"I've been deep into electronic music my entire life. The first records I ever owned were ‘Fat of Land' by the Prodigy and ‘Come To Daddy' by Aphex Twin," raves Sonny Moore, better known as emerging electronic visionary Skrillex. "Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails were also early influences. I've been dabbling in making electronic tracks on programs like Fruity Loops since I was 14 years old."

For fans of Moore's past incarnation as the lead singer of hardcore band From First To Last, the bass bin crushing dance floor beats of Skrillex might come off as something of a shock. But Skrillex is part of a new generation of artists that refuse to be restricted by preconceived notions or outside expectations. "Genre has never been important to me," he insists. "I've never thought about music that way."

Describing his current sound as "a mix of dubstep, electro and glitch all thrown together," new Skrillex release "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" reflects all of the above and beyond. The uplifting post-trance synth melodies of "All I Ask of You" (featuring the soaring vocals of Penny) stands in stark contrast to the face-melting electro bass blasts of the massive electro-dubstep hybrid "Rock 'n' Roll (We Will Take You to the Mountain)."

Following its release on Beatport, the 9-song EP dominated the charts on the site, with the title track claiming the site's #1 slot (the first time a dubstep track has ever done so), 8 songs breaking into the top 10, and multiple tracks claiming the #1 slots on several of the site's subgenre charts, including Dubstep, Electro House, Progressive House.

Aside from the immediate success of "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" Skrillex has also made a name for himself as a highly sought-after remixer. He's already produced officially commissioned remixes for such A-list artists as the Black Eyed Peas ("Rock That Body"), Lady Gaga ("Bad Romance" and "Alejandro"), and La Roux ("In For The Kill").

Skrillex stands not only at the vanguard of electronic dance music, but the perpetually evolving new music industry as a whole.

"For me, it's important to believe in and love the music you're making. I gave away my first EP on my manager's website, just so people could hear the music," he enthuses. "It was downloaded by the thousands in just a couple of months, and it hasn't let up since. That's all the inspiration I need to keep making music.

The stars must've been aligned just right when Nick van de Wall (better known as Afrojack) saw his first ray of light. Music was his first love since his early youth. He started playing piano when he was only five. Being a very creative student, Afrojack spent most of his time listening to all kinds of music while studying. It was no surprise that it didn't take him long to turn the tables and start making music instead of just listening to it.

A native of Reggio Emilia, DJ/producer Benassi started DJing alongside cousin Alle Benassi in the late 1980s in their hometown, before moving to Larry Pignagnoli's Off Limits production studio in the mid 1990s, creating music for various acts, including Whigfield, J.K. and Ally & Jo. Benassi first hit the dance floor with his own projects in 2001 with the single "I Feel So Fine", released under the name KMC with vocals by Dhany, the track first stormed the charts in Benassi's native Italy, and soon became a number one hit in the United Kingdom. After moving from eurohouse to electro, "Satisfaction" took Benassi's success worldwide a year later with high-profile DJs like Carl Cox, Darren Emerson, and Roger Sanchez singing its praises. This reached Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart after the Ministry of Sound record company replaced the original video (an almost still picture of the band overlayed with graphics) with a video of models using power tools.

Moby was one of the most controversial figures in techno music, alternately praised for bringing a face to the notoriously anonymous electronic genre, as well as being scorned by hordes of techno artists and fans for diluting and trivializing the form. In either case, Moby was one of the most important dance music figures of the early '90s, helping bring the music to a mainstream audience both in England and in America. Moby fused rapid disco beats with heavy distorted guitars, punk rhythms, and detailed productions that drew equally from pop, dance, and movie soundtracks. Not only did his music differ from both the cool surface textures of ambient music and the hedonistic world of house music, but so did his lifestyle; Moby was infamous for his devout, radical Christian beliefs, as well as his environmental and vegan activism.

