Liam Howlett Doesn’t Want to Make Another Prodigy Album

Musical trailblazer and an international icon David Guetta teams up with Marten Hørger, one of the leading forces in the global Bass House movement to release their new single, ‘The Freaks’, a powerful future rave track complete with low-pitched, distorted vocals, and gigantic builds perfect for the dancefloor and beyond. In early September 2022, Hørger tested the first demo of ‘The Freaks‘ at Burning Man. The following day, he performed it at David Guetta’s show in Essen, Germany.  Guetta and Hørger had been in touch for a while, and had long wanted to collaborate on a track – finally, with ‘The Freaks’, an idea was born that was musically tangible for both of them. They started sharing their ideas on it, making tweaks, sending demos back and forth, testing the record during their tours over the following months. After David’s performance at the FIFA World Cup in Doha, Qatar, they felt the track was finished and quickly found a home for it with What A DJ / Spinnin’ Records. Whilst having recently received the title of ‘Producer Of The Year’ at the BRIT Awards, David Guetta is on a hot string of club releases. He has gone from strength to strength with his underground-focused Future Rave project alongside MORTEN; the duo released their eagerly awaited Future Rave EP ‘Episode 2’ in November, which featured the powerful lead single ‘You Can’t Change Me’ with Raye. In addition, David has massively impacted the club scene with his collaboration ‘It’s Ours’ with ARTBAT and Idris Elba, his acid-fuelled remix of Sam Smith & Kim Petras’ ‘Unholy’, and a huge remix of the hit single ‘Bad Memories’ by Meduza. ‘The Freaks’ with Marten Hørger is another great addition to this impressive string of club hits. Already reaching the #1 potion on 1001 Tracklists trending chart, ‘The Freaks’ which will definitely be heard in the festival season to come. Available now on all platforms, get  your first listen to ‘The Freaks’ below!

Australian duo Teddy Cream are back in full force with a hip hop flavoured dance track that screams party. ‘Dancer’ is a collab with Atlanta’s Benji Reyes; the renowned producer who has made a name for himself flipping tunes and going viral with millions of hits across YouTube and TikTok. Lending his vocals to ‘Dancer’ is artist, rapper, and singer-songwriter Truent, whose style is inspired by chart-topping rappers such as Drake, Lil Wayne, Eminem and many more. “Dancer is one of our favourite records and collaborations with artists living over 15,000 kms away,” explain Teddy Cream. “We all have a little dancer in us and we hope this song we loved making can help people get up and get dancing, especially as it comes into spring/summer in Australia.” “I always wanted to make a dance song with some hip hop elements sprinkled in,” says Benji Reyes. “My favourite part is definitely the drop. When the hook comes in and you hear the catchy line, added with the groovy bass line, it’s hard not to want to bob your head or get up and dance.” Vocalist Truent adds, “Me and Benji have worked on previous records together and I loved how those came out, so I knew it would be easy to make another hit. Teddy Cream added their sauce and gave us that extra push to turn our demo into a hit record!” Teddy Cream is Brandon Mangion and Vincent Calderone, two lifelong friends who began producing together at 13, touring at 18, and dominating dance music not long after. In 2017, their reworks of Sonia Dada’s ‘Lover’ and Daryl Braithwaite’s hit ‘Horses’ climbed the ARIA Club Charts and Spotify Viral Chart and amassed over 4.5 million combined streams. Their 2019 release ‘Summer Jam’ has over 5 million streams and charted across Europe, with follow up singles ‘Home’ and ‘Better Now’ proving them a force to be reckoned with in the dance music landscape. Known for their high energy DJ sets, their live videos have already amassed over 6 million likes on TikTok and tens of millions more views on Facebook. Benji Reyes is a music producer/DJ from Atlanta, Georgia. He started his music career a few years ago by doing unofficial remixes of popular songs namely Drake’s ‘Hotline Bling’ and Post Malone’s ‘Congratulations’ which went viral on Vine and TikTok alike amassing millions of streams. Following on from his successful remixes he began releasing original music independently in 2018 and his first song, ‘Double Tap’ gained millions of views on YouTube. Truent is a recording artist, rapper, and singer-songwriter from Cartersville, Georgia. He started writing raps at the age of 15 and recording original songs at 18. Truent is known for his versatility, melodic style, catchy hooks, and intricate flows which culminate to the qualities of a true hit maker. A dance pop tune sprinkled with dark hip-hop elements like ‘Dancer’ is bound to make crowds go wild, and with Teddy Cream returning to the touring circuit in early 2022, dancefloors won’t know what hit them.

