How Martin Garrix Became an Electronic Music Phenomenon

Martin Garrix is sitting in a Las Vegas studio in front of loads of production equipment. The Dutch DJ and producer is working on new music and preparing for a show in Sin City, but there’s something even more exciting on his mind: He’s about to make his debut at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The initially announced two nights sold out, so a third has been added, making for a three-night run from October 22 to 24. He can’t help but grin from ear to ear as he wonders what the legendary venue will be like: He’s only seen it through videos and photos.

“It’s such a dream venue to play and a bucket list,” Garrix says. “It’s crazy, the amount of videos I’ve seen from Red Rocks — even U2 playing there. So many iconic performances that happened there, so it’s an absolute honor to be performing there.”

He guides his phone as close as possible to the Zoom lens to show an adorable photo that his mom just sent him: a tiny Martin Garrix, about age ten, stands behind the decks, concentrating on his next beat. A sign reads “DJ MARTY.”

Garrix smiles at the photo. He now sells out shows around the globe. “What attracts people to house and electronic music, and also what attracts me to electronic music, is how it brings people together,” Garrix says. “Everybody can resonate with it, everybody can groove. Just the atmosphere, it’s communal; everybody’s in it together at the shows. It’s joy, and it’s contagious, the energy. I feel it on the stage, and it’s beautiful.”

Garrix began playing guitar when he was eight, but a performance from Tiësto at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens had a profound effect on him. “My mom put me in front of the TV, and I just fell in love with the sound — the fact that some of the songs didn’t even have lyrics, but everybody understood it, you know,” he recalls. “And I’ve been listening to electronic ever since. I was writing songs on guitar, and eventually I shifted to, ‘Okay, let me write songs on guitar, put them in the computer and make electronic music.'”

He was deejaying at parties, weddings and events, and as he began producing, he took inspiration from idols such as Daft Punk, Calvin Harris and, of course, Tiësto to form his signature upbeat, addictive sound. It wasn’t long before the wunderkind got a big break. “I got signed when I was fourteen, fifteen,” he says casually. His releases with Spinnin’ Records eventually caught the ear of his hero Tiësto, whose label released Garrix’s song “Torrent,” a collab with Sidney Samson, in 2013. 

“Then, when I was sixteen,” he says, “I made ‘Animals,’ and that changed my whole life.”

He remembers doing a show in India, about four hours outside of Mumbai, and the tuk-tuk he was in started playing “Animals.” As he recalls, “I was in the middle of nowhere, and it was this really weird circle, because I made that song in my parents’ house, in my bedroom. And then to be at the other side of the world, the middle of nowhere, and the song’s playing… It’s very surreal.”

The track, which was released in June 2013, caused him to become the youngest person to reach number one on Beatport. A couple of months later, he became Scooter Braun Projects’ first signed EDM artist (he’s now independent). The next year, he released his debut EP, Gold Skies, and at seventeen became the youngest DJ to headline the Ultra Music Festival in Miami. Over the following two years, he had residencies in the ultimate club-music destination, Ibiza.

While Garrix was embedded in the scene, he was too young to actually partake in the raves. “But it was surreal, those festivals I was playing,” he says. “It’s like Red Rocks — I used to look at all these festivals on the internet from videos, so I felt like I’ve been there thousands of times, even though I’ve never been there. So to be able to be there and perform, it’s very surreal.”

He prefers to be the one serving up the beats, anyway, and his upcoming run at Red Rocks will be different from anything he’s ever done. His team has constructed an otherworldly stage design specifically for these shows, and it’s set to be a mind-blowing visual spectacle. “For almost all the songs that I made in my life, we have certain visuals and lights so I can play all the songs in any order, and they have a system that you can see which song is loading in next, so they can align everything,” he explains. “Basically we jam together, so it’s super fun. I did three nights in LA in June, and all three nights were completely different shows, different sets.”

He’s also been working on a new EP of club music, and says he will share at least one of the songs at Red Rocks. But even the most seasoned producers like Garrix can get nervous about debuting new music. “Making music is such a beautiful and fun process,” he says. “It’s a very isolating process: You’re overthinking, trying every single option, and once you settle with it, then the whole world is hopefully going to be able to connect to it. Once it becomes for everyone, it’s scary sometimes.

“But I love making music and I love being able to play songs live,” he adds. “It’s rewarding. You know, you’re by yourself, and then you share it on stage with so many people. Like Red Rocks, I’m already thinking about the songs I want to play…”

It’s safe to say Garrix is stoked. He signs off with a message to his fans: “Thank you so much for your incredible support and for being part of this beautiful chapter in my journey.”

Martin Garrix is at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 18300 West Alameda Parkway, from October 22-24; tickets are still available for Wednesday, October 22.