Laidback Luke (born Lucas Cornelis van Scheppingen, 22 October 1976 in Manila, Philippines) is a Dutch DJ and producer. He was voted #46 on DJ Mag's Top 100 DJ list in 2008, before jumping to #27 in 2009 and jumping up 10 places in 2010.[1][2]

Laidback Luke grew up in The Netherlands and made his name as a graffiti artist before turning to making music. He has worked with artists such as David Guetta, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell and Junior Sanchez and played throughout Europe and North America as well as shows in Japan and Ibiza. He has released two studio albums: Psyched Up (1998) and Electronic Satisfaction (2002) as well as a successful mix album, Windmill Skill (2003). In 2003, van Scheppingen did a remix of the Daft Punk song "Crescendolls" for the duo's remix album Daft Club. Luke has also released his own mix album, titled Ibiza Closing Party, as a free covermount CD in the October 2008 issue of Mixmag. He has currently released his new album on the 4th of July, 2011, called Cream Ibiza Super You & Me.

In the often serious world of dance music, it’s good to see somebody still having a bit of fun. Meet Wolfgang Gartner, or as he's known to his parents; Joey Youngman. At first glance the name Wolfgang Gartner is a fairly recent blip on dance music’s collective radar, but dig a little deeper and you’ll discover a robust discography, amassed by a seasoned veteran of the music industry.
Currently residing in Austin, Texas, this 26-year-old California transplant has been producing dance music since he was 11 years old. While most kids were playing Nintendo and after-school sports, Youngman was syncing a drum machine to a keyboard and teaching himself to make tracks. His career didn’t hit center stage until 2003 however, when after a decade of pounding on the industry’s door he landed his first big break and began putting out records.
The early years of Youngman’s discography boasted releases and remixes on dozens of respected house labels like Tango, Om Records, Naked Music, Doubledown, and his own imprints; Fetish Recordings & Jackin Tracks. He donned a slew of production aliases including Mario Fabriani, White Collar Criminals, Frequent Fliers, and a few other colorful guises that helped to spice up an exceedingly frequent release schedule.
In 2004, Youngman signed onto the esteemed Blue Collar Entertainment roster and started focusing more time on his other passion: DJ’ing. The move sparked a series of global tours and increased his exposure to audiences around the world. To date, Joey Youngman has performed on every continent. From Japan to South Africa, Russia, Ibiza, and everywhere in between, the air miles have stacked up along-side his innate ability to work a dancefloor.
2007 marked a major step in Youngman’s career with the introduction of his new moniker: Wolfgang Gartner. The new name was created to explore a new sound, without feeling confined to the musical boundaries of his previous projects. “I was getting bored with house, with that whole sound,” he says. “I basically hadn’t evolved musically since the late 90's and had been rehashing the same ideas over and over. Something just snapped and I decided it was time for a complete change.”
It was apparent from the first Wolfgang Gartner release that Youngman was onto something big. In a period of less than a year and a half, Wolfgang Gartner had landed 6 number one's on Beatport.com’s sales charts, a Pete Tong “essential new tune of the week” on BBC’s Radio 1, three video game licenses, over 70,000 units in download sales, and a plethora of DJ support and accolades within the industry. It was early 2008 when Youngman made the decision to pursue the Wolfgang Gartner project full-time. “It’s so hard to do 2 things really well at the same time,” he says. “I realized that I had to pick something and stick to it. So I decided that this new style is the direction I want to go, and to focus all my time and energy on."- Wolfgang Gartner

If there's one thing a superstar DJ will learn after years racking up frequent flyer miles and playing for thousands of fans, it's that they are only as prominent as their last album tour. Award‐winning Ferry Corsten, someone who can easily be referred to as the DJ's DJ, has taken this advice to heart and emerged as one of the most prominent Dutch jocks in the world. Through constant touring , fan outreach, a weekly radioshow and podcast and an abundance of self‐produced dance hits, he has managed to captivate the imagination of dance music fans around the world.

Ferry Corsten — who was named Best Producer of the Year by the Ericsson Music Awards and Best Trance DJ by the Ibiza DJ Awards, and consistently ranked as one of the top 10 DJs in the world— is best known for his creativity as a music producer and his unique up‐tempo, big‐room trance and house sound. His performances as a DJ never fails fans to keep coming back and wanting more. It is a chest‐pounding sum of the electronic music influences he turned to, going as far back as the age of nine when he started collecting records.

In 2010 Ferry introduced the unforgettable "Once Upon a Night" compilation series, which became his vehicle for touring, sharing upfront music, and shining the spotlight on bright new talent. It was the first time in several years that Ferry had taken on a compilation project. But the timing was perfect, since world touring gave him an insider glimpse to the music emerging from different parts of the world.