Multiplatinum cross-genre phenomenon, artist, producer, and DJ ILLENIUM unveils his latest single entitled “Wouldn’t Change A Thing” featuring Thirty Seconds To Mars. The song notably marks the first new music from legendary, record breaking band Thirty Seconds To Mars in three years. “Wouldn’t Change A Thing” sets the stage for the Deluxe Edition of ILLENIUM’s fourth full-length album, FALLEN EMBERS, on October 22, 2021. It will be the inaugural release under his newly minted deal with Warner Records. The single fuses ILLENIUM’s immersive and cinematic production with a heavenly and hypnotic vocal melody from Thirty Seconds To Mars frontman Jared Leto. Backed by Shannon Leto’s powerful drums, icy synths pulsate in the background before a shuddering dancefloor-ready groove takes hold. Meanwhile, Jared Leto projects the hook loud and clear, “No matter what happens, she’s a fatal attraction to me. I wouldn’t change a thing.” In the accompanying Visualizer, images of flames, rain, and sparks underline the track’s emotional intensity, bringing the words to life. For the Deluxe Edition, ILLENIUM notably reupped, reloaded, and recharged this opus with five new songs. Among the new material, Virtual Riot expands “Blame Myself” featuring Tori Kelly with a new Remix, heightening the tension and release with an unpredictable glitchy breakdown. From the frenetic bounce of “Hurt Like This” to the guitar-laden crunch of “Superhero,” ILLENIUM presents the most complete and comprehensive vision of Fallen Embers now. Tallying over 400 million streams, the original FALLEN EMBERS boasted a series of anthems, including “Nightlight” (150M global streams), “Hearts on Fire” with Dabin feat. Lights (60M global streams), “First Time” feat. iann dior (50M global streams), “Sideways” with Valerie Broussard and Nurko (25M global streams), and “Heavenly Side” with Matt Maeson (5M global streams). Impressively, his career total streams have now eclipsed 5 billion and counting. Earlier this year, ILLENIUM performed a four-set show at The Las Vegas Raiders’ Allegiant Stadium, making him the first artist to ever perform at the venue. The first three sets at the show commemorated his previous 3 albums – Ashes, Awake, and Ascend. The night ended with a final set, bringing closure to the story of the previously mentioned albums and starting a new one with Fallen Embers. Throughout the summer, he also shined at festivals such as Lollapalooza, Breakaway Music Festival, Life Is Beautiful, and more. Now, he illuminates electronic music brighter than ever with Fallen Embers Deluxe Edition and much more to come.  

Nicky Romero, MARF and Wulf’s summertime hit “Okay” receives a dancefloor-friendly remix from none other than dance music veteran Afrojack. Taking the original’s emotive vocals and gentle melodies, Afrojack turns the track on its head with a goosebump-inducing buildup and driving, rhythmic bassline that will drive crowds into a frenzy at the next festival or club night. The addition of classic big-room sounds and deep, growling bass is a testament to what has made Afrojack a fan favorite for over a decade. His sound fuses perfectly with fellow Dutch veteran Nicky Romero, making the remix of “Okay” a real treat for any dance music fan. More great remixes of “Okay” will be released on Protocol soon. It’s also worth mentioning that 2 months ago Nicky Romero remixed Afrojack & David Guetta’s hit “Hero.” After taking the world by storm with early hits such as “Legacy” with Krewella and #1 single “I Could Be The One” with Avicii, Nicky Romero quickly proved that his talent is ever-evolving and here to stay. After launching his Protocol Recordings imprint in 2012, the renowned performer, producer, and label head continued his personal successes with a string of high-profile releases, ranging from collaborations with Armin van Buuren, David Guetta, Mike Williams & Amba Shepherd, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, W&W, DallasK & XYLØ, Timmy Trumpet and Steve Aoki & Kiiara to remixes for the likes of Robin Schulz, Kygo, Rita Ora, Steve Aoki, Martin Garrix, Jess Glynne and more. While showcasing his label’s roster via his weekly Protocol Radio show, Nicky Romero continues to innovate and evolve during these unprecedented times in the music industry. In 2020 he launched his alter ego