Martijn Gerard Garritsen, known professionally as Martin Garrix, is a Dutch DJ and record producer. Active since 2012, Garrix has had a number of hits. He was also ranked number one on DJ Mag’s Top 100 DJ list in 2016, 2017, and 2018. Garrix has performed at diverse festivals like Coachella, Electric Daisy Carnival, Ultra Music Festival, and Tomorrowland.
Born in the Netherlands in 1996, Martin Garrix first began playing music at the age of 8. He was inspired to become a DJ in 2004 after seeing Dutch DJ Tiësto perform at the opening ceremony at the Olympics in Athens. That year, he downloaded a digital music production studio online, and began composing. In a full-circle moment, Garrix was discovered by Tiësto in 2012, following the release of his remix for the Enrique Iglesias single “Tonight (I’m Loving You).”
Garrix first gained popularity upon the release of his single “Animals” in 2013. The single became a hit in several countries throughout Europe, and pushed him to become the youngest person to reach number one on Beatport. In November of 2013, Garrix signed a deal with American entertainment company Scooter Braun Projects, making Garrix the company’s first EDM client.
In 2015, Martin Garrix began experimenting with progressive house music and started producing progressive tracks alongside his traditional big room sound. His music during this era was both critically lauded and enormously commercially successful.
In February 2015, he released the single “Don’t Look Down” featuring Grammy-winner Usher. The track was hugely popular and reached number 3 on the Billboard Dance Club charts. Garrix also worked with Ed Sheeran in 2015, producing the track “Rewind Repeat It,” which he performed at Ultra Music Festival in Miami.
Garrix launched his own record label, Stmpd Rcrds, in early 2016. He founded the label with the idea that it would become a home for musicians and artists of all different genres. Later that year, Garrix also signed with Sony Music International, citing their forward-thinking vision for streaming as a driving factor in his decision.
In 2017, Garrix announced that he would be supporting Justin Bieber on his Purpose World Tour in Australia. He also collaborated with Dua Lipa on “Scared to be Lonely,” which was nominated for Single of the Year at the 2017 Electronic Music Awards and won Best Bass Track at the 2018 WDM Radio Awards.
In 2018, Garrix released his second collaboration with David Guetta and his third with Brooks with the song “Like I Do“. He also performed at the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics in South Korea. 2018 also saw Garrix ranked number one DJ by DJ Mag for the third year in a row. His first win in 2016 made him the youngest DJ ever to nab the honor.
In 2019, Garrix performed at the Ultra Music Festival in Australia, and headlined Tomorrowland Winter in France. Early in the year, Garrix announced an upcoming collaboration with Bonn, titled “No Sleep, which was released in February along with a video.
This year, in February, Garrix released a track called “Drown” with singer Clinton Kane. For the 2020 King’s Day celebrations in April, Garrix played a set from the rooftop of A’Dam tower in Amsterdam in place of the festival’s usual events, which were cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The next month, he released “Higher Ground,” featured with singer John Martin.