While Ferry's "Once Upon a Night" concept has taken the world by storm, it also served as an impetus to starting Premier Recordings. His latest project is a joint venture between his own label, Flashover Recordings and Black Hole Recordings. "We're still both our own platform and label, but we came up with Premier together," he explains. Whenever they find a big record, the two companies join forces for an extra large release.

Ferry Corsten fans can also look forward to his upcoming artist album, which will present his always‐cutting edge take on electronic music. For now, the details are strictly confidential, but Ferry assures us that he's fully committed to conjuring the right hook lines and melodies while bringing about some exciting collaborations. "It's definitely going to be an album that you can classify as trance, but it's way more groovy and way more danceable," he sums.

With a massive following on Facebook and Twitter and almost 10 million you tube views, Ferry has also become an ambassador for dance music as social media resource. "It's the only way you can directly connect with your fans without them having to wait for anything," he states. Just as he is into his equipment in the studio, Ferry fans can have all the coolest apps and gadgets to keep in touch with him wherever he is! At www.FerryCorsten.com they can download official Blackberry, Android, iPhone and iPad apps. He is also a co‐promoter of the entertainment applications Pulse Game (tap game) and the Cue. Play.DJ , (an iphone/ipad DJ Mixer).

Corsten's Countdown is Ferry's interactive radio show, which he launched in 2007 and is currently available in over 35 countries nationwide such as Digitally Imported (DI.fm), Sirius XM Radio and 27 leading radio stations in The Netherlands, Brazil, UK, Australia, Argentina and the Philippines, to name a few. You can vote for your favourite track of the month on his Facebook fanpage. The show is also downloadable as a podcast on itunes.

By constantly traveling around the world, Ferry has been exposed to some of the wasteful practices going on, at the expense of animals and the environment. "When I go to the more tropical countries in the world such as the Philippines," he elaborates, "where I see all the dynamite fishing and how coral reefs are deteriorating before my eyes." As an ambassador for the Dutch World Wildlife Fund team, he is leveraging the exposure his events afford him to raise awareness about the WWF. "I pass on the earth because every generation has the right to enjoy its beauty — just as I am doing, and the previous generations have done." As music makes the world go round, so does sending out a powerful message to help save our planet.

Look out for Ferry at a nightclub, festival arena or large‐scale venue near you. For more information please visit www.ferrycorsten.com. Physical copies of his CDs and all sorts of merchandise can be purchased at the Ferry Corsten Shop. The album is also available as download at iTunes.

Introduction: Over the last 10 years Markus Schulz has fused the individual musical identities of progressive house & trance into his own creative and now inimitable hybrid sound. Through the unique alignment of his headline DJ sets, Coldharbour label output and highly prominent Global DJ Broadcast radio show, he orchestrated a sea change revolution in the US trance scene. This success has been singularly reflected in weekly headliner sets in front of many tens of thousands, a GDJB listenership up in the tens of millions & one Beatport chart-topping release after another. Following several highly ranked positions, in 2008 Schulz punched his way into the Top 10 of DJ Magazine's Top 100 chart, landing at no.8. In repeating the exact same achievement in 2009, he now stands, quite unequivocally, as America's no.1 club DJ.

Early History: Born in Eschwege, central Germany, Markus emigrated to the United States. Age 13, his dance music awakening came during the grip of the country's then-exploding breakdance scene. His early production and DJ career roughly tracked that of the Stateside 2nd coming of House and he caught his first production break in 1993 when he remixed Sagat's 'Why Is It? (F** Dat)' for FFrr. Markus' freshman production release followed in 1994 with the 6-track-strong 'Plastik Trax EP Vol 1'. Throughout the mid to late Nineties he continued to pull in early acclaim with a range of releases on numerous US luminary labels. In 1998 he recorded 'You Won't See Me Cry' for Plastik Records (his first label), a release which was picked up by Eve Records for the UK. This became Markus' first international calling card… The world had started to tune in.

