Dance
Every year, over half a million music fans flock to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for three nights to dance under neon lights to tunes spanning almost every imaginable dance music subgenre. While Electric Daisy Carnival just wrapped its 29th year, it somehow still finds ways to reinvent itself and grow — not just grow in crowd size, but in cultural and physical reach.
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Just before opening the gates to the festival on May 16, the event’s producer Insomniac invited select guests to Hotel EDC at the Virgin Hotel to celebrate their latest international expansion. Partygoers celebrated with Gorgon City to highlight Insomniac’s next international destination, Medellín, where EDC Colombia will launch in October 2026.
Inside the festival, we saw more representation on the lineup via the Ubutu stage, which created a dedicated space for Afro-house for the first time in the festival’s 29-year run. This year the fest also added a dinner theater activation where guests were treated to a cocktail hour with an acrobatic showcase, followed by dinner featuring a dance troupe and ending with dessert and live singing.
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With the festival approaching its 30th year, Billboard spoke to a handful of DJs, from legendary headliners to this year’s first-timers, to hear from their perspective on how EDC continues to grow and how they personally make each year better than the last.
Here are seven takeaways from their words of wisdom.
Even Legends Can Reach New Heights
Courtesy of Insomniac Events
Tiësto is without a doubt one of the biggest names in dance music. He’s played EDC every year since the festival moved from California to Las Vegas in 2011. You would think he’s turned every possible stone the fest has to offer, but this year, the legend was excited to play Circuit Grounds, a fan-favorite stage, for the first time. Circuit Grounds offers more screens to visually bring the audience into new and unexpected tracks like Tiësto’s upcoming collaboration with Sexyy Red on the F1 soundtrack, “OMG!” Backstage the artist rhetorically asked us “Who would have thought Tiësto would have collabed with Sexyy Red?… No one. Absolutely no one. And it’s an amazing track.”
Also bringing the unexpected this year was EDM titan Kaskade. He brought his b2b act with Alison Wonderland to the Cosmic Meadow stage after the artists debuted as a duo at EDC Orlando last year. This time around, they expanded their sound to include some of Wonderland’s signature trap tunes. “For me, it’s just about playing stuff we love and trying to figure out that bridge in between,” Kaskade told us. “We’ve only played a handful of shows so we’re still discovering that as we play out more together.”
Everything Old Can Be New
Koen Ten Holter
When you’ve played EDC for as long as Tiësto and Kaskade, who’s performed at the festival for two decades, you have to continue making changes to your solo sets. Tiësto reserved a special set for the mainstage, closing out the three-day festival with a set that saw a return to his trance roots. Rising German producer Marlon Hoffstadt introduced “The Godfather of Trance” before his In Search of Sunrise Set, named after his legendary 1999 compilation album.
Tiësto told us the time was finally right for such a moment, saying “I reconnected with the sound I started with back in the day, and I feel like it’s a full circle moment. When [Insomniac Events founder] Pasquale [Rotella] asked me ‘Will you do a sunrise set?’ and I thought ‘Yeah, the time is right now.’”
For Kaskade, his solo set was sprinkled with pieces of his decades-old hits. Many DJs’ styles evolve over time, and Kaskade says he still struggles trying to resurface his former fan-favorites but admits, “People online will like this. There’s sometimes when there’s somebody hitting me up like ‘You haven’t played this song in 10 years!’ and I’m like ‘Oh yeah. That is a good song. I should remember to bring that out.’” So, if you’re waiting for more tracks from his 2008 album Strobelite Seduction to make it into his next set, like us, keep posting.
The Bright Lights Never Dull
The electric sky still shines just as bright, if not brighter, almost 30 years later. Alison Wonderland is still amazed at the impact that EDC has had on her and her friends after playing the festival 10 years later. She reflected on her first time playing at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and crying, telling the audience “I started in my bedroom and now I’m here.”
A decade later, she’s still humbled by her EDC experience saying that she can’t believe she is sharing the stage with Kaskade. But there’s nothing that could prevent her from taking the stage at the Electric Daisy Carnival. “In fact, I actually love EDC so much that at 9 months pregnant I played main stage,” she said of this set that happened in 2023.
The Power of Planning
With over 500,000 people attending the festival every year, it’s the perfect opportunity for an artist to not only reach their fans but also expose themselves to a group of people who have potentially never heard their sound. Just ask Ben Nicky.
We caught up with the British producer 10 minutes after his first set at Kinetic Field on Saturday night before he made his way to Neon Garden for a b2b set with Maddix. Walking into his trailer, he was already on his computer working on a track because he’s aware of how every set offers its own opportunities.
