Creating Bounce, Scouse & Hard Dance tracks!!!

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

-Bookings-
James Wylie
Assured Agency
E: james@assuredagency.com
P: +44 7535965900
W: https://assuredagency.com

Dubbed a leader of the current Tech Trance revolution, Sneijder possesses a distinctive aptitude for fusing euphoria and darkness, a trait that sets him apart from many. His skill is evidenced by the vast number of chart-toppers he’s created, including ‘Need You Here’ and ‘Everybody’s Free,’ and recent Beatport number one singles ‘In and Out of My Life,’ ‘Dawn,’ ‘You Take My Breath Away,’ and ‘Bring The Noize,’ all master classes in forward-thinking, cutting-edge club music.

Adding his unique sound to remixes for Armin van Buuren, Aly & Fila, and John O’Callaghan has seen Sneijder become one of the most in-demand artists in Trance. Releasing records regularly on the industry’s most respected labels and boasting a back catalog of hit records have helped cement his name firmly amongst the list of Irish greats.

In 2023, we saw the release of his second artist album, ‘Bring The Noize,’ an album showcasing his studio versatility and ear for killer melodies. This album boosts influence from the past, present, and future sounds while showing off the true scope of his musicianship and technical abilities. His skills in production are hardly a surprise, with immense knowledge of the dance floor paired with years of cutting his teeth on the festival and club circuit, thus becoming well-versed in what sounds make the ears tick.

Now, the maverick has reached the next step of his career: label owner. Sneijder launched Afterdark as a platform for himself and other similar-caliber artists in 2016, firmly asserting his iconic status in the underground. Afterdark stands for all things dark, original, and dance floor-oriented, while also playing its part by cultivating the careers of the next generation of the Trance Elite. Afterdark has now cemented itself as one of the best and most upfront labels in Trance.

In 2023, we also saw the launch of a new project from the Sneijder studio. ‘alt1’ brings together sounds inspired by Sneijder’s past in Hardcore, Hard Trance, Rave, and even Hip Hop. Brace yourself for a main stage musical experience with no rules or boundaries.

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