Markus Schulz – The DJ: Through his natural audience affinity, flawless (and seemingly effortless) mixing and innate tune selection, he has wowed crowds in pretty much every major district, principality and metropolis. Schulz's DJ career has, to the greater degree, run parallel to that of his productions. In the early Noughties, having fixed focus on the hinterland between trance & progressive, he began to reach audiences further and further afield. In 2004 he was signed to the David Lewis Productions agency (also home of the World's No.1 DJ Armin van Buuren) and his career took another big step forward. Now a regular fixture at the world's biggest & most famous clubs, arenas and festivals, he lays down his unique trance-progressive vision on a weekly basis. In Europe, he's smashed Trance Energy, Nature One & Dance Valley, worked tent-pegs loose at Creamfields & Global Gathering and brought gridlock to the Love Parade. Stateside the colossal Electric Daisy & Ultra Festivals have both felt the Schulz pressure and yet further afield still he's induced floor upheaval in China and Australia (most recently at the Future Music Festival). After several significant showings in the Top 100 DJs chart, he now ranks as one of the top 10 DJs in the world and in 2008 was voted Best American DJ at the IDMAs.

Coldharbour Recordings: Schulz's sound notably came quickest to the ears of continental European DJs. Following the formation of the Armada group in 2005, Armin sought Markus out and asked him to start compiling tracks for a new vinyl series. The Coldharbour Sessions EPs launched in 2004 (with the first 3 releases coming out on the already established Electronic Elements label). In quick succession they began to leave crater-like impacts on dancefloors and within 12 months Coldharbour the label was born. Named after Markus' then-production base in London's Coldharbour Lane, its output immediately brought a new fission sound to Armada. It also became a lightning rod for a new generation of prog-inclined producers – setting in motion the careers of (amongst others) Santiago Nino, Rex Mundi, Mark Otten & Niklas Harding. With 2005 under the spell of Coldharbour's more sophisticated, minimal, but still melodic take on the prog-trance sound, Markus struck again with the first Coldharbour Sessions mix compilation. Such has been the success of the imprint that in 2007 it was joined by a sub-label, Coldharbour Red. This, in turn, was a launch pad for Marcus Schössow, tyDi, Glenn Morrison & Evol Waves and was the point of re-entry for early Schulz side-project, Dakota (see Dakota section below). Six years after its birth, in 2010, Coldharbour stands at the top tier of the world's trance & progressive labels and stands on the threshold of its 100th release.

M.S. Productions 2005 – 2010: Perfectly intersecting the quality/quantity axis, Markus' own productions have been the most fundamental of components in marshalling clubbers and music lovers to his sound. Over the course of the last half-decade tracks like 'First Time' & 'Without You Near' (2005), 'Fly To Colours', 'Never Be The Same' & 'I Am' (2007) 'Perfect' & 'Cause You Know' (2008) & most recently 'The New World' & 'Do You Dream' have each played their vital part. Markus is also a keen production collaborator. In 2005 he famously teamed up with likeminded producers Gabriel & Dresden and Departure for 'Without You Near' and in mid-2008 did the same with Andy Moor on 'Daydream' and most recently on 'Goodbye' with Max Graham. The impact of all the singles has been cauterized by his studio albums 'Without You Near' (2005), 'Progression' (2007). In February 2010, Schulz completed recording his third long-player, 'Do You Dream?', which is scheduled for release in June 2010.

The Global DJ Broadcast show: Now in its fifth year Schulz's GDJB has continued to be a beacon for an always-growing throng of trance & progressive dance fans. Broadcast through leading station DI.fm and Sirius/XM satellite, the Global DJ Broadcast site and 50+ other FM stations around the planet, it has become every bit required listening for the EDM-savvy. Based on a regular format, the first show of each month is a two hour long mix from one of Schulz's rolling World Tour gigs - ones that have of late included Medellin, Columbia, St Petersberg, Russia & Amnesia in Ibiza. Subsequent shows in the month feature Markus mixing his broad-span pick of the current electronic dance music best for an hour (which includes the forum-voted Global Selection track of the week) followed by guest mixes from both established and up-and-coming DJs.

Markus Schulz – The City Albums:Markus is also responsible for one of the longest running and most respected compilation album series in trance history. Kicking off in 2005 in Miami, its city-hopping concept has gone on to spotlight Ibiza in '06, Amsterdam in '08, & Toronto in '09. Most recently he homed in on Las Vegas for an album that Mixmag said: "managed the rarity of living up to the hype" and "ranked as his best yet"). Providing a microcosmic view of his sound, they have become cornerstones for fans CD & mp3 collections, with each new travelogue edition bringing in a fresh wave of supporters. Notably, the Amsterdam '08 release was nominated for an IDMA award for Best Full Length DJ Mix (in the same year that Markus took home the trophy for Best American DJ).

