Part of the explosion of Dutch electronic music producers who emerged during the early 2010s,
Martin Garrix spins a bright blend of progressive house, electro, and future bass. He broke through in 2013 with his international, multi-platinum hit "Animals" from his debut effort,
Gold Skies, and hit the Billboard dance charts with EPs like 2016's Seven and 2018's
Bylaw. Topping DJ rank lists in the late 2010s,
Garrix has remained a global club favorite, climbing the charts with high-profile crossover collaborations with
Bebe Rexha ("In the Name of Love"),
Dua Lipa ("Scared to Be Lonely"),
David Guetta ("So Far Away"), and Khalid ("Ocean"). He scored a gold hit with 2019's "Summer Days" featuring
Macklemore and
Fall Out Boy's
Patrick Stump, and has continued to evolve his sound, pairing with
Clinton Kane on 2020's emotive "Drown" and
Bono and
the Edge on the 2021's high-profile single "We Are the People."
Born Martijn Gerard Garritsen in Amstelveen,
Garrix kicked off his career in a high-profile way, first landing on the dance charts with his 2012 remix of
Christina Aguilera's "Your Body." The then-16-year-old DJ spent 2012 remixing
Aguilera, signing with Spinnin' Records, and releasing the "BFAM" single in collaboration with
Julian Jordan. In 2013, he released his breakthrough solo single, "Animals," which hit number one in the U.K. and reached the Top Ten in eight other countries. The track would eventually be certified platinum in the U.S., U.K., and across Europe.
The following year was a busy one: early in 2014, "Wizard" (featuring
Jay Hardway) charted in the Top Ten across Europe, and "Helicopter" (featuring
Firebeatz) did nearly as well. His
Gold Skies EP rounded up those tracks, adding two more charting songs: "Tremor" (featuring
Dimitri Vegas and
Like Mike) and the title track (featuring
Sander van Doorn and
DVBBS).
Garrix also found time to perform and mix around the world, climbing as high as number four in DJ Magazine's Top 100 list. He also worked on new material with artists ranging from
Afrojack to
Ed Sheeran.
In early 2015, experiments in progressive house led to the release of "Forbidden Voices," which he quickly followed with the
Usher-assisted "Don't Look Down."
Garrix's busy year continued as he collaborated on singles with
Ed Sheeran,
Avicii,
Tiësto, and later, the Break Through the Silence EP with Russian DJs
Matisse & Sadko. After splitting with Spinnin' Records,
Garrix launched his own STMPD label, which he inaugurated with the single "Now That I've Found You" in March 2016. Months later, it was announced that
Garrix had inked a deal with Sony Music International. By year's end, he was named DJ Mag's top DJ in the world.
In addition to "In the Name of Love," his 2016 multi-platinum hit single with
Bebe Rexha,
Garrix scored another hit with 2017's "Scared to Be Lonely," a collaboration with
Dua Lipa. He followed with "There for You" with
Troye Sivan and "So Far Away" with
David Guetta,
Jamie Scott, and
Romy Dya. A second
Guetta collaboration arrived in 2018 with "Like I Do," with
Brooks. Also that year, he issued "Game Over" with LOOPERS, "Ocean" featuring Khalid, and hit number 19 on Billboard's Top Dance/Electronic Albums with his
Bylaw EP.
2019 brought the funky "Summer Days" single, which featured
Macklemore and
Fall Out Boy's
Patrick Stump. The bright
JRM collaboration "These Are the Times" appeared a few months later, followed by "Home" featuring
Bonn, "Used to Love" with
Dean Lewis, and "Hold On" with
Matisse & Sadko as well as Michel Zitron.
Garrix closed out the year with the 2019 Remixed EP, which offered remixes of seven tracks he released over the year. In the winter of 2020, he issued "Drown" featuring
Clinton Kane, followed that spring by "Higher Ground" with
John Martin. The minimal and synthy track "Pressure" featuring
Tove Lo arrived in February 2021. In May of that year
Garrix released "We Are the People," a collaboration he'd made with
U2's
Bono and
the Edge that served as the theme song to the UEFA 2020 Euro football championship. Among his other singles that year was "Love Runs Out" featuring
G-Eazy and
Sasha Alex Sloan. ~ David Jeffries