EDM shows no signs of going away any time soon, given that it’s taken a hold of the charts and with artists like Martin Garrix and Marshmello taken it from the clubs into the pop zone. With that in mind then, at DotCom Magazine we have looked back over the year and picked out the EDM artists that we feel stand out from the crowd. Music is always subjective, so we are sure there will be some on this list that you don’t agree with and some that we’ve missed out. We’re sorry, but this is our list after all.
Calvin Harris
Calvin Harris or as his mom and dad know him, Adam Richard Wiles, has been making music professionally since 2007 when he released his debut album, I Created disco. After releasing his fifth album in 2017 that featured many hits with the likes of Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and many more, he dropped the massive dancehall-tinged house track called Nuh Ready Nuh Ready with PartyNextDoor and then One Kiss with, isn’t-she-getting-everywhere, Dua Lipa. At time of press, although we are waiting for it, his next album, number six, has yet to drop. Given that some artists wait their whole career to produce an infectious and memorable song as One Kiss, it was another very good year for the Scot.
Marshmello
Marshmello has been hard at work for the last decade or so and gained fame through his remixes of songs by Jedd and Jack U, and since then has collaborated with artists such as Slushi, Jauz and Omar LinX. 2018 has been a busy old year for him, with his second single dropping featuring the joyful Anne-Marie, called Friends. The song came about after he had worked with her on her first album. He also released very recently a song with the British indie-pop band Bastille called Happier and his first album, called Joytime II. With his strange mask, the man that is known as Chris Comstock and Dotcom (funny the coincidences there are, isn’t it?), he is sure to be around for a while.
Martin Garrix
Martin Garrix is known by his parents as Martijn Gerritsen and is a producer and DJ from the Netherlands. The first song that brought him to the world’s attention was Animals, that was followed by another successful track called Wizard. In 2018, he released another collaboration with David Guetta and Brooks and was the headliner at the South Korean Winter Olympics closing ceremony. Other big hits from the Dutchman in 2018 include his collab with Loopers called Game Over and Ocean with Khalid. Another strong year.
Kygo
Kygo is a Norwegian DJ and produce, musician and songwriter. I see Fire and Firestone are the first sounds we heard that really made us take notice. The Norwegian has continued to produce a stellar run of music. In 2018 he released songs with diverse artists such as OneRepublic ‘Stranger Things’, Miguel ‘Remind me to Forget’, Imagine Dragons ‘Born to be Yours’ and Sandro Cavazza ‘Happy Now’.
Diplo
Diplo is a record producer and DJ that has been active as far back as 1997 and has been busy with various projects including LSD and Major Lazer among others. In 2018, he released songs with Mark Ronson under the name of Silk city. Their first single was called Only Can Get Better and featured Daniel Merriweather and they also released the track, Feel About You, with Mapei and Loud, with Desiigner and GoldLink. The final single of the year was called Electricity and featured Dua Lipa.