Martijn Gerard Garritsen, professionally known as Martin Garrix, is a Dutch musician, record producer, and DJ. His music is known for its progressive house, electro house, big room house, and future bass genres. Garritsen’s passion for music began at a young age when he started playing the guitar. Inspired by fellow Dutch DJ Tiësto, he taught himself how to compose tracks using digital audio workstations and FL Studio. Garritsen’s talent was discovered by Tiësto, and he has since collaborated with renowned artists such as AfroJack, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, and Usher. He launched his career with Spinnin’ Records and later established his own label, STMPD RCRDS. In 2016, Garritsen was ranked as the No. 1 DJ in the world by DJ Mag. He is set to perform a summer residency at the prestigious Hï Ibiza club in 2017.
Quick Facts
- Nick Name: GRX
- Also Known As: Martijn Gerard Garritsen
- Age: 27 Years, 27 Year Old Males
- Family:
- Father: Gerard Garritsen
- Mother: Karin Garritsen
- Siblings: Laura (sister)
- DJs
- Record Producers
- Height: 5’9″ (175 cm), 5’9″ Males
Martin Garrix’s Career
Martin Garrix’s career as an Electronic Dance Music (EDM) star began at the age of 14 when he served as a disc jockey at his high school dance. After meeting Tiësto and having him as a mentor, he released his first tracks, ‘BFAM’ (with Julian Jordan) and ‘Just Some Loops’ (with TV Noise). In 2012, he released ‘Error 404’ (with Jay Hardway), his first track through ‘Spinnin’ Records’. The following year, he released ‘Torrent’ (with Sidney Samson) on Tiësto’s own label, Musical Freedom.
Rise to Fame
On June 16, 2013, Garrix released his first mega-hit, ‘Animals’, which became his first solo work. The track topped multiple listings in Europe and made Garrix the youngest person with a song that climbed to the No.1 spot on the electronic music store ‘Beatport’. He continued to release successful tracks, including ‘Wizard’ (with Jay Hardway) and ‘Helicopter’ (with Firebeatz), which both achieved high rankings on the Beatport chart. In 2014, he headlined the ‘Ultra Music Festival’ for the first time.
Musical Evolution
In 2015, Garrix released his first progressive house track, ‘Forbidden Voices’, which showcased a departure from his usual big room sound. He also collaborated with Usher on the single ‘Don’t Look Down’. Garrix performed the song ‘Rewind Repeat It’ featuring Ed Sheeran at the Ultra Music Festival in Miami. However, in mid-2015, he left ‘Spinnin’ Records’ due to a dispute over the ownership of his music.
Launch of STMPD RCRDS
In early 2016, Garrix launched his own record label, ‘STMPD RCRDS’, and released his new track ‘Now That I’ve Found You’ through the label. He continued to release music, including the promotional single ‘Opps’, which was chosen as the ‘Electronic Entertainment Expo 2016’ anthem. In July 2016, he signed a contract with ‘Sony Music’.
Recent Achievements
In 2017, Garrix performed his collaborative song ‘There For You’ with singer Troye Sivan at the ‘Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival’ in California. He is also set to support Justin Bieber at the ‘Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park’ show in July 2017. Garrix has made two appearances on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ as a music guest, first in 2016 and then again in 2017.
Awards and Accolades
Throughout his career, Martin Garrix has received numerous awards and accolades. In 2013, he won the ‘Dance Music Awards’ for ‘Best Electro / Progressive Track’, ‘DJ of the Year’, and ‘Newcomer of the Year’. In 2014, he was awarded ‘The Buma Award’ for ‘Best International Song’ and ‘MTV Clubland Award’ for the track ‘Animals’. In 2016, he received the ‘MTV Millennial Award’ for ‘Beat Guru’, ‘MTV Europe Music Award’ for ‘Best Electronic’ and ‘Best World Stage Performance’, and ‘NRJ Music Awards’ for ‘Best International DJ’ and ‘Best Live Performance’.
Beyond Fame
Martin Garrix has also been involved in various charitable activities. In 2015, he appeared in a video supporting Red Nose Day, a fund-raising event organized by Comic Relief. He has also performed at events benefiting the non-profit organization ‘Fuck Cancer’ and toured India in support of ‘Magic Bus’, an organization supporting children’s education. In 2017, he was named an ‘international friend’ by ‘SOS Children’s Village in South Africa’.
Personal Life
Martin Garrix was born on May 14, 1996, in Amstelveen, Netherlands. He graduated from the ‘Herman Brood Academie’ in 2013 with a diploma in ‘artistic pop music’. He is currently dating model Charelle Schriek.
Trivia
Some interesting facts about Martin Garrix include his involvement in the upcoming documentary ‘What We Started’ and his experience as a ghost-writer for several artists.