“I’m like a DJ’s DJ,” he said. “I’m always changing something. Mainstage you’ve got your big fanbase there, but you’ve got another fifty to sixty thousand people who might not know you or be more into commercial stuff. So, you have to tailor and play more well-known vocals. Whereas in the trance tent, I can get away with more dark and underground stuff.”
Koen Ten Holter
Ben meticulously tweaks every element to fit the crowd he’s trying to appeal to, and the crowd at EDC is some of the most knowledgeable when it comes to dance music. Brazilian star Alok told Billboard that means you can’t phone it in.
“I feel like people here each year are more and more educated,” he said, “so, it’s not easy to please them. So you really have to bring stuff that makes sense and not obvious.” He knows a thing or two about keeping an audience on their toes. He just had a buzzed-about Coachella performance, for which he hired dancers with two-tone arms to create eye-catching live visuals.
Don’t Forget to Live in the Moment
While some DJs meticulously plan their sets, others prefer to “just rip it” in the words of Tape B. He started playing EDC in Orlando while doing his undergrad in Florida. Now that he’s worked his way up to EDC Las Vegas, he attended a programming meeting for the first time ahead of his solo set on Friday. When it came to his joint set with dubstep super DJ, Crankdat, they planned to start their set with their unreleased collab but keep it loose otherwise.
He told Billboard about the planning that went into the set saying, “Met up with Crankdat. Worked on our back-to-back for a little bit. Got songs kinda together. We’re mainly freestyling it tonight. So, it’s going to be very interesting, but very fun.”
Koen Ten Holter
Unreleased Tracks Make Everyone Happy
One of the most exciting aspects of attending EDC Las Vegas is the massive amount of unreleased music you’ll hear. REZZ said she was most excited to give fans a taste of what direction she’s taking her project next. “I’m super excited for this year. I’m playing like, seven new songs, more than half of which I’ve never played before.” Check TikTok to see fans’ live reactions to some of this new music.
Julian Bajsel
It’s become customary for DJs to head to Las Vegas with a ton of unreleased music. Riot Ten used it as a chance to treat his most dedicated fans to an early listen of his new album, Requiem For a Riot, before it drops in a week. Other artists may opt to test out some tracks they’re workshopping to see how the crowd reacts, like DJ Snake who played his upcoming song “Paradise” for the audience at AYU dayclub, not once, but twice, to make sure it went off every time.
There Are No Small Opportunities
With this year’s addition of the Ubutu stage, Afro-house had a major presence at the festival for the first time. Francis Mercier noted that EDC is “the home to different types of music from hip-hop to dubstep to house to now Afro house. It’s a place where you can hear all different types of music.” This new stage opened the door for artists like Karaba, who hails from Montreal, Canada, to play a stage at EDC Las Vegas for the first time.
Making the most of these opportunities is key, according to Morten. His first time playing the fest was in 2016 when he thought no one would see him spinning at one of the art cars. When he took the stage he was surprised by the energy. “It doesn’t matter what stage you’re at, the party and the crowd is incredible.” Since then, he’s played solo sets, b2b with David Guetta and this year played Kinetic Field with Artbat.
If you really want to see how quickly you can ascend to greatness, you just have to look at Cloonee’s trajectory. He admitted that EDC wasn’t really a festival you thought about as someone who grew up in England. After living in the States for a few months, he found himself nervously playing the Stereo Bloom festival back in 2022. This year he played Circuit Grounds right after Tiësto,z who said he wasn’t going to play Cloonee’s hit song “Stephanie” with InntRaw and Young M.A because it would be this year’s most played song and you don’t play the most played song before its creator takes the stage.
Meanwhile, the advice Cloonee would give himself before playing Stereo Bloom in 2022 is, “Calm down because you’ve got bigger ones to do.”
Catch more of Billboard’s EDC Las Vegas coverage on Billboard’s Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Channels.
Can house music on an opulent vessel for a private members club cut through the noise at the Cannes Film Festival?
This week, Billboard boarded a superyacht with Kismi, a new nightlife venture that bills itself as “a sonic sanctuary for music lovers,” and spoke with the event’s performers, Haitian producer Francis Mercier and German artist Marten Lou, to find out.
Amid its namesake film festival, Cannes attracts individuals of high net worth and influence and, with it, a host of splashy parties. Artists, celebrities, tastemakers and more tee up a tight schedule of appearances at exclusive premieres, gatherings, clubs and more, seduced by the spotlight and invitations to the hottest events. Among them was Kismi, a private, members-only experience soundtracked by the scene’s most current iterations of house music.
When guests exited their black cars at Port de Cannes on Wednesday (May 21), they were greeted with a stunning sight: the distant view of the city, with its lights breaking up the darkness, and the waves of the Mediterranean lapping against the spotless sides of Cannes’ famous lineup of yachts.
