Born in Utrecht in 1977, Dutch EDM producer Fedde Le Grand first captured major attention when his 2006 single "Put Your Hands Up for Detroit" reached the summit of the U.K. singles chart. Active as a DJ from his teenage years onward, he built a parallel reputation for production and remixes, lending his distinctive approach to recordings by Sharam, Freeform Five, Tall Paul, Pete Tong, Ida Corr, and Robbie Williams. In addition to extensive touring throughout Europe, Oceania, North America, and China, Le Grand entered the business side of the industry by co-founding Flamingo Recordings with Raf Jansen and Funkerman in 2004.
The electro-house track itself drew heavily from "Hands Up for Detroit" by Detroit-area producers Matthew Dear and Disco D and first appeared in 2006. After an initial modest showing, a CD single edition drove the song to number one on the U.K. chart; a later remix incorporated guest verses by Bizarre and King Gordy, both members of Eminem-affiliated Detroit rap group D12.
Two prominent successes followed in 2007: Le Grand’s remix of Camille Jones’ “The Creeps” and the collaboration “Let Me Think About It” with Danish soul singer Ida Corr. That same year his label introduced the club night Flamingo Nights in Amsterdam. The mix album Flamingo Nights, Vol. 1: Ibiza arrived the following year, and 2009 brought Output, his first full-length collection of original productions. In 2011 he joined forces with DJ Markus Schulz for the double mix CD Be at Space while continuing to issue singles such as “So Much Love,” “Sparks,” “RAW,” “No Good,” and “Where We Belong.”
Le Grand launched the new imprint Darklight Recordings in 2015, opening its catalog with the collaboration “Tales of Tomorrow” alongside Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. A vocal version featuring singer/songwriter Julian Perretta subsequently reached number two on the Belgian singles chart. The same year saw the release of the singles “Robotic” (with Jewelz & Sparks) and “Take Me Home” (with Patric La Funk). Darklight issued his second artist album, Something Real, in 2016.
