To listen to Billy Gillies is to capture true joy, because every song he produces and DJ set he performs radiates pure passion and vibrant spirit.

 

The Northern Irishman’s blend of quirky Eurodance synths, uplifting trance grandeur and hard-hitting bass rhythms goes beyond catchy melodies and expert timing, as breakout hits “Lagoon” and “Youth” tap into the very essence of what makes a night spent on the dancefloor with your best mates such a special experience.

 

That’s why he’s earned more than 145 million views on TikTok, filled a Creamfields tent with thousands of ravers at 1 p.m. on a Sunday, and why he’s managed to get an official remix of Madison Avenue’s 1999 hit “Don’t Call Me Baby” after ripping the iconic vocal off the internet.

 

Crowds chant his name from Taiwan to Texas because Billy Gillies dares to do something different; something unique to himself. Now, Billy Gillies is the next superstar-DJ-in-the-making, poised to take over the world.

 

Billy’s musical obsession started in the 2000s when his older sister started buying Clubland compilation CDs and dating a local DJ. One night, the boyfriend came over and brought his decks, but when the couple left to go dancing, 11-year-old Billy snuck into his sister’s room and started playing with the turntables.

 

“I was like, ‘what is this music? I love this,’” he laughs. “On the Christmas list for that year was a set of decks.”

 

His mom delivered with his first set of Kam belt drives, and Billy’s been mad for mixing ever since. Each Saturday, he’d head out of the house with a five Pound note and spend it on a new record (Tiesto’s Traffic being particularly influential). In turn, he’d spend the next week learning to mix that record in and out of his steadily growing collection.

 

When he was 17, he got his first taste of true Clubland. A year underaged, he caught an hour-long bus from Belfast to Banbridge and talked his way into a club called Coach. Japanese DJ Yoji Biomehanika and the UK’s own Lisa Lashes dropped heavy hard-house records all night, and Billy started dreaming of his own chance to rock a crowd, proper.

 

He knew that if he wanted to be an in-demand DJ, he’d have to come up with some original songs. In 2011, he locked himself in his bedroom with a copy of Ableton Live and didn’t come out until he’d mastered the basic trance sound.

 

He fell in love with music production and started sending his tracks to BBC Radio 1 DJ Judge Jules, who played them on his show every Friday night. For 19-year-old Billy, there was nothing better.

 

After spending much of his 20s as a self-described “party animal,” 28-year-old Billy once again locked himself inside his bedroom and churned out a ton of original tunes. The result? A spot on the lineup of Luminosity 2019 alongside major trance legends Paul Van Dyk, Ferry Corsten, Gareth Emery and more. He played a set of all-original material, and when a recording was posted to Soundcloud, it earned more plays than any of the headliners.

 

“I’d brung a fresh sound into the trance scene,” Gillies says. “Everyone was making the same type of thing, where I just look back at my influences growing up and crammed it into the main trance style.”

 

International booking requests flooded in, sending him to Argentina to Australia—and then COVID struck. Many of his peers saw no point releasing music to a locked-down crowd, but Billy saw a chance to experiment.

 

“People need music in hard times, not just for clubs,” he says. “The music I was making around that time was proper emotional melodies, and it was resonating with everyone.”

 

He’d share each tune in a rough clip to Facebook or TikTok, and every post brought shares in the thousands. His fan base wasn’t just growing, it was ballooning, due in part not only to his masterful skills in the studio but also his effervescent personality that spills into each tune.

Bryan Kearney / Karney / Key4050
Kearnage Recordings
bookings : rob@musicfirstagency.net

Without a doubt Cristian Ketelaars is one of the most promising upcoming Polish trance DJ. Although he’s only 23, the young man stands out with his passion and perseverance in the pursuit of perfection. He was also ranked 4th in the Polish DJs poll at TheDjList.com.
No matter if they were remixes released by Black Hole Recordings, singles on Discover Dark, or private remakes of well known tracks, the works of CK grab attention of both regular listeners and A-list DJs. Cristian’s tracks got played by the most known artists in music industry  (e.g. Armin Van Buuren, Judge Jules, David Guetta, Mark Sherry, Marcel Woods, John O’Callaghan, Simon Patterson, Matt Darey, John Gibbons, Paul Webster, Bryan Kearney, John Askew, Indecent Noise, Heatbeat, Sneijder, Scot Project, Ernesto & Bastian, Mr. Sam to name, but a few.). Despite the sheer volume of work as a DJ he’s still improving producing skills. In the near future later releases will be published on the biggest music webstores.
	Among the hundreds of artists it is really hard to find someone as distinctive in style or technique of playing as Cristian. 4 CDJs performances  allow him to show his maximum involvement and professional skills, yet combining various musical genres with characteristic sounds from CK brand makes these shows unique.  Poznań based Ketelaars always tries to reach over the standards and norms in his field by adding unexpected and unique elements in electronic dance music. Improvisation during the sets, live mash-ups, sampling, loops or even scratching, together with an unusual crowd contact filled with energy and commitment, are truly memorable events. In the repertoire of Cristian Ketelaars we can find special private tracks and works, especially his authorship, that do not appear in any other DJ’s cd wallet. All these elements of his sets stand out significantly from the rest of musical environment.
	It’s very difficult for polish trance artists to gain recognition and fame required for traveling around the world. Party promoters from Argentina, Ireland, UK, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy and Germany showed that they can see potential in this young producer by giving him the chance to play in many different places, ranging from small clubs to great festivals, open airs and massive events alongside many A-list DJs. Countless appearances in clubs all over Poland, hundreds of satisfied clubbers and  thousands of CDs given away during the performances provide a huge commitment and passion given by Cristian to everything he does.
	Almost 6 years ago Cristian Ketelaars’ radio show project was born. Proggy Globe is continuously broadcasted on about 10 international radio stations for over 260 weeks . The amazing list of guestmixes for PG (e.g. Judge Jules, Richard Durand, Maarten de Jong, Jonas Stenberg, Angelo Mike etc.) confirm his fully professional attitude. 
	Past successes in the musical industry give Cristian more motivation and perseverance to achieve even more in the upcoming months and years. 



Private / bookings / remix requests : cristian_ketelaars@hotmail.com

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