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.

ᴡᴇ ᴘʟᴀʏ ꜱᴛʀɪᴄᴛʟʏ ʙᴀɴɢᴇʀᴢ 


MGMT - lee@lgrp.co

Worldwide Bookings -harrison@activetalentagency.com

For Bookings contact ashley-bradbury@live.co.uk 
For promos Ashley-Bradbury@live.co.uk

Connor is an experienced and passionate trance DJ from the North of England. As a clubber first and foremost he is the kind of DJ who comes from the dance floor and understands how to move the crowd.

The Lancashire DJ who grew up in Hyde (part of Greater Manchester), spent his fondest memories as a clubber in the late 90's and 2000's in the golden era of trance, frequenting clubbing institutions and infamous all-nighters throughout the north and midlands, Gatecrasher, Godskitchen, Cream, Passion, Insomniacz and Sundissential were where he fell deeply into a sound and culture that went on to shape his entire lifestyle. Connors main haunt was 60 minutes away, travelling almost every week from Manchester to Sheffield to The Republic, the home of the legendary Gatecrasher. 

Within his crowd, Connor was the trancespotter, the guy who made it his mission to find the track names and labels he heard in clubs, leading to an endless well of trance knowledge. This made him stand out from the average DJ before he even had decks himself! It wasn't long before his talented DJ friends pushed him to buy a set of Technics 1210's, with their early guidance and his cultured ear, he never looked back. Connor took his time honing his mixing skills while still remaining a dedicated clubber, always learning and being hugely influenced by heros of genre such as Paul Van Dyk, Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren and of course Gatecrasher residents Matt Hardwick and Connor's trance idol Scott Bond.

Connor made numerous mixes to promote himself, sending out demo after demo to clubs and promoters across England. Off the back of this, gigs started to roll in and he was invited to play in a DJ competition based in Liverpool with the winner being awarded a set at Nation, the famous home of Cream. Connor won his heat and got to the final where he came runner up to no other than Jordan Suckley.

Connor stepped away from DJ’ing to start a family. Fast forward to the present day Connor now a family man with a young daughter was ready to step back into the scene he has always loved.

Connor now DJing again in the digital era and now being influenced as before by Paul Van Dyk and Scott Bond plus artists such as John Askew, Simon Patterson, Will Atkinson and newer talents such as James Dymond, Kinetica and Allen Watts. 

Connor says "Since my return to the trance scene I have had a show on Experience Trance with a monthly show/podcast called 'Here and Now' with myself and various guest mixers. I have done many live streams, playing for many brands such as Subteran, Fortify, Agenda, Day Breakerz, Euphoriance, Up:Rise, Saturday Sessions, Saving Light, Rebels Argentina. Friday Night Revivals, Experience Trance, Nav’s Trance Party and Also had gigs with Rebooted, Insomniacz, Uprise, Saturday Sessions, Trance Junkiez, Transonic. Pres Nav’s Trance Party, plus many more Playing alongside some of the biggest names in the industry.
Trance is my life again outside of my family and the passion is burning inside me to play and produce a modern take on the the kind of trance I've always loved, danced to, explored and promoted"

For Bookings Contact:
connorbookings@hotmail.com

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