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Features
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DJmag Top 100 DJs Poll: HarderFaster exclusive
Reported by HarderFaster
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Submitted 24-10-07 23:40
The 2007 DJmag Top 100 DJs poll has been without a doubt the most action-packed and controversial yet. With shake-ups throughout the poll from No.1 down and cheats being named and shamed, the most representative results in dance music are now in and have been counted. Here's our take on the movers and the shakers in each category and of course the full gossip from the first DJmag name and shame campaign.
Armin van Buuren @ Planet Love Festival, 8 September 2007, by Sarah G
If you've got this far there’s a pretty good chance you already know that we have a new winner in 2007... Armin van Buuren! Big congratulations to Armin, who after lurking around the top 10 for the last five years has now finally scored the top spot. And it was one of the closest battles yet, with fellow Dutch trancer Tiësto giving him a serious run for his money. Having been king from 2002 - 2004 Tiësto proved he still has a massive fan base, but already at No.2 in 2006, Armin snuck in to take the crown for 2007. But more about the DJs later, first let’s look at some stats and trends from the biggest Top 100 poll yet.
Voting in 2007 was up almost 60%, with a record 345,000 all getting their voices heard. With it being the first year the mag has been owned by an independent company, publisher James Robertson realised fairly early on in the show that the best way to sort out the cheats and sneaks was by the most old fashioned method of them all: the naked eye. The fact everything was done in-house this year meant that was easy enough to ensure, it just took a hell of a lot of time. But these hours of hard work no doubt contributed to this being the most open poll yet - and thus the most representative.
Paul van Dyk @ The Top 100 DJs 2006 by wikkidraven
While naming and shaming the cheats in the weeks leading up to the results finally being revealed surely added to all the hype, it also created a crucial transparency to this year’s poll. And of course some very funny excuses followed. When China’s DJ Tiesmi shot to No.1 within the first few hours of the 2007 poll being opened it was obvious something was up. Tiesmi later admitted to paying 4000 Yuan (£260) for 100,000 votes via a software engineer who hacked into DJmag security. His DJ buddy Yutise wasn’t quite so upfront however, attempting to blame his quick rise to fame on his crazed fans. Israel’s Flash ‘in the pan’ Brothers also went down the deny and blame route, yet with over 1300 votes from the same ISP address, that must’ve been quite a get-together that had all their friends and family voting so enthusiastically from the same place!
Things weren’t quite as clear cut in the cases of Christopher Lawrence and DJ Dan though. Having catapulted into the charts at Nos.4 & 5 in 2006, many a confused clubber was heard to lament: “But who the hell are those guys?”
Christopher Lawrence @ Antiworld 070707 Festival by Daf
It transpired that they’d both used the same marketing manager, who funnily enough has since been fired. After initially issuing a very strong message to all involved, DJmag has just issued a statement accepting that Christopher and Dan were not actually personally responsible for the so-called ‘voting irregularities’ as they evidently didn’t know what said marketing manager was up to. Luckily Christopher has seen the funny side of things: “My wife was worried and considered signing me up with a wedding DJ agency, but fortunately there has been no impact whatsoever. No cancelled bookings, no drops in offers. Nothing. So I guess I can put my Kool & the Gang records away. No weddings any time soon,” he quipped to Jonty Skrufff earlier this week. “As for personal reactions, the fans have been great, I was on tour in China over the weekend and the shows were the best I have ever done in that market. I think most people are able to put it into perspective. And as for other DJs’ reactions, I think most DJs are probably relieved that it wasn’t them.”
‘Irregularities’ aside, votes were received from 220 countries, with the most coming from the US, the UK and China. Germany and the Russian Federation were next, then Brazil, the Netherlands, Mexico, Turkey and France, reflecting the huge growth of dance music in Asia, the Eastern Block and South America. It’s surely no coincidence that DJmag Brazil has just published its second successful issue, while DJmag Poland is putting together its first and DJmag China is currently being negotiated. In short, Turnmills may be a bit quieter on your average Friday night these days, but dance music is more of a global phenomenon than ever before and this year’s stats truly reflect that.
