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BREAK IT DOWN
We look at the surprises thrown up by this year’s Top 100 results…
IT’S been the most tremendous year yet in our Top 100 DJs poll. In this issue — our biggest ever — are the results of this year’s public vote. And there are plenty of surprises.
A mind-boggling 350,000 of you voted for your favourite selectors, with votes flying in from 167 countries, reflecting the fact that we really do inhabit a dance music planet.
Votes from the USA were most plentiful, very closely followed by the UK, voracious electronic music consumers Germany and the increasingly BPM-hungry Russia. Perhaps most unexpected is that Mexico came fifth place, itself an exploding territory when it comes to club culture.
Holding the Crown
It was a close run thing but as you’ve no doubt noticed, Armin van Buuren retains his crown, nabbing the No.1 DJ spot for the second year running, followed by fellow Dutch trancemaster Tïësto retaining his position at No.2.
The Anjunabeats future trance trio Above & Beyond are up two places at No.4, and David Guetta has zapped from No.10 to No.5, no doubt helped by his huge Unighted event at Paris’s Stade de France this year. Progressive trance dude Markus Schulz also bust into the Top 10, up five spots from No.13 to No.8.
Firebrands
The biggest shock this year is the amount of newbies who’ve broken into the poll. An unprecedented 25 new entries demonstrates that the kids are voting with their feet, knocking the old guard off balance in favour of the young-blood firebrands breaking through.
“Each year the poll brings surprises one way or another,” says DJmag Editor Lesley Wright. “This year’s surprise is the number of new kids breaking through in this popularity poll. It’s a pretty seismic shift and obviously shows that the new generation of clubbers have their own young heroes. It’ll be interesting to see how that goes down with some of the old guard…”
Most extraordinary of all is the showing of Deadmau5, aka Canadian cat Joel Zimmerman, who rockets straight to No.11 — our highest new entry EVER.
“Deadmau5 is on fire,” says Lesley. “He’s gone from being a relative unknown to being one of the biggest electro house players in the space of just a year. You’ve gotta take your hat off to him.”
Known mostly for his productions, Joel has been playing live and DJing with his own material extensively in 2008, which has brought his genre straddling styles to ever-bigger audiences. Named as Producer of the Year by 2007’s No.1 and No.2 (Armin and Tïësto respectively), it’s great to see him perform so well in 2008.
Ready, aim, fire!
Another DJ to rinse out 2008 is our Prince of Darkness, Dubfire. The erstwhile Deep Dish dude, Ali Shirazinia, has taken his deep minimal techno incarnation to new heights, blasting into No.30 as a new entry under his solo moniker.
He stunned all and sundry last year with his new dark underground direction, tracks like ‘Roadkill’ and ‘Rib Cage’, and uncompromising DJ sets, and in the last few months he’s taken his style to the next level with storming sets at Cocoon, amongst others.
Other techno types to do well this year include Ricardo Villalobos (up 13), Richie Hawtin (up 4) and Brazil’s Anderson Noise, who is up 28 places to No.26, no doubt assisted by the rallying efforts of our first sister publication, DJmag Brazil.
The influence of our sister magazines has been felt elsewhere too. Bobina and fellow countryman DJ Feel are the first Russians to ever break into the poll following the arrival of DJmag Ukraine, which has drummed up votes from across the former Soviet state. And although the names might not be instantly familiar, scratch beneath the surface and you’ll discover that Bobiba in particular is massive in his home territory.
DJmag Poland, too, has clearly made its impression felt, rallying the trance troops to ensure that Polish DJ Tiddey blasted in as a new entry at No.81.
New Wave
Trance has always fared well in the DJmag Top 100. But whereas last year’s poll was characterised by an influx of techno DJs, this year brings a trance tsunami crashing into the poll, as a new wave of genre champions contribute to a massive resurgence.
Egyptian duo Aly & Fila are new showings, while Adam Sheridan, Sean Tyas, John O’Callaghan and Simon Patterson all enter the poll for the first time. There are some notable leaps in popularity too with Kyau & Albert up 35 places to clinch this year’s Highest Climbers award.
The psy-trance contingent, meanwhile, also make an impression on the chart, with Solar System new at No.85 and Astral Projection fresh at No.94.
Back in the house!
Though dominated by trance, several new house DJs have entered the poll. After Deadmau5’s extraordinary performance, the next highest house cat is Joachim Garraud. Known previously as David Guetta’s producer, the France-born DJ’s profile went through the roof in 2008 thanks to tireless gigging.
Dutch electro dude Laidback Luke also makes his poll debut, no doubt helped by his imaginative new style, blending the fidget funk of artists like Diplo with big room house to stunning effect.
Despite an overall lack of junglist DJs in the poll, two major players represent the genre to the hilt. Ram Records main man Andy C snags the Highest Drum & Bass DJ, zapping 17 places to No.50, while DJ Hype is up 11 to No.71.
The two most renowned pairs of Parisian noise specialists, meanwhile — Daft Punk and Justice — again make respectable showings, with the robotic duo at No.38 and the leather-clad electro rockers at No.73. Daft Punk’s showing is all the more remarkable in that they only performed once this year for a live performance at the Grammy Awards.
Like last year, no breaks DJs have dented the poll once again with the hard dance scene also woefully absent: only Lisa Lashes appears, the only woman in the poll bar techno queen Magda.
Love it or loath it, the Top 100 DJs poll is a snapshot of a DJ’s worldwide popularity and visibility. Check out this year’s results in full and let the heated debate begin…
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