Rolling Stone Declares “EDM” Producers of the Moment

Rolling Stone recognizes that dance music (or “EDM” as the article clarifies) has become, “an undeniable staple of pop music over the past two years.” Citing over half of the current Billboard Top 10 singles as being, “spiced with a pulsating electro-dance flavor,” the article delves into, “everything you need to know about these party-starters, from head honchos David Guetta and RedOne to wunderkinds Afrojack and DJ Chuckie,” with a bullet point-style break down on each of their top 7 picks. Here’s a snapshot:

1. David Guetta

Real name Pierre David Guetta, his beats really hit the mainstream map in 2009, after his collaboration with the Black Eyed Peas, “I Gotta Feeling,” which resulted in him sharing the 2011 Super Bowl XLV Half-Time Show stage with them. In December, 2011, Guetta made history by being the first musician inaugurated into a new Hollywood Walk Of Fame at the Chinese Grauman Theatre.

2. Afrojack

Anyone who has been near a radio over the past two years has heard Dutch prodigy Afrojack, real name Nick van de Wall, with his 2010 original smash “Take Over Control” or “Give Me Everything,” his Billboard Hot 100 chart topping collaboration with Pitbull and Nayer. Now rumored to be making music with Paris Hilton, this Grammy-award winning DJ continues to rock international dance floors with his sound that the article describes as, “Wiry synth vocoders intertwined in a ball of bliss. Occasionally aggressive, but largely riding the feel-good train.”

3. Calvin Harris

“We Found Love” with Scotland’s Calvin Harris, whose recent collaboration of this same name with Rihanna went to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Harris, who began his career as a singer-songwriter, has also produced for LMFAO, Mary J. Blige, and Kylie Minogue, and has remixed works for Katy Perry, Shakira, Passion Pit, and the Ting Tings. Not too shabby!

4. Stargate

The sky is the limit for Norway’s dance-pop producers Stargate, real names Mikkel Storieer Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, who have brought their Euro-pop influence to reigning U.S. pop queens such as Britney Spears, Rihanna, and Katy Perry. Laughing at the irony of their anonymity the article cites Hermansen as having said, “We have the Number One record in the country for 10 weeks, but when we walk down the street no one knows who we are."

5. RedOne

Morocco’s RedOne, real name Nadir Khayat, worked with Lady Gaga to create her hits “Just Dance” and “Bad Romance.” He has been nominated for 6 Grammy’s and was the #1 charting producer of 2009. He even worked with Michael Jackson before his death. Enough said.

6. Diplo

According to the article, in Diplo’s words, real name Thomas Wesley Pentz, producers are, “...not the best songwriters, we're not good singers, we're not the best looking," he has said. “We just see the little cracks that need to get filled." And Diplo has filled in those cracks for a laundry list of all-stars, which includes M.I.A., Lil Wayne, Beyoncé, Snoop Dogg, Robyn.

7. DJ Chuckie

DJ Chuckie, real name Clyde Sergio Narain, has pioneered the “Dirty Dutch” sound, which the article describes as, “...a hard-throbbing cacophony of hip-hop and Eurohouse.” The track that really put him on the map was his mash-up with LMFAO, “Let The Bass Kick In Miami Bitch.” Leaning more towards hip-hop, past collaborations include producing for Lil’ Jon.

We’re stoked to see that a mainstream pub like Rolling Stone has caught on to this trend, but do you agree with their top picks? See a full explanation on their breakdown here.