great performer by the way.). trance, trance...Sander Van Doorn! Loved him at sensation. Knows what the crowd wants, uses own private bootlegs and edits. should be in the top 5, but that's only reserved for trance.
Steve angello. Was wicked on the size party I went too this year, but many claim he uses prerecorded sets, and if you watch some footage...wow. Not a very nice gesture to the crowd. Still he stands proudly at 14.
Now to conclude my rant, Luke is on 17. One of the few guys who actually tries to entertain people with his risky, fast, and incredible mixing skills. His sets usually contain 25 to 35 tracks. That's worth for your money. That's a dj that you would like to visit. Should be number one in my opinion. Ah...well.
And still, when I get into a discussion about an artist, people will tell me off with this list. Like it or not, this list has grown from international dj rating system to international PRODUCER rating system. Because many vote for the artist they like the best, but the other half votes for the dj they liked the most live, you get a misguided mess.
I voted, and I've voted for my favourite live performers.
1. Laidback Luke (duh.)
2. Axwell ((Like I said, axwell tries to be innovative in his sets, by using some underground tracks, some old (classic) ones and he uses both own and others mashups to keep things fresh)
3. Mat Zo (works incredibly hard to make solid sets)
4. Arty (uses a perfect combination of raving trance techno and house to get the crowd on their feet. Best "trouse" dj till date)
5. Sander Van Doorn (ROCKED sensation. His tracks are not very underground, but always hit the spot)
