From: The Netherlands

DJ style: “Progressive, electronic.”

Best known for: “'I Could Be The One’ with Avicii, and my record label Protocol Recordings.”

Fave tune of 2022: “James Hype ‘Ferrari’.”

Despite his many years of success, Dutch legend Nicky Romero still managed to learn lots of new things this year. He built up his community on Twitch and also celebrated 10 years and 500 episodes of Protocol Radio. “The process of defining a new club sound was a really fun time for me,” he says of a new style he has in the works and will fully debut soon. He says it “revolves around tech, electronic and groove” and it has been road-tested at recent shows, including his first return to Japan and South Korea in three years.

This year has been busy on the production front with the likes of ‘So Much Love’ with Almero, ‘Lose My Mind’ and ‘Afterglow’ with Gattuso & Jared Lee all teasing this new musical era for Romero, who has also designed his own music production course. “I have some really big collaborations lined up for the coming months, so we’re gonna have some fun throughout 2023,” he says.

Rising star DJ/producer of 2022:

"Fred again..”
 

What's the best DJ set you've seen this year?

“Fatboy Slim at Claptone's pool party during Miami Music Week.”
 

What's the longest DJ set you've ever played?

“Back in the day, my friends and I used to play all-night events at the bars where everything started for me. So I'd say 6-7 hours.”
 

What's one piece of studio hardware you wish you owned?

“Analogue Tube / AT-101 Compressor.”
 

What's the last tune you bought?

“Odd Mob ‘Left To Right.”
 

What's the next big sound?

“Techtronic.”