Just days before, this same ship saw a slew of celebrities who boarded for the afterparty of the premiere for A$AP Rocky’s new film Highest 2 Lowest, but this night was set to be far more discreet. “We’re not targeting everyone,” said Kismi chairman Paul Martino, a longtime tech entrepreneur who is also the managing general partner and co-founder of Bullpen Capital, a San Francisco-based venture capital fund. “Our members are stylists, founders, artists, collectors, tastemakers who care deeply about the details: the sound, the setting, the crowd. They’ve already seen what traditional nightlife looks like. They want something quieter, more elevated, and rooted in great music.”
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A general view of the “This Is It Yacht” during KISMI founder Christine Becker’s brand’s international debut aboard “This Is It Yacht” during the Cannes Film Festival, with special performances by Marten Lou and Francis Mercier on May 21, 2025 in Cannes, France.
Hoda Davaine/Getty Images for Kismi
To wit, the lineup for the evening featured headliner Francis Mercier, the steadily rising Afro house producer who’s been making his name on the global circuit from Coachella to Burning Man to Ibiza, where he’s launching a residency this summer at Club Chinois. The night’s opener was Marten Lou, who is German-born but residing in Paris and who shared his Euro-forward interpretation of the genre, along with German favorite Jan Blomqvist, who appeared for a surprise set and skillfully layered his vocals over his moody and melodic signature sound.
Mercier shared his excitement for bringing his set to a smaller crowd than he normally plays for. “You get a bit of every culture closer to you. You get a sense of the wider European energy, in the sense that during Cannes Film Festival, there’s a lot of internationals from Italy, a lot of internationals from East Europe, a lot of internationals from France, from the U.S. and whatnot,” he told Billboard, motioning to the surroundings. “So at the end of the day, it gives me the capacity to really connect with people on a closer level.”
Mercier also commented on the current Afro house boom, which he’s a part of alongside a host of other acts who’ve made their name on the sound, turning it into a global trend and massive draw.
“I think right now, Afro house has become quite mainstream, where I would say a lot of artists have used the genre and its popularity to kind of infiltrate and kind of like commercialize it and Westernize it,” says Mercier. “But I think the authentic Afro house is gonna grow some more. I think the original Afro house artists are yet to gain stardom. I think it’s still underway.”
While Kismi keeps trends and individual talent in mind for bookings, founder Christine Becker insists that intuition is key. “Some of the artists we’ve booked happen to be at the edge of something bigger, but that’s not the reason I chose them. It’s usually instinct, when something feels honest and precise, I know it fits.” Previous Kismi event bookings by Becker include Hugel, Moojo and Keinemusik’s &ME.
As Lou, Blomqvist and Mercier went back-to-back, they gave a heartbeat to the event. Their rhythms swayed the partygoers on a dance floor that was small, but never packed to the point of discomfort. The guestlist included actors Ian Bohen (Yellowstone) and Tyler Hoechlin (Superman); reality TV personalities including Jason Oppenheim (Selling Sunset), Lenny Hochstein (The Real Housewives of Miami), and Porsha Williams (The Real Housewives of Atlanta); contemporary artists, directors, photographers, models and more; but the crowd felt both present and surprisingly egalitarian – especially when, with limited options, everyone waited together for the few available bathrooms.
Kismi’s Cannes party painted a picture of what’s to come – but what does the future hold for the event? “Growth for Kismi won’t look like expansion in the traditional sense. We’re focused on deepening the brand, not widening it,” Martino explained. “That means three to four core events a year in culturally significant locations, two off-calendar pop-ups, and a set of very specific brand and artist partnerships.”
The price tag to get into these parties run the gamut from $1,000 member’s guest tickets to $50,000 member tables, with Kismi also offering $100,000-plus membership tiers, which Martino calls “a way to be part of shaping that energy from the inside.”
As Kismi sets its eyes on a future of electronic music parties for the elite, the genre itself continues its own perpetual forward march. “Many people talk about, ‘Oh, now [House] is getting burned or it’s too commercial, it’s too big.’ I think that’s just natural development, you know?” Lou reflects. “I think that’s a great development and everyone has to adapt, develop new things, try to find new sounds.”
This week in dance music: Dua Lipa covered Daft Punk’s essential “Get Lucky” while on tour in France, Calvin Harris posted an eight-minute video in response to plagiarism accusations from Chicane and we spoke with BPM festival co-founder Phil Pulitano about his new event, a boutique show happening this January in the Puerto Rican rainforest. […]
Trax Records is releasing a hefty compilation project next month as part of the label’s ongoing 40-year-anniversary celebrations.
