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DJ Mag Top100 DJs
19
Ummet Ozcan
17

Ambitious genre-blender Ummet Ozcan returns to the Top 100 for his fourth year running after another white-knuckle year of international festivals, boundary-blurring productions and premiership collaborations.

Prominence on some of this summer’s biggest festival line-ups such as Tomorrowland, Creamfields, Electric Zoo and 5tardium, and regular appearances at the likes of Amnesia Ibiza, back-up the Dutch-born Turk’s global DJ profile. But it’s his seemingly constant slew of productions that have really boosted his stock this year. 

Building on his established techno-minded trance signature, this year has seen him apply more bold, creative gestures than ever before as strong shades of electro, breakbeat, bass house and cinematic scores appear within his high-octane constructions. 

‘Wickerman’ and ‘Megatron’ are both prime examples of this ever-developing passion for fusion as the former nods deftly at the bass world while maintaining a strong party tone and the latter is a straight-up orchestral spine-melter designed for the 10,000+ crowds he regularly plays to. 

Major league collaborations have also been a consistent theme this year: ‘What You’re Waiting For’ saw him team up with Tiesto for a peak-time track laced with a unique strand of funk, while the marching euphoria-explosion ‘Melody’ saw him team up with Dimitri Vegas, Like Mike and Steve Aoki. Last year’s ‘Hum’ (which Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike re-licked last year) also went gold this summer. As more productions continue to land almost every month, Ummet is on something of a roll right now. DAVE JENKINS

What have been the new frontiers for you this year? 

Being more involved in producing my music videos.

Is electronic music taken seriously enough as an art-form?  

Yes, because it is an undeniable movement. I am pretty sure that there are many so-called established artists who will have a different opinion about electronic music, though... 

What’s the best new bit of DJ/production technology, and why? 

Nothing revolutionary this year, so I’m working on my own producers gear right now.

If you had to switch your style to another genre, what would it be? 

 I love to make soundscapes and special FX and sounds for film or games, so I guess it would be something like that.

As a fan, what is the top price you would pay to see yourself DJ? 

That would implicate that there is another me and I am cloned! That would definitely come in handy! 

What can be done to prevent drug-related deaths at dance music events? 

In The Netherlands they provide good public information to create awareness and even help you to do a safety check on the drugs. It’s a very liberal approach which prevents a lot of casualties and helps a big deal. 

How can we increase diversity in dance music? 

Dance music is already so diverse, you can get anything you like if you know where to find it. It’s all out there…