Armin van Buuren @ The Top 100 DJs 2006 by wikkidraven
The Top 10
1. Armin van Buurin
2. Tiësto
3. John Digweed (highest prog DJ)
4. Paul van Dyk
5. Sasha
6. Above & Beyond
7. Carl Cox (highest techno DJ)
8. Ferry Corsten
9. Infected Mushroom (highest psy-trance DJs)
10. David Guetta (highest house DJ)
Possibly the friendliest man in dance music, Armin van Buuren has achieved one hell of a lot in the 12 years he’s been making music. From the awesome 11,000 Armin Only at the Ahoy last November, where he performed a spectacular nine-and-a-half-hour set, to the incredible Armin’s Armada parties at Amnesia, Ibiza over summer, the only thing hotter than his intense DJing schedule is his production work. His latest track ‘Rush Hour’ was commissioned as the theme for the UEFA European Under 21 Football Championships, getting him on TV all over the globe and reflecting this talented musician’s cross-over appeal. While spending some serious studio time working on his new artist album, due out in 2008, his A State of Trance radio show continues to blossom, now syndicated to an incredible 40 FM stations around the world. Having started in 2001 on a small Dutch station, this in itself is quite an achievement. And at 30 years old, he’s certainly got plenty more records to spin.
Looking at this year’s Top 10, trance fans are predictably as loyal as ever, with Armin (No.1 - up 1 from 2006), Tiësto (No.2 - also up 1 from 2006), Paul van Dyk (No.4 - down 3), Above & Beyond (No.6 - up 3) and Ferry Corsten (No.8 - down 2) all making trance top dog. For the first time ever DJmag also created a highest psy-trance category to reflect the genre’s huge popularity internationally, which Infected Mushroom stormed in to pick up at no.9.
However with John Digweed cruising up 5 spots from 2006 to be the highest prog artist, Sasha up 2 to No.5 and David Guetta rising 21 spots to become No.10 - and the highest house DJ - it looks like although the house awards are no more (does anyone know what happened there?) house is well and truly back on the rise.
Another ex-No.1, Carl Cox is up 4 to No.7, heralding a great year for techno, be that funky, minimal, hard as nails or all things in between. Coxy took the first six months of the year off to chill in Australia then returned rejuvenated enough to make his King of Clubs residency at Space Ibiza an absolute storm. Like so many artists in the Top 10, he also hates being pigeon-holed into one genre, despite conversely being best known for it.
The rest of the Top 100
11. DEEP DISH
12. PAUL OAKENFOLD
13. MARKUS SCHULZ
14. HERNAN CATTANEO
15. SANDER VAN DOORN
16. EDDIE HALLIWELL
17. JAMES ZABIELA
18. ASTRIX
19. RICHIE HAWTIN
20. MARCO V
21. JUDGE JULES
22. FEDDE LE GRAND
23. GABRIEL & DRESDEN
24. ERICK MORILLO
25. ROGER SANCHEZ
26. ATB
27. SVEN VATH
28. YAHEL
29. UMEK
30. ANDY MOOR
31. GARETH EMERY
32. BENNY BENASSI
33. AXWELL
34. MAURO PICOTTO
35. SANDER KLEINENBERG
36. ERIC PRYDZ
37. BLANK & JONES
38. BAD BOY BILL
39. PETE TONG
40. DJ VIBE
41. TIGA
42. STEVE LAWLER
43. DANNY TENAGLIA
44. RONSKI SPEED
45. NIC FANCIULLI
46. STEVE ANGELLO
47. NICK WARREN
48. MATT HARDWICK
49. RICARDO VILLALOBOS
50. JAMES HOLDEN
51. MARK KNIGHT
52. THRILLSEEKERS
53. MARCO BAILEY
54. ANDERSON NOISE
55. LANGE
56. OFFER NISSIM
57. KYAU & ALBERT
58. JUSTICE
59. MATT DAREY
60. TIMO MAAS
61. DANNY HOWELLS
62. MENNO DE JONG
63. BOB SINCLAR
64. JOHN ACQUAVIVA
65. AGNELLI & NELSON
66. FATBOY SLIM
67. ANDY C
68. RICKY STONE
69. DONALD GLAUDE
70. DESYN MASIELLO
71. DAFT PUNK
72. MARTIN SOLVEIG
73. BT
74. CHRIS LIEBING
75. VALENTINO KANZYANI
76. TRENTEMOLLER
77. JEFF MILLS
78. JOHN GRAHAM
79. ROBBIE RIVERA
80. CHEMICAL BROTHERS
81. LUCIANO
82. DJ HYPE
83. LISA LASHES
84. FILO & PERI
85. LEE BURRIDGE
86. ARMAND VAN HELDEN
87. MAGDA
88. DAVE SEAMAN
89. VICTOR CALDERONE
90. DAVE CLARKE
91. RICHARD DURAND
92. WESTBAM
93. SEBASTIAN LEGER
94. CHUS & CEBALLOS
95. WALLY LOPEZ
96. BOOKA SHADE
97. ADAM BEYER
98. DIRTY SOUTH
99. EROL ALKAN
100. LAURENT GARNIER
Sander van Doorn
Looking at the rest of the Top 100, there’s an interesting mix of new up-and-comings and established old timers, with 15 new entries, 12 re-entries, 45 DJs going up and four holding their ground and staying in exactly the same spot. And while trance has kept a fairly level playing field with Sander van Doorn, Gareth Emery, Blank & Jones, Ronski Speed, Matt Hardwick and Agnelli & Nelson all climbing up as just as many have gone down our out, techno and house have definitely had a healthy growth spurt.