Out digitally and on vinyl on June 20, Trax Records: The 40th Anniversary Collection features singles and remixes by house pioneers including Frankie Knuckles, Marshall Jefferson, Ron Carroll, Frankie Bones and Joey Beltram, along with work by the label’s late founder Larry Sherman and its longtime owner/president Rachael Cain, who has long made music under the name Screamin Rachael.
The project was curated by the label’s creative director Jorge Cruz, who’s been with Trax since 2009. Cruz will play as part of a release party for the project happening at Chicago’s Reckless Records on June 20. Beyond Cruz’s set focused on the history of Trax, the event will feature sets by Joe Smooth, Ron Carroll, Screamin’ Rachael and more.
The project will also be available for purchase via limited-edition vinyl drops. On June 20, the first batch of songs of the compilation’s 40 total tracks will be released, with subsequent vinyl releases each containing six to seven tracks to maximize sound quality and happening through January 2026. Vinyl will be available at record stores worldwide.
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The Trax plant opened in Chicago in 1984, with the label business becoming officially incorporated the following year, amid the dawn of house music, with Trax widely recognized as a crucial early hub for evolution and dissemination of the genre. In its early years, the label released key house tracks, including Frankie Knuckles and Jamie Principle’s “Your Love,” Marshall Jefferson’s “The House Music Anthem (Move Your Body)” and many other genre-defining classics by artists like DJ Pierre, Ron Hardy, Mr. Fingers, Phuture, Maurice Joshua and Screamin’ Rachael.
The label also recently announced the release of its first vinyl release in more than a decade, Rising Again, a six-track compilation that’s out now.
Trax Records: The 40th Anniversary Collection track list
Jacques x Gregory feat. Screamin’ Rachael – “I’ll Take You There (Full Journey Mix)”Willie Wonka – “What Is House”Frankie Knuckles – “Your Love”Marshall Jefferson – “Move Your Body”Stylophonic – “Jack It Up”Armando – “Love In Heart”Mark Row, Jame Starck feat. Carol Jiani, “Free Your Mind’Paul Johnson – “Follow This Beat”Screamin’ Rachael – “Rising (Lea Rognoni Remix)”Fuck Charley Pleasure Zone – “House Nation”Yuri Suzuki – “DATA MANIA”D Beat – “Pump It (Lea Rognoni Remix)”Sir Nesis- “Freaks (So Called Friend Remix)”Frankie Bones – “Beat Me Up”Joey Beltram – “The Start It Up”Ricky Dillard – “As Always (Full Vocal Version)”Marshall Jefferson – “Ride The Rhythm (Remix)”Owen E – “Shift”Analog 87 – “rOOmclaSSic”Jorge, Carmelo Carone – “Jack the Acid Kid (Hiroko Yamamura & Eric Elvambuena Remix)”Phuture – “Spank Spank (Original Mix)”Screamin’ Rachael – “Gina (XXX) [Someone from Lithuania with a Friend Named Jorge Remix]”Jared – “Fly So High (Roger Sanchez Tilt Mix)”Hercules – “7 Ways to Jack”Ron Carroll – “1993 the Bargin Enterprize”Luca Gerlin – “Battery (Kkles Mix)”Jesse Velez – “Girls Out On The Floor (Dub)”Camilo Do Santos – “1984”Samurai Sam – “House of Japanese”David Chong – “There Is No Place”Frankie Knuckles – “Your Love (You Got The Love Remix)”Seph Martin – “Rainy Nights”Larry Sherman – “Colors”Miss Autumn Leaves – “No Turning Back”Late Nite ‘DUB’ Addict – “The ‘F’ Word”Carlos Nilmmns feat. Genoveva – “Fade Out (Original Mix)”Ron Hardy – “Liquid Love (Chicago Mix)”Screamin’ Rachael – “Sensation (Zewmob Radio Edit)”Chris Jones – “Strong2 (Dance Mix)”Screamin’ Rachael – “My Main Man”
In July 1998, the Billboard Hot 100 was dominated by hits like Brandy and Monica’s “The Boy Is Mine,” Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One,” Usher’s “My Way” and Next’s “Too Close.”
But beyond the mainstream, another type of music was permeating club spaces in major cities across the U.S. and beyond as dance music continued its rise out of the underground and became a cultural phenomenon.
As part of it all, on July 24, 1998, Philadelphia-born acid house producer Josh Wink played an extended set at New York City’s then-essential club Twilo. Three years prior, Wink had released his breakout single, the era-defining rave track “Higher State of Consciousness,” along with the club hits “don’t Laugh” and “I’m Ready,” making the then extremely dreadlocked producer a scene star known not only for his evocative productions, but for long sets that brought audiences through myriad sounds, BPMs and mood.
Wink is now marking these anniversaries with Wink’s Found Sounds, a release series that will include unreleased performances, rare live recordings and other aural ephemera. The releases begin with Wink’s set from Twilo, which you can hear exclusively below.