Monocule, which is dedicated to Nicky’s never-ending passion for darker and underground vibes. Nicky Romero keeps proving his ability to turn into gold everything he touches. Since he exploded onto the scene with his hit single “Take Over Control” with Eva Simons over a decade ago, Afrojack has become one of the most influential music names in electronic dance music today. It’s no wonder – with an impressive resume of originals and remixes as well as headlining sets at some of the world’s major clubs and festivals, he has made a massive imprint on the culture we know and love today. His career has seen gold star working with David Guetta, Timmy Trumpet, Martin Garrix, Hardwell, Sia, Chris Brown, Pitbull, Nicki Minaj, Beyonce, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Steve Aoki, Ty Dolla $ign, Luis Fonsi, and Rae Sremmurd among others. He also serves as the head of his own record label Wall Recordings and is a constant fixture as the Top 10 of DJ Mag’s annual Top 100 DJs poll. Out now via Beatport and all popular streaming platforms, get your first listen to Afrojack’s remix of “Okay” below! Article photo by Rukes

After teaming up with Swedish DJ and producer Alesso on ‘Leave A Little Love’, five-time #1 DJ in the world Armin van Buuren is set to turn heads with his next high-magnitude collab. Together with Australian, award-winning, multi-platinum-selling recording artist Timmy Trumpet, the Dutchman is delivering a tequila-flavoured, Ibiza-tailored smash that makes your heart go like crazy… just like ‘Anita’. Unlikely collaborations produce stunning results more often than not, and Armin van Buuren and Timmy Trumpet first-ever creative get-together is a testament to that. From the colourful intro and catchy vocals to Timmy Trumpet’s infectious trademark trumpets and Armin van Buuren’s devastating drops, ‘Anita’ is one of the most playful and impactful anthems you’ll be hearing this decade. “I’ve long been a big fan of Timmy’s work”, Armin van Buuren says. “His trumpet performances brought something fresh to the scene, and I always love to see that kind of creativity, especially when you mix in those energetic dance moves. I loved working together with him on this track and I can’t wait to play it live during a sunny festival day somewhere soon. That way, everyone can party like ‘Anita’!  “I love collaborating with artists and Armin is an inspiration, someone I’ve looked up to since the very beginning”, Timmy Trumpet adds. “To be finally working with him on a release of our own is surreal! This is a really fun record and I’m very happy we were able to capture the energy we both bring to the table. Can’t wait to play this one live!” Armin van Buuren was voted the #1 DJ in the world for an unprecedented five times. He has ranked in the Top 100 of U.K. magazine DJ Mag for twenty years in a row now with nineteen consecutive top 10 spots, has seven full-length artist albums to his name and recently hit the incredible milestone of 1000 episodes with his A State Of Trance radio show, through which he reaches 40 million listeners from 80 different countries on a weekly basis. In non-COVID times, Armin van Buuren headlined more than 150 shows per year at leading festivals and venues around the world, including Electric Daisy Carnival (Las Vegas, New York), Ultra Music Festival (Miami) and Tomorrowland (Belgium) plus residencies on Ibiza and in Las Vegas. DJ, producer and live instrumentalist, Timmy Trumpet is undoubtedly one of the most explosive performers in the music scene. His impressive catalogue, including his breakout single ‘Freaks’, has reigned in more than 2 billion streams. Last year was gigantic for Timmy. In April, Timmy livestreamed from his Sydney apartment for the very first time, clocking over 7 million views and becoming one of the most watched electronic performances of the year. In the same month, Timmy released ‘Diamonds’ accompanied by the world’s first music video to be entirely shot and directed in isolation, later going on to win awards at various international film festivals. Currently ranked #10 in the DJ Mag Top 100, Timmy’s debut artist album ‘Mad World’ recently surpassed 200 million streams in its first 9 months of release. Out now on all popular streaming platforms, get your first listen of ‘Anita’ by Armin van Buuren and Timmy Trumpet below!  

