Part of the wave of Dutch electronic producers surfacing in the early 2010s, Martin Garrix crafts a luminous mix of progressive house, electro, and future bass. His breakthrough arrived in 2013 via the worldwide, multi-platinum smash “Animals,” taken from his introductory release Gold Skies, while further Billboard dance-chart entries came with EPs such as Seven in 2016 and Bylaw in 2018. Having topped international DJ rankings through the latter half of the decade, Garrix sustained his status as a worldwide club staple by scaling the charts alongside prominent crossover partners including Bebe Rexha on “In the Name of Love,” Dua Lipa on “Scared to Be Lonely,” David Guetta on “So Far Away,” and Khalid on “Ocean.” A gold-certified success followed with the 2019 track “Summer Days,” which spotlighted Macklemore alongside Fall Out Boy’s Patrick Stump; he has since refined his approach through further team-ups, notably the emotive “Drown” with Clinton Kane in 2020 and the prominent 2021 single “We Are the People” alongside Bono and the Edge. His debut full-length album, Sentio, surfaced in 2022. Subsequent singles involved DallasK, Breathe Carolina, and Sentinel, culminating in the release of the IDEM EP during 2024.
Born Martijn Gerard Garritsen in Amstelveen, Garrix launched his trajectory with immediate visibility, first reaching the dance charts through his 2012 remix of Christina Aguilera’s “Your Body.” The 16-year-old DJ devoted that year to reworking material for Aguilera, securing a contract with Spinnin’ Records, and unveiling the collaborative single “BFAM” alongside Julian Jordan. His pivotal solo outing, “Animals,” emerged in 2013 and ascended to number one in the U.K. while landing inside the Top Ten across eight additional territories; the recording later earned platinum certification in the U.S., the U.K., and throughout Europe.
The year 2014 proved especially active: “Wizard,” a partnership with Jay Hardway, entered the Top Ten in multiple European markets early on, and “Helicopter” with Firebeatz performed nearly as strongly. Those cuts were compiled on the Gold Skies EP, which also incorporated two further charting selections—“Tremor” featuring Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike plus the title track with Sander van Doorn and DVBBS. Amid extensive global performances and mixes, Garrix rose to number four on DJ Magazine’s Top 100 list and began developing fresh projects with figures ranging from Afrojack to Ed Sheeran.
Early 2015 saw progressive-house explorations yield “Forbidden Voices,” promptly followed by the Usher-featured “Don’t Look Down.” The year stayed packed with joint singles involving Ed Sheeran, Avicii, and Tiësto, plus the Break Through the Silence EP created with Russian duo Matisse & Sadko. After parting ways with Spinnin’ Records, Garrix established his own STMPD imprint and opened its catalog with the March 2016 single “Now That I’ve Found You.” Sony Music International soon announced a worldwide agreement, and by year’s end he claimed the top spot on DJ Mag’s annual ranking.
Beyond the multi-platinum 2016 hit “In the Name of Love” shared with Bebe Rexha, another success arrived via 2017’s “Scared to Be Lonely” with Dua Lipa. He continued with “There for You” featuring Troye Sivan and “So Far Away” alongside David Guetta, Jamie Scott, and Romy Dya. A further Guetta pairing, “Like I Do” with Brooks, appeared in 2018; that same year brought “Game Over” with LOOPERS, “Ocean” featuring Khalid, and the Bylaw EP, which reached number 19 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
The funky single “Summer Days,” again spotlighting Macklemore and Patrick Stump, highlighted 2019. The upbeat JRM collaboration “These Are the Times” surfaced months later, succeeded by “Home” with Bonn, “Used to Love” alongside Dean Lewis, and “Hold On” uniting Matisse & Sadko with Michel Zitron. Garrix wrapped the year via the 2019 Remixed EP, presenting reworkings of seven tracks issued during the preceding months. Winter 2020 delivered “Drown” featuring Clinton Kane, followed that spring by “Higher Ground” with John Martin. The spare, synthesizer-driven “Pressure” featuring Tove Lo landed in February 2021; May brought “We Are the People,” his U2-linked collaboration with Bono and the Edge that functioned as the official anthem for the UEFA Euro 2020 football tournament. Additional 2021 releases included “Love Runs Out” with G-Eazy and Sasha Alex Sloan.
After years of charting singles, partnerships, and EPs, Garrix achieved his first album-length statement with Sentio in 2022. Later that year came “Loop” (with DallasK and Sasha Alex Sloan), “Something” (with Breathe Carolina), and “Hero” (with JVKE). “Hurricane” featuring Sentinel and Bonn plus “Real Love” with Lloyiso arrived in 2023, while the four-track IDEM EP of 2024 enlisted DubVision and Third Party among its guests. Standout singles that year further encompassed “Smile” with Carolina Liar and “Told You So” alongside Jex.