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“Twilo became an international club institution in the 1990s, located in the heart of New York City,” Wink says in a statement. “DJs and fans were drawn to it for the same reason: to experience great, diverse music on an incredible sound system in a venue that had become a mecca for electronic music. It felt like home to me — a place where I could fully embody entertainer and educator. What I loved most was watching the crowd respond — an ocean of bodies ebbing and flowing to the beat, eyes closed, mentally swimming through my selections. That, to me, was Twilo.”
While Twilo closed in 2001, you can go back in time to the club via this 90-minute mix spanning house, acid house, drum & bass, techno and more.
Following an extended delay in the reopening of New York club Brooklyn Mirage, Josh Wyatt will no longer serve as CEO of the club’s parent company, Avant Gardner, sources close to the situation confirm to Billboard.
Gary Richards, Avant Gardner’s non-executive chairman of the board, will manage day-to-day operations for Avant Gardner in the interim, effective immediately.
The leadership swap follows a turbulent few weeks for Avant Gardner, the company and events complex, and its flagship venue, Brooklyn Mirage. After an extensive remodel and much fanfare, the club was set to open on May 1 with a two-night run from hard techno producer Sara Landry. Those shows were both canceled by the club hours before they were set to begin, after building inspectors declined to grant the recently renovated facility a permit to open.
All subsequent shows at the venue have been canceled or postponed, with the club making a statement on social media earlier this week that read, “We’re sad to announce that our Brooklyn Mirage shows through Memorial Day weekend have been moved to dates in July and August.”
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As reported by Billboard earlier this month, sources monitoring the situation said Mirage officials were given a list of fixes that needed to be completed for the club to open following an extensive renovation at the venue complex Avant Garner, which includes the 80,000-square-foot, 6,000-capacity Williamsburg nightclub. Widely recognized as one of the top stops in New York for electronic and dance acts, the Mirage had operated for years with the support of New York Mayor Eric Adams, whose office has intervened on Avant Gardner’s behalf as part of an ongoing legal fight with New York’s State Liquor Authority.
The former CEO of NeueHouse, Wyatt was hired as Avant Gardner CEO last October. Richards, meanwhile, is a longtime dance industry figure who founded HARD Events in Los Angeles in 2007 (the company was acquired by Live Nation in 2012). He is also the former North American president of Live Style, the founder of the All My Friends and Friendship festivals, and has been a board member at Avant Gardner since 2024.
A representative for Avant Gardner did not immediately respond to Billboard’s request for comment.
Loco Dice materializes on Zoom from his home in Düsseldorf, cheerful, ready for a weekend of shows in Ibiza and Morocco and first ready to discuss his new album.
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The characteristically sleek and funky project, Purple Jam, is out tomorrow (May 23) and is the latest in a stacked catalog that extends back more than 20 years. In a way, the project in fact nods to Dice’s legendary status with a list of old school, newer and new school collaborators that include friends like Carl Cox, The Martinez Brothers, Marco Carola, Skrillex and rapper Trinidad James.
Here, the artist born Yassine Ben Achour discusses the project, linking with Skrillex, playing Coachella and influencing new generations of fans and artists.
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1. Where are you in the world right now, and what’s the setting like?
Right now I’m at home in Düsseldorf, and it’s just my usual day. I just came from training, and this morning I was listening to music for my label — new demos and promos to play for the weekend. This weekend I will have my All Night Long kickoff party for the season at Pacha Ibiza, then on Saturday I play Caprices festival in Marrakech. And I’m packed already, so I’m perfectly ready.
2. What is the first album or piece of music you bought for yourself, and what was the medium?
The first album I bought for myself — I don’t know if it was a Public Enemy album or if it was an Ice-T album, but the medium was wax. I didn’t have much money, but I could afford that.
3. What did your parents do for a living when you were a kid, and what do they think of what you do for a living?
My father left us when I was very, very young. I don’t know what he was doing. My mom was basically left alone, trying to survive. She was cleaning offices and later worked her way up to be working as a cashier in a big department store.
For a long time I think she thought I was a drug dealer. She didn’t know where the money was coming from. She didn’t believe in music for a very long time, even when she saw my name on posters or flyers. She she’s pretty old school, and she thought it’s not a real job. I grew up in a very rough neighborhood. But I think she started to believe when I had my own private health insurance and could afford to pay my own rent. She was realizing, “OK, he’s on a legit path.” But it took a long time.
4. What is the first non-gear thing you bought for yourself when you started making money as an artist?
The first money I had I spent it on clothes and sneakers. Gear came very late, because my first gear was a turntable, a Technics MK2, which was a ridiculous amount of money, so I had to play a couple of gigs to afford that.
