Few EDM artists have made the kind of career moves that Martin Garrix has in 2015. Between epoch-making collaborations and a redefinition of his own style as a DJ/producer, the young dutchman has proved more than the one-hit wonder who brought us “Animals” in 2013 – and the global industry appears to have taken notice, as he just announced that he will headline Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) in the fall.
ADE is an annual festival (in the more general sense of the word) that features roughly 2,000 DJs across 300 different venues, along with conferences, workshops, presentations and pop-up performances throughout the city. Garrix himself will top the bill for his own ADE party, a massive gathering at the Heineken Music Hall, whose capacity exceeds 5,000.
While Garrix has certainly made major strides as an artist, I still think he’s a far cry from being the kind of public figure that ought to represent dance music to this degree. Amid a phase of growing pains during which the movement’s fans increasingly favor more obscure sounds, an act like Disclosure, who more successfully rides the line between mainstream and underground, would have been more appropriate.
Tell us, do you find Martin Garrix fit to be the face of EDM by headlining an Amsterdam Dance Event party at the Heineken Music Hall on October 17th?