Remixes: Markus powered into remix action in the early 90s with a 30+ volley of high-profile reworks. Over the course of the decade he re-tooled the production works of Euro dominators like The Real McCoy & Technotronic, house masters & divas Armand van Helden & Liz Torres, legendary Nineties icons RuPaul, Bette Midler & Sandra Bernhard and fully-fledged A-listers like Madonna. As the Millennium arrived though he began to work on deeper, more intrinsically electronic dance fare... In 2000 he remixed trance innovator Pablo Gargano's 'Absolution', PQM's Renaissance classic 'The Flying Song' and Fatboy Slim's 'Sunset (Bird of Prey). Satisfied that he'd found the right dance strata to focus on Markus has gone on to rewire tracks by Oceanlab, Motorcycle, Dance 2 Trance, Cosmic Gate, Nalin & Kane, Kyau & Albert, John O'Callaghan, & Space Manoeuvres amongst many, many others.

Markus Schulz aka: Dakota: Markus has only made rare use of pseudonyms through his career - seeing them as being only valuable if they represent an outlet for something other than his 'regular' output. At the turn of the last decade Schulz released 3 tracks ('Swirl', 'Frozen' & 'Lost in Brixton') under the moniker Dakota. Over time these became focal points for the year-on-year exponential intake of new fans. In 2009 Schulz paid dividend to that by resurrecting the guise, updating its sound and directed his attentions on a whole album of new Dakota material. 'Thoughts Become Things' was the end product and with it came a route diversion that went into a new valley-deep sound – one that expanded to embrace the fringes of techno, house and other sub-genres. It once again fortified the Schulz's fanbase and expanded the range of DJ support for his music. The album has thus far justified 7 single releases that have included particular fan-favourites 'Chinook', 'Johnny the Fox', 'Koolhaus' & 'Mr Cappuccino'.

If you don't know Datsik by now, you best be learning. Datsik has been taking the dubstep scene by storm, blowing up dance floors around the globe with his original style of hip-hop future-tech bangers. In 2009 alone, Datsik had over 7 number one releases on Beatport, and vinyl sales through the roof on many other sites such as Chemical Records, Red-Eye and Juno. Aside from that, he has also done remixes for some of the biggest names in the scene such as the Crystal Method, Freestylers, Bassnectar, Noisia, Diplo, the Wu-tang Clan, and Apex from the critically acclaimed Lifted Music label; not to mention countless collaborations with some of the hottest producers in the scene. With multiple anthems under his belt, countless plays from some of the biggest DJ's, and an endless perseverance to reach that next step, it is safe to say that Datsik has proven himself to be one of the best dubstep artists around… and he is here to stay.

Almost out of nowhere, Los Angeles' Dillon Francis has broken from the throng of young electronic music dj/producers. With a stream of world-class remixes and releases, Dillon has caught the attention of some of the top players in club land, including Steve Aoki, Diplo, Will I. Am, Drop The Lime, Sinden, and Tittsworth to name some. In less than a year his blistering productions have been heavily supported by Major Lazer, who opened their show with "Westside!," a Dutch House-flavored monster that was consistently rinsed by top djs on both sides of the pond, including Sinden and Steve Aoki. The tune is finally seeing a proper release on Diplo's Mad Decent label, where Dillon will be releasing his "Masta Blasta" EP as well in the near future.. From his first dubstep release on Play Me Records, the heavy "Take Me High" peaked at No. 13 on the Beatport dubstep chart and was played in full by Rusko in every one of his sets for his current OMG tour. In the coming months, Dillon will have releases on Mad Decent, Dim Mak, Top Billin', as well as Plant Music, where he will be releasing his next club EP. At ease behind the turntables and in the studio, in the electro world and in dubstep, Dillon is what you would call an open-format electronic dj who sees no delineation between making music and playing it. He has gotten huge support from the most important dance music blogs (Dim Mak, Mad Decent, Discobelle, Gotta Dance Dirty) ever since releasing his first bootlegs last year, and 2011 promises to be Dillon's breakout year.