Martin Garrix

Martin Garrix doesn’t really need an introduction at this point, but here we are. The Dutch producer (real name Martijn Garritsen) went from bedroom producer to festival headliner practically overnight when “Animals” dropped in 2013 — he was just 17 years old, and that big room stomper turned him into a household name in EDM circles almost instantly. Before that, he’d already been building buzz with tracks like “Wizard,” a collab with fellow Dutch producer Jay Hardway that showed he had the big room formula down before most kids his age even had a driver’s license.

What’s kept Garrix relevant for over a decade isn’t just one sound, though. He’s moved fluidly between festival-ready progressive house and more pop-leaning crossover records, racking up hits like “In the Name of Love” with Bebe Rexha and “Scared to Be Lonely” with Dua Lipa — the kind of records that got him played on pop radio right alongside dance floors. He’s also linked up with names like Ed Sheeran on “Repeat It,” proof he can jump genres without losing his identity.

Building an Empire, Not Just a Catalog

Garrix isn’t just an artist chasing his own releases — he founded STMPD RCRDS, his own label, giving him a platform to put out his music on his own terms and put other producers on. It’s part of why he’s stayed a dominant force rather than a one-hit festival flash. He put out “Sentio,” his debut club-focused album, giving longtime fans a full-length look at where his sound has landed after years of one-off singles and collabs. And he’s already confirmed a second album is in the works, aiming for a late 2026 release.

The accolades back up the hype, too. Garrix has been crowned the World’s No. 1 DJ in the DJ Mag Top 100 poll multiple times, most recently again in 2024 — making him one of the most consistently dominant names in the poll’s history. Whether he’s closing out a mainstage set at Ultra or Tomorrowland, dropping a surprise collab, or teasing new music through STMPD, Garrix has managed to stay both a festival mainstay and a genuine hitmaker, which is a rarer combo than it sounds. Over a decade after “Animals” first went off, he’s still one of the names that can make a festival crowd lose it the second the drop hits.