5. If you had to recommend one album for someone looking to get into dance music, what album would you give them?
It’s very difficult to say. I can only say the first thing that really caught me was Basic Channel, a group from Germany. They were doing a kind of dub techno with a lot of dub and reggae elements with the reverbs. That was the thing where I was first understanding the technology behind dance music. Very nerdy, I would say. If we want to stay cool and easy, I would say the first mix compilation by Danny Tenaglia.
6. What is the last song you listen to?
Let me think, because I was listening to a lot of music just now in the car. I think it was something from Lil Baby.
7. How did you link with Skrillex to make “Heavy Heart”?
I was a fan of his music and his sound from the very beginning. I listen to hip-hop, I listen to all kinds of stuff, and when someone comes with electronic music, no matter what type it is, which is interesting and which combines a lot of elements, my ears are like radars. Like, “Wow, wait a minute. What is that? What is he doing?”
So I was really into his stuff, not the mainstreaming stuff, but more the dubstep and experimental stuff he was doing. Then it was during the pandemic, all of a sudden he was standing in my DJ booth at Space Miami, and it was like we had known each other for ages. He knew so much about my music, so much about so much music, so it was super cool to hang out with him. That day we said “We’ve got to do something together.” But it took us quite while until we came together for the album. All the album features are important features for me, because there is a link with everyone. It’s not fabricated.
8. Yeah, everyone on the project feels really authentic to you and who you are and who you’re naturally surrounded by. You’re not trying to create some pop star moment. How did this crew of collaborators come together?
Exactly. Every DJ means something. Sonny was someone from outside the bubble who I always wanted to do a track with. Carl Cox is the DJ I knew from day one. We’ve been DJing back to back and never did a track, so it was about time. The same goes with Marco Carola, a very good friend of mine. Trinidad James is the only one which was a little bit outside, but he was the rapper who always was special. He was not a superstar, but he’s killed it with his own tracks, and he killed it on the on the remix for a for A$AP Ferg, the “Work (Remix).” All the parts were great, but his part was special.
When I was sitting there creating the album, I was not creating it with features in mind. It was first my music. The other features were looped selections that I sent to these particular artists. I was looking on my Whatsapp like, “Who am I communicating with? Who are the ones I always wanted to do something with?” I combined it and everything worked out.
9. Why purple?
Simple! Very easy! When I was in the studio creating music I didn’t think to make an album. Who does an album these days? The kids don’t listen to albums. All this blah, blah, blah in my head. But I wanted to make music that I can play, not music I like. The old Loco Dice [music] is 80% music that’s not focused on “can I play it, or can other DJs play it?” The focus would be more on after hours, or a crescendo track. Mood driven.
This time, I tried working on music I can play no matter if it’s peak time or off time. And I always organize my music in crates through colors. Red is peak time, green is more chunky, blue is more dubby, gray is very artistic, and purple is the vocal tracks. So purple are the tracks that survived all the testing and that are very special. [Through the testing process] I had a bunch of tracks that I knew I could do an album with, and they are the purple tracks.
10. How is the new generation of dance fans and people who consume your music different from generations that have come before?
Without dissing the new generation, let’s say it this way — the new generation has more freedom. They are not tied to “I have to learn what I am dancing to.” Back in the day, it was a religion. You go to the club, you want to know who the DJ is. You want to know his biography. You want to know his discography. You want to know who are the legends, the creators, the origins of house music, what is the connection to funk and soul, Motown and hip-hop.
Today, you don’t need all this, because you’re just free. You just go to dance, to have a good time. There’s so much distraction in your brain, and there’s so much going on in the world. The world is moving fast, faster than ever before, and with the social media it’s very difficult to understand what’s going on. We don’t have record stores anymore. We don’t have music music magazines anymore. With all due respect, we don’t have many music journalists anymore in our scene. So the kids are kind of lonely.
So I cannot expect the new generation — when I play Kevin Saunderson or when I play Jeff Mills — that they know who it is. I don’t want to be that old guy with gray hair and being the teacher with the finger, so I have to adjust myself to the new generation and the situation. It’s freedom. Everything is allowed. Back in the day when you play a Latin vocal track or maybe a Bad Bunny vocal, people will kill you in the comments. Now, times have changed. Nobody kills you. Everything is allowed, everything is possible.
11. So more freedom for them also means more freedom for you?
It’s a good and a sad thing. The people who really like you and are really are into the music, they will get the information; they will dig deep. But the people who just come to consume it, fair enough, consume it.
12. What does success for the album look like to you?
That a lot of people get this album. These days it’s not like you put it in the record store and people know… These days we are driven by algorithm, so we’re kind of screwed. If we are lucky, we get in your “for you” page. If we are not lucky, you find out a year later, or never.
