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Poll 2022: R3hab
13
R3hab
1

From: Morocco / The Netherlands

DJ style: EDM pop.

Best known for: EDM bangers.

Fave tune of 2022: “I really liked Fred again.. ‘Marea’, I know it was released in 2021 but wow what a nice one.”

Rising star DJ/producer of 2021: “Fred again..”

This year Dutch-Moroccan superstar R3HAB continued to fly the flag for electro-charged, big room house with bounce. In the process he supported fledgling dance scenes in global regions historically absent from that map, and headlined household name institutions like Lollapalooza, playing not one but three of the festival’s new South American editions, Sweden’s Summerburst, and Zouk’s Las Vegas outpost.

A string of newsworthy studio releases have retained his stratospheric status, not least the VIZE collaboration, ‘One Last Time’, ‘Weekend On A Tuesday’ — made with the mighty Laidback Luke — and some help from NFT technology, a remix for Sia, 2022’s official Tomorrowland anthem, ‘Worlds On Fire’ (credit for which was split with Afrojack), and a party-starting rework of ‘Mas Gasolina’, originally put out in 2004 by Ryan Arnold and the elusive collective N.F.I. Evidence not just of his relentless ability to make waves with productions, but also the diversity in what gets released, it’s no wonder he consistently ranks high in our Top 100 DJs poll.

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

“I really enjoyed Fred again.. Boiler Room.”

Name one great festival you played for the first time this year… 

“Tomorrowland, Nocturnal Wonderland, Middle Beast Riyadh, F1 Saudi Arabia.”

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

“Eight hours, it was incredible, you can really take people on a journey.”

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

I would love to own an SSL board ,just for the feel and the history.” 

What’s the last tune you bought? 

Inner City ‘Good Life’, I was going through some classics and I noticed that I did not have this one in good quality yet.”

What’s the next big sound? 

“I think people really are looking forward to euphoric energetic music. I notice it in my DJ sets that they respond best to this.”