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.

‘Let Me In’. Out Now: https://dermotkennedy.lnk.to/letmein

❤️ ℂ𝕠𝕟𝕟𝕠𝕚𝕤𝕤𝕖𝕦𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕞𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕔 ❤️

DJ/Producer from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Hailing from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Shugz combines high-energy, air-tight mixing and electrifying productions to boot. From humble beginnings rising through the ranks in Trance to now diversifying with a more polished open-format sound whilst still maintaining the sounds of his early influences and roots. Shugz’ sound breaks down the barriers of dance music, no rules and straight up energy is a mainstay in his productions and live sets, with no problems producing a plethora of unique styles including Techno, Trance, Hard Techno as well a more recent commercial sound. 

  

Starting 2024 with a bang, the Belfast man secured himself a multi-track major record deal with one of the biggest record labels in the world in Colombia Records/Room Two, pinning himself alongside of the world’s global elite artists such as Calvin Harris, Adele, Daft Punk & Harry Styles to name a few. Shugz’ musical accolades do not stop there, with already requested remixes from MK, Rita Ora & Joel Corry to compliment his new deal & ability. 

  

In 2023 he produced a total of 38 tracks and accumulated an impressive 12.5 million Soundcloud streams with each one of his Soundcloud uploads hitting the "New & Hot" chart consistently as well as a top 3 "All Music Chart" hit with "King of My Castle". 

  

Shugz also is no stranger to the world’s dance music circuit, with a stacked passport each year from 2016 when he started his journey professionally with his first international artist agency. Having played 41 gigs in the last 12 months alone, touching down in over 20 countries with regular tours in Australia, Asia, UK, and regular visits to South America and all over Europe.  

  

In his native Belfast he achieved local-hero status with 6 sell-out shows in the famous Telegraph Building with his own brand ‘Kill your Idols’ as well as regular summer appearances at major festivals such as Creamfields, Coloursfest, Lost Minds, Escape in the Park, Planet Love & the Felie An Phobail in Belfast. 

  

Stay tuned as Shugz continues to grow, explore & improve in new sonic territories with his newfound sound & direction.

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