A globally respected and highly accomplished artist, label boss at the seminal Hot Creations, founder and curator of the worldwide Paradise event series and member of cross-genre band Hot Natured, Jamie Jones has achieved iconic status in the electronic music world. A trendsetter and seasoned tastemaker, the Welsh dance music superstar pioneered his own distinct sound, drawing on his deep knowledge and experience to cultivate DJ sets that weave through a range of diverse, complementary styles selected to energise and enchant the dance floor.

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.

Christian Smith is one of the world’s leading exponents of techno, both as a DJ and producer he is always bold and innovative. With his output in recent years it is hard to imagine a list of prolific producers without his name towards the top. He has been at the top of his game for over two decades with his trademark groovy techno.

Although Swedish by birth, Christian spent most of his childhood years in Frankfurt, Germany which no doubt played an unexpected role in determining his musical tastes from a young age. After spending time in the US studying, Christian moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil playing the best clubs in the city and surrounding regions, where he still loves to play today and continues to have a very big following.

In 1995 he started his label Tronic, since then it has dominated the charts with releases from Christian himself and the likes of ANNA, Enrico Sangiuliano, Paco Osuna, Drunken Kong, Wehbba, Ramon Tapia, and more. The label has been the top selling techno label in the world according to Beatport, and is soon to celebrate its 500th release.
Tronic also has a weekly show which is now syndicated to over 100 stations worldwide, their 500th show was celebrated with special guest Carl Cox and now in 2022, they are already fast approaching the 600th episode.

Christian has dominated the charts and DJ’s playlists with a steady flow of releases on many high profile labels like Drumcode, Filth On Acid, Trick, Symbolism, Bedrock, and Tronic. His last EP on Tronic reached #1 spot on Beatport in both Techno and Electro in January of 2024. During the pandemic, Christian had a weekly Tronic Thursday stream which has reached over 10M people. On the remix front, Christian has recently reworked a track by UK hip hop superstar "Stormzy". His music is regularly featured on Spotify's biggest playlists and Christian is currently enjoying a big boost in his career.

Christian also ventured into his own branded night in Ibiza at mega club Eden. His first season on the Island in 2019 had 15 consecutive weeks of events and was a huge success. Christian was also invited to host Tronic events all over the world from Tokyo, Detroit, Los Angeles, and London amongst many others.

So keep your eyes peeled, and if you can’t wait until then, you can always go to Christian’s Soundcloud for the latest on the radio show.

Independent record label owned by Adam Beyer.

Amstra
A music afficionado since an early age, the refinement comes from a
sound both sophisticated and elegant .
He draws his inspiration from ambient, 
symphathetic and friendly melodies which results in a sound that is sometimes utopian or melancholic. Next to obvious feeling-inducing chants, 
Amstra knits it together with brutal armour-penetrating techno. 
A concise and rhythmic raw percussion base underneath idyllic 
synth riffs and weeping and bleeding pad movement.

Resident at: @phase2records
Booking🌏: amstra_@outlook.it

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amstra__/
Bandcamp:  https://am-stra.bandcamp.com/

booking: djheartstring@teamwass.com
all inquiries: jack@overcastmgmt.com / jarred@overcastmgmt.com

Tim Fabiano We is following