Straight off the back of winning the ARIA Award for Best Dance Release with ‘Down Under feat. Colin Hay’, Luude serves up highly anticipated new single with UK vocal talent Issey Cross, ‘Oh My feat. Moby’. Solidifying his position over the last 12 months as one of Australia’s hottest electronic acts, Luude has been non-stop dominating charts and stages around the globe with his unmatched production prowess and raucous live sets. Now joining forces with singer/songwriter Issey Cross, he continues to demonstrate a flair for creating timeless musical moments. Set atop Luude’s signature stirring percussion is Moby’s classic ‘Porcelain’ strings, an icon in its own right, now transformed and energised for a new generation. Issey Cross’ alluring vocals gliding seamlessly between the two, the musical glue between two eras. With a rare power and passion present throughout, Luude is hungry and ready for more as he takes the next step on his journey to global domination. Speaking to the record Luude shares, “When Moby sent me the stems to this I honestly couldn’t believe it, it’s such an iconic record and sample – I really didn’t want to do much to it, the drums just sit on it nicely to give it a fresh take for new dancefloors.” Issey Cross notes “I was hearing Big City Life everywhere and was a fan of what Luude was doing already so when he reached out I was excited to work with him. I love 90’s music and nostalgic sounding stuff so when Luude sent me this Moby track as an instrumental my mind was buzzing with ideas for it straight away.” The track has received an enthusiastic seal of approval from Moby, “I’d love to say something smart or insightful about ‘Oh My,’ but honestly when I first heard it I simply thought, ‘fuck, this is great!’” Christian Benson (Luude), is no stranger to success as he has risen through the ranks of electronic music with dynamic releases and sets that have garnered the support of both fans and the industry alike. Luude broke out to critical acclaim over the last 12 months with the success of his drum n bass rework of the quintessential 80s anthem, ‘Down Under feat. Colin Hay’. With now over 200 million streams across platforms, 150,000 TikTok videos made, multiple playlist covers, Double Platinum certification in Australia, Platinum in New Zealand and Austria, Gold certification in the UK and Germany, and top-five placement in Shazam charts in New Zealand (#1), Germany (#1), Austria (#1), Estonia (#1), United Kingdom (#4), Australia (#4), it’s safe to say that Luude had a phenomenon on his hands. The track quickly rose to #1 in the New Zealand Top 40 Singles Chart, before going top ten in the ARIA Singles and top 5 in the UK Singles charts. Now having received the ultimate Australian industry nod, winning the ARIA Award for Best Dance Release, Luude has certainly made his mark in the musical history of this household anthem, and beyond. Following this monumental success, in June of 2022 Luude injected fresh fire into cult classic ‘Big City Life’ from Mattafix. The track has gone on to achieve Gold certification in Australia and New Zealand, and Silver Certification in the UK, not to mention reaching #8 on the UK Singles Chart. Throughout all the madness Luude has been non-stop touring sold out shows across Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the UK including performances at internationally recognised festivals such as Electric Love, Tomorrowland, Parookaville, Creamfields and more. Bringing it all back home for the Australian summer, he has been igniting crowds around the country once again for the recent Festival X and Falls Festival tour runs ahead of what is bound to be another mammoth year. Hailing from London, with her hair dyed half pink, half green like Harley Quinn’s alt-pop alter ego, and hands dripping with chunky rings and jewellery, 21-year-old Issey Cross knows how much music can change your whole attitude. Now she’s aiming to bring a legion of young women along with her too. Breaking out in 2021 with hit single ‘Used To This’ alongside legendary DnB producer Wilkinson, the pair spent 14 weeks in the UK OCC Top 40, 12 weeks on BBC Radio 1 Playlist and have garnered over 45 million streams across platforms. A slew of upcoming singles with the likes of Nathan Dawe, Bru C, Luude, Clean Bandit, Elley Duhe, Hybrid Minds and others, all point to a very exciting 2023 for Issey both as an artist and a songwriter. ‘Oh My feat. Moby’ by Luude & Issey Cross is out now via Sweat It Out.  

