Refresh Magazine

BREDA SETS
THE WORLD D
A small city can still have a major impact. Breda figured in the birth of the global popularity of
dance music. It all started with Tiësto, a DJ who achieved international fame in 1999 and was
named the best DJ in the world for the first time in 2002. He repeated this achievement in 2003
and 2004. Since then, he has always been in the top 5. Breda is proud of this ‘export product’,
a fact which the city recently demonstrated by making Tiësto an honorary citizen. Various other
Breda DJs have followed in his footsteps, with Hardwell standing out in particular. In 2013 and
2014, Hardwell was named the greatest DJ in the world and is currently at number 3. DJ duo
W&W (13), R3hab (21) and Dannic (70) also feature prominently in the top 100.
BIG
STARS
A GREAT
SUCCESS
NEW
TALENT
They are today’s big stars. Parties and
festivals revolve around them. Yet there’s
more as well. From a niche product,
dance music has become mainstream.
For example, Tiësto opened the 2004
Olympic Games in Athens. In addition,
numerous world-famous artists work
closely together with DJs. Artists such
as Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga have
them mix their music or write their
songs together with DJs. Tiësto has
already worked with John Legend, Flo
Rida, Martin Garrix and Busta Rhymes.
Hardwell has worked with Jason Derulo,
Mr. Probz, Armin van Buuren and Maan.
R3hab has mixed hits for stars such as
Katy Perry and Madonna.
The foundations for this success were laid
in the 1980s. The Breda club De Spock
is where numerous local DJs (including
Tiësto) first manned the turntables. Even
today, Breda is still the place to be for new
talent. Why? Because young people are
of course hugely inspired by the big stars
from Breda. Breda’s vibrant nightlife also
offers plenty of scope and opportunities
for DJs. Talents can put in a lot of hours
behind the turntables in Breda. And that’s
really important, because talent will get
you nowhere without experience. It’s all
about sensing the crowd and responding
to the atmosphere in the venue.
A great sense of solidarity prevails in the
DJ scene in Breda and (new) DJs help each
other out. Dislike and envy have no place
in Breda and talents enjoy it when others
succeed. DJs exchange experiences,
collaborating in the studio and at parties.
For example, Tiësto once gave Hardwell
a helping hand and Hardwell is now
helping young talents in turn. Suyano
is a new star on Breda’s firmament. He
is already performing all over the world
and in fact you might already be familiar
with his work, as his music accompanies
aartsenfruit’s promotional video. So head
over to aartsenfruit.com right away and
pump up the volume!
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