Valentino Kanzyani
Richie Hawtin and buddy Ricardo Villalobos, Sven Vath, Umek, Valentino Kanzyani, and Anderson Noise all moved up considerably. Meanwhile Marco Bailey, Jeff Mills, Madga, Laurent Garnier, and Adam Beyer returned for another round, Magna (no. 87) being one of only two women in the poll alongside the highest hard dance DJ Lisa Lashes (No. 83). Interestingly the Top 20 VJs poll boasts 25% females, VJing perhaps being where the female capacity for multi-tasking comes into its own. And in an industry where looks are still far too important, sharing the stage with a screen surely overcomes at least some issues about appearance.
Once again Andy C is king of the jungle at No.67, having swung up an awesome 30 places from 2006, and DJ Hype is back in the running at No.82. There were no breaks DJs in the Top 100 this year though - but of course our many multi-genre playing jocks all throw in the odd broken beat now and again.
Lisa Lashes @ Planet Love Festival, 8 September 2007, by Sarah G
Overall however, perhaps the most interesting and exciting trend is the number of DJs who like to jump between genres, who prefer to mix it all up. From the likes of Armin himself to James Zabiela and Nic Fanciulli, whose One + One partnership is helping redefine dance music, to the eclecticism of Lee Burridge and Dave Seaman and the pure twisted disco of Tiga, genres are getting lost somewhere down the back by the speakers while the dancefloor follows the light coming from the laptop in the corner. With so many in the top 10 also advocating this same unity of sound, it looks like 2008 is going to be a very interesting year for dance music indeed. House, trance, techno, D&B or hard dance, whether it’s mashed together at a club downtown somewhere in Rio or a twelve-hour set of the same in a field in Somerset, all we can say is - Vive La Différence! It’s an exciting time for dance music indeed. See you on the dancefloor!
The special 236 page issue of DJmag commemorating the 2007 Top 100 DJs poll is available at all good newsagents now. Avoid missing out by subscribing at http://www.djmag.com where you currently get 70% off + free stuff. Or cut out print altogether and subscribe to the .pdf version for just £10 a year for 25 issues - which you’ll receive before the mag hits the streets!
And for the next 150...
101. SKAZI
102. TALL PAUL
103. STANTON WARRIORS
104. LISA PIN-UP
105. SEAN TYAS
106. MARIO PIU
107. JOHN O’CALLAGHAN
108. JOHAN GIELEN
109. DJ RUSH
110. ANTOINE CLAMARAN
111. ALY & FILA
112. COSMIC GATE
113. RANK 1
114. BOYS NOIZE
115. KRAFTY KUTS
116. DARUDE
117. LAIDBACK LUKE
118. JOHN 00 FLEMING
119. ALEX M.O.R.P.H
120. JOHN ASKEW
121. ASTRAL PROJECTION
122. CHRIS LAKE
123. MARCO LENZI
124. SATOSHI TOMIIE
125. DIGITALISM
126. DENNIS FERRER
127. SUPER 8 & TAB
128. MISSTRESS BARBARA
129. MARCO CAROLA
130. SEBASTIAN INGROSSO
131. MISS KITTIN
132. ANDY WHITBY
133. GUI BORATTO
134. SIMON POSFORD
135. TOCADISCO
136. ALEX KIDD
137. STEPHAN BODZIN
138. STEVE PORTER
139. DAVID MORALES
140. LOCO DICE
141. JOACHIM GARRAUD
142. LEON BOLIER
143. JAMES LAVELLE
144. JOHN DAHLBACK
145. PLUMP DJS
146. LUKE FAIR
147. TIDY BOYS
148. PENDULUM
149. JOSH WINK
150. DAVE SPOON
Photos courtesy of Daf, Sarah G and wikkidraven from the HarderFaster archive. Not to be reproduced without permission.
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Other Features By HarderFaster:
HarderFaster Awards 2016 - The results are in!
HarderFaster Awards 2014 - The results are in!
Lashes, Dimples and the Brighton Music Conference
HarderFaster Awards 2013 - The results are in!
HarderFaster Awards 2012 - The results are in!
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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