ShockOne Hits Hard With His Latest Release On Dark Machine Records ‘Say Woah’ ​​ Perth DJ and producer ShockOne returns with moody jungle, heavy breakbeat and rave infused new single ‘Say Woah’. Sonically born straight out of his recent Australian and New Zealand warehouse tour, the track gives you a nostalgic demand to get down on the floor and move. Released in collaboration with UKF on ShockOne’s own Dark Machine Records, ‘Say Woah’ follows his recent work with pioneering UK cinematic DnB act Koven on the melodic ‘Collecting Thoughts’ which was released on US bass powerhouse label Monstercat. The music video for ‘Say Woah’ is an absolute must watch and the perfect visual accompaniment for the sound, referencing the gabber and Dutch hardstyle era of the 90’s. It features local scene lynchpin Brenton Cluff as well as ShockOne (Karl Thomas) himself and it’s clear that Karl has nothing but love and respect for the movement “The video is an ode to the amazing hardstyle dancing culture that exists as a sub genre in the bass world. It features one of the Australian scenes leading dance figures Brenton who graciously flew from Newcastle to Perth to be in this video.” Brenton is equally glowing, “From seeing ShockOne post my dance video on his Instagram to standing beside him as we filmed the clip for ‘Say Woah’, it was pretty surreal! The hardstyle & hardcore scene in Australia is forever growing and this track shows just how diverse the sub-culture is. I’ve been dancing since 2008 when the Melbourne shuffle was at its peak and converted to similar hard dance styles like hakken/gabber around the 2014 mark”. Hailing from Perth, the epicentre of the Australasian DnB scene, ShockOne has been at the forefront of the genre for the past decade since the release of ‘The ShockOne EP’ in 2009, which featured the chart topping ‘Polygon’. 2013 saw Shockone release his groundbreaking debut LP ‘Universus’ to critical acclaim reaching #1 on the ARIA Australian Albums Chart and #2 on the ARIA Album Chart. Following the release of his Sophomore album ‘A Dark Machine’ in 2019 on Warner Music, ShockOne now releases under his own record label Dark Machine Records with recent singles ‘Follow Me’, ‘Hardwired’ and ‘Thinking About’ ft. Lee Mvtthews amassing a combined 20 million streams across all platforms. Having remixed local and international artists such as DJ Snake, Alison Wonderland, What So Not and Dillon Francis, ShockOne is currently working on his third studio album which is set for release in 2023. ‘Say Woah’ is out now via Dark Machine Records.

Global superstar Rita Ora joins forces with award-winning world renowned producer and DJ Netsky on summer anthem “Barricades.” Produced with super-producers Stargate, the brilliant collaboration between the headline artists ‘Barricades’ combines Netsky’s trademark energetic production style and knack for a soaring pop chorus with Rita Ora’s distinctive uplifting vocals to produce an anthem sure to soundtrack this summer. The track’s official music video features a captivating performance from Rita Ora filmed in Los Angeles by director Joe Mischo. About their “Barricades” collaboration, Netsky says; “I’ve wanted to work with Rita since I heard ‘RIP’, so it was really special to get her and Stargate together in the studio again. We wanted to make a song that really showcased the power of her voice. The song is about the battles people go through being in love. We combined the simple beauty of pop with the power of breaks/drum and bass. I want to make dance music that has honesty and emotion – I think this song is that.” Rita Ora adds; ‘It’s been amazing to work with Netsky on ‘Barricades’. It’s an honour to get to work with such a talented producer, especially on a track like this. Collaborating on another Drum n Bass record a decade after my first no.1 ‘Hot Right Now’ with DJ Fresh, feels like coming home, and I’m beyond excited for everyone to hear it. I hope they love dancing to it as much as I do!’ NETSKY has emerged as one of the most in demand music producers and a trendsetting global heavyweight in electronic music. Amidst a catalogue of hits, he has collaborated with everyone from Lil Wayne, Aloe Blacc, David Guetta, Becky Hill, Emilie Sande, Swedish House Mafia and Rudimental while the likes of Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Jack Ü have sought him out for remixes. From selling out Arenas to headlining some of the worlds biggest festivals, he also ignited the ‘Netsky & Friends’ brand as an extension of his creative influence, curating and hosting his own stage at Tomorrowland and rolling out the concept at festivals and clubs across Europe. Rita Ora is one of the most successful female UK artists of the 21st century and an international critically acclaimed singer-songwriter with four #1 UK singles. She holds the record for the most Top 10 singles for a British female artist in the UK in history with a total of 13. In 2021, she co-wrote and produced the global collaboration Bang with GRAMMY winning Kazakh DJ and record producer Imanbek. Featuring David Guetta, Gunna and Argentinian rapper KHEA, the four track EP is a mix of modern pop, 80s and 90s club culture and floor-filling house. The EP was the follow up to her album Phoenix, which has amassed over 4 billion streams worldwide, spawned 3 platinum singles and includes “Lonely Together,” her collaboration with Avicii which won “Best Dance” VMA at the MTV Video Music Awards. In addition, her debut album, Ora, debuted at #1 on the UK charts and was certified platinum.