[At live sets] maybe 20% of people know [who I am], but for sure 50% don’t care. They just come because you’re a badass DJ, or because the party is great. So this is the difficulty, and that’s why, when you ask what is success for the album, it’s that everybody gets a chance to listen to and appreciate it.
13. Speaking of badass parties, you played Coachella last month during a b2b with The Martinez Brothers. What are your most vivid memories of that set?
The stage, the intro, everything. I was looking at the boys like, “Hey, we’re gonna have a good time.” And they look at me like, “Yeah, if some people come.” Because the stage was empty. Then seeing all the people storming in and remembering, “We’re at Coachella and people are doing stage hopping.” Then it was massive. It was huge. All the people came, and the smiles came up. It was like, “We’re good.”
14. What are the proudest moments of your career so far?
Inspiring the new kids. When I meet new artists that are already on their peak and hyped… Most of them are shy to come to your party or say hi. It’s not like it used to be. Then when you get to know them and they tell you story… like, Fisher, we had dinner and he told me how he was dancing with his brother on the dance floor during the old Cocoon days and listening to Loco Dice and being inspired. And Fisher is f–king huge now. That makes me proud. I’m like, “Okay, I’m a piece of your success too, b—h!”
15. What are you currently finding the most challenging element of your career?
Finding good music. There’s too much music. I’m flooded with music on WhatsApp, iMessage, Instagram here, there. I can’t follow up anymore. Then you spend like, four hours of your time and don’t find one track. It’s kind of demotivating. Everybody’s trying to do the copy/paste or trying to pick up samples that you played live. It’s devastating. For me this is the most challenging part — finding the right artist, sent to me through the right channel, music that I can play it, release, or just get inspired by to make more music out of it.
16. Are there artists that you want to shout out that are doing things right now that you think are cool?
There’s one guy from Serbia, Mene. He’s on fire. He got badass tracks. There’s another guy from Peru called Sunday Noise. He’s on fire too.
17. What’s been the best business decision you’ve ever made?
Oh, I’m so bad in business. I had a lot of bad business decisions. But the best business decision I made was believing in my feelings, even though I’ve sometimes believed in my feelings but gone the other way, and then I get schooled again to listen to my instincts.
Sometimes you get overshadowed by a lot of people talking, talking, talking: “You should do this, you should do that.” Sometimes your emotions are also low, and you think you have to change. That was always wrong, and the best decisions were always when I knew “I believe in it. It might take a while, but that’s the way.”
18. What’s something you’re proud of?
My career was a lot of ups and downs, but it was solid. I was always there. I survived every hype. This is always my proudest moment when I say, “Okay, I’ve done all these albums, all this music.” It might be not for everyone, but they brought me here. I’m still here. I’m still playing on the big stage. I’m still doing Coachella.
So right now, I’m in a very good state of mind. I’m having the best agency with Wasserman. I have a great new music manager who’s amazing. My team is great. Everybody around me right now is so positive. And I think maybe creating my team, with all the respect to my old teams, was a good business decision.
19. Who’s been your greatest mentor and what’s the best advice they’ve given you?
I was the guy who was always a mentor for other people, but on the street and the way I grew up, I had to lead, and I had to make sure everybody was on the right track. My mom took very good care of me, and she was mentoring me to be a good person, a good boy. She did her best, and I have to thank her for this. So I would say this goes to my mom for just giving me the love and the confidence, to be a confident person in a foreign country, that created who I am now.
Music wise, it’s all the old school cats, all of them. Start from Danny Tenaglia over to Carl Cox, Kevin Saunderson, Mike Banks, Underground Resistance, they’re all my mentors. In hip-hop, it’s the same, Ice-T, Chuck D, Ice Cube, Grandmaster Flash, they’re all my mentors. I was sucking music like no other. Carlos Santana, Frank Sinatra, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Prince, these are my musical mentors. Even the new generation guys. You only have to be open minded and open to everything and not be the one who’s like, “Yo, I’m the boss. I know how it works.” I’m not that guy.
20. What’s one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
Don’t trust other people too much. Trust yourself. It’s very important. Always be yourself, and don’t give that away. When we start getting famous or hyped, all these managers, agencies, labels, best friends, party friends, they come. I think a mistake every artist has done at one point is giving away [responsibilities.] Letting other people do this or that for you, and you become just the act. No. Be aware, and control everything. It’s the right way.
German dance producer Marlon Hoffstadt has signed with Capitol Records, in partnership with multi-faceted music company Goodlife Management and MC3. “Marlon and his team have been building something incredibly special,” Capitol Music Group Chairman & CEO Tom March tells Billboard. “He has risen to become one of the most exciting artists in dance music. We’re […]
Billboard’s Dance Moves roundup serves as a guide to the biggest movers and shakers across Billboard’s many dance charts — new No. 1s, new top 10s, first-timers and more.
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This week, on charts dated May 24, Mau P, Zach Martino, Calvin Harris and others achieve new feats. Check out key movers below.
Mau P
Mau P earns his first-ever No. 1 on a Billboard chart this week, as his remix of Tame Impala’s “The Less I Know the Better” jumps 5-1 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay. Released in February via Nervous Records, the song hits No. 1 with a 31% surge in plays among 24/7 dance reporters and pop stations’ mix show hours, according to Luminate.
The remix reimagines Tame Impala’s 2015 psych-pop staple from its album Currents, which ruled the Top Alternative Albums and reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200. The original track was a fan favorite, reaching No. 35 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and No. 37 on Alternative Airplay.
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Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, credited as the sole writer, collects his third No. 1 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay, following two smashes with Dua Lipa in 2024: “Houdini” (four weeks at No. 1) and “Illusion” (five weeks). He also reached the chart as a writer on Lady Gaga’s “Perfect Illusion” in 2016 (No. 28 peak).
As for Mau P (also known as Maurice West), the Amsterdam-born DJ scores his first No. 1. He previously appeared on Dance/Mix Show Airplay with “Drugs From Amsterdam” (No. 16 peak; 2023) and “On Again” (No. 24; 2024). He’s also charted four entries on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs: “Drugs From Amsterdam” (No. 25), “Gimme That Bounce” (No. 35; 2023), “Receipts,” with Diplo featuring Gunna (No. 24; 2024), and “The Less I Know the Better” (No. 14).
Mau P has been active in the house and techno worlds for nearly a decade. He’s collaborated with other dance heavyweights, including Swedish House Mafia, Calvin Harris and Armand van Helden.
Zack Martino, JAYEM & Aviella
Zack Martino, JAYEM and Aviella debut on this week’s Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart with their collaborative single, “Afterlove.” Released in December on Liftoff Recordings, the song arrives at No. 31, earning the week’s highest debut, with a 32% spike in plays.
The song earns Martino his fifth career chart entry, and first since 2020’s “Something About You,” featuring Kifi (No. 33 peak). He first cracked the chart in 2018 with “Hold On to Me,” which climbed to No. 3.
“Afterlove” is also a milestone for New York City-based DJ JAYEM (real name Justin Mondello), as the song marks his first-ever appearance on Billboard’s charts. “[Charting on Billboard has been] a dream of mine I’ve been longing to achieve ever since I started producing music,” he shared in a post on Instagram. “It’s an honor to be on such a prestigious chart alongside artist[s] I’ve looked up to my whole career.”
For Aviella, the song earns the singer-songwriter her fourth career entry on Dance/Mix Show Airplay. She topped the chart with her debut hit in 2021, “Tell Me What You’re Thinking.”
Calvin Harris & Clementine Douglas
Calvin Harris’ “Blessings,” featuring Clementine Douglas, debuts at No. 3 on the latest Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, marking the highest debut of the week. It opens with 2.9 million U.S. streams and 1,000 downloads sold earned in its opening week (May 9-15).
The song earns Calvin Harris his 54th career entry on the chart, and 25th top 10 — the third-most in the chart’s history after David Guetta and Kygo (27 each). It’s also his record-extending 14th top five hit.
As for Douglas, the song is her third career entry on the chart, after “Miracle Maker” with Dom Dolla (No. 35 peak; 2022), and “Asking” with Sonny Fodera and MK (No. 44; 2023).
PinkPantheress
PinkPantheress’ new mixtape Fancy That, released via 300/AG, debuts at No. 4 on the latest Top Dance Albums chart with 14,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week (May 9-15). It also opens at No. 72 on the Billboard 200 and No. 21 on Vinyl Albums.
PinkPantheress has charted two other albums on Billboard’s charts, but neither appeared on Billboard’s dance rankings: To Hell With It reached No. 73 on the Billboard 200 in 2021 and Heaven Knows peaked at No. 61 on the Billboard 200 in 2023.
Mark Pritchard & Thom Yorke
The duo’s new electronic/ambient project, Tall Tales, debuts at No. 14 on the Top Dance Albums chart with 4,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week.
The album earns Pritchard his second career entry on Top Dance Albums, after his solo album Under the Sun in 2016 (No. 15 peak). It’s Yorke’s fourth entry, after The Eraser Rmxs (No. 13; 2009), Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes (No. 13; 2015) and Anima (No. 1; 2019).
May 16-18 marked the annual dance mega-festival EDC Las Vegas, which went down at its longtime home at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The always hefty lineup this year featured more than 250 artists playing across 15 areas and stages, which this year included the new Ubuntu stage dedicated to Afro house. The lineup included […]