Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike by Mohamed Ali Fayoumi

DIMITRI VEGAS AND LIKE MIKE  

By Mohamed Ali Fayoumi  

 

Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike is a Belgian/Greek DJ and record producer duo composed of brothers Dimitri and Michael Thivaios . They are ranked second on DJ Mag’s annual Top 100 DJs List this year while they were ranked first last year thus winning the award. There also the founders of Smash The House Recordings. 

Whether they’re wreaking havoc across the United States , Europe , Asia , South America  or Australia , showering fans with seemingly endless bottles of champagne , ripping up the music charts with immense original tracks , unbelievable collaboration and huge remix cuts from the A-list elite , or playing their part in the incredible rise of the Belgian  mega-festival Tomorrowland , award winning Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike have become leading lights in the new wave of international dance music currently taking the planet by storm.  

The brotherly duo , whose electrifying live combination of DJ sets and crowd-busting MCing  has propelled them towards party notoriety , have been on the road since the mid-2000s and as each year has progressed , so their profile has become even more significant. Scooping the hotly contested “ Breakthrough Act “ award at the 2013 International Dance Music Awards ( IMDAs ) , Dimitri & Mike are fast becoming major players and highly reputed producers , scoring their first  ever Beatport  #1 in March 2014 with the MOGUAI co-production “ Mammoth “  ( a track that sat atop Beatport for an incredible FOUR weeks , dominated global music charts , was named ‘ Track of the Month ‘ by tastemaker  site Dancing Astronaut and secured the impressive position of most played single through Miami Music Week itself ) before repeating the feat in April with their second #1 , the huge GTA/ Wolfpack collaboration ‘ Turn It Up ‘. Currently sitting at #2 in the DJ Mag Top 100 , the pair work consistently with the likes of Steve Aoki’s Dim Mak Records , Tiësto’s Musical Freedom , Spinnin’Records , Size Records , Axtone , Doorn Records , Wall Recordings , and their own incendiary imprint Smash The House , proving themselves as increasingly integral part of modern day electronica’s elite . From their early works which include the Belgian #1 “ Liquid Skies “ and the heavily supported reworking of Technotronic’s  classic “ Pump Up The Jam “ , through the recent hits like “ Madagascar “ , “ Rej “ ,  “ Alarma “ , “  Momentum “ , “ Loops & Tings “ , “ Generation X “ , “ Ocarina “ and “ Wakanda “ ( #2 on Beatport and officially the most highly played track of Ultra Music Festival 2013 ) , plus collaborations with Steve Aoki & Angger Dimas ( Phat Brahms ) , Lil Jon & Coone ( Madness )  , the Swedish House Mafia ( ‘ Leave The World Behind ‘ Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike vs Swedish House Mafia Remix ) ,  Axwell (  ‘ One Look ‘ DVLM & Axwell Remix ) there remains absolutely no let up in the continual onslaught of high energy production coming out of the brother’s studios. 

But it’s not just their own tracks that continually hit the spotlight . Fast becoming one of the go-to acts for major recording artists , the demand for Dimitri & Mike’s editing skills has gone through the roof. From their debut remix “ Work That Body “  back in 2009 that caught the attention of label boss Axwell , who immediately commissioned them for Abel Ramos’s “ Rotterdam City of Love “ and the pre-Swedish House Mafia’s monster hit “ Leave The World Behind “ by Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso ,  Laidback Luke and Axwell himself ; to arguably the biggest artist in the world right now , Lady Gaga , who requested the boys ‘take on her single “ Marry The Night “ , a remix that within hours of completion was scooped up for Radio 1’s peak time Friday night show Ready for the Weekend. In between , the pair have reworked everyone from Billboard royalty Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull ( Papi )  , MTV favourites LMFAO ( Champagne Showers ) , Tiësto, Snoop Dog , Bob Sinclar ,  Mary J Blige , Sean Paul and more. 

If they’re not in the studio , then they’re on the road. With a touring schedule that has increasingly read like the departure board of JFK Airport , they remain one of the most in-demand acts anywhere in the world right now , their unique arena- smashing brand of entertainment seeing them headline the planet’s biggest and most prestigious stages week in , week out – including their recently announced residency at the incredible LIGHT venue in Las Vegas , conceived and created by the technical wizards behind the world famous Cirque du Soleil. From legendary clubs like Pacha Ibiza and NYC and Manison in Miami  to London’s Ministry of Sound and Brazil’s epic Green Valley , to Mysteryland  , Nocturnal Wonderland  , Creamfields ,  Electric Daisy Carnival , Beatpatrol ,  Ultra Music Festival , XXXperience ,  Touch The Air and many , many more, Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike regularly illuminate the top billboards of the hottest tickets around. Yet of all the events Dimitri & Mike bring their act to , it is with the critically acclaimed Tomorrowland that they are most closely affiliated. Enjoying a massively successful partnership that stretches back over  the past four years , Dimitri & Mike were brought on board by organizers ID&T after the seasoned industry veterans were blown away by the natural power of the brother’s debut performance . Since 2010 the boys have been responsible for creating the festival’s musical centrepiece , the much-celebrated Tomorrowland Anthem , and each year have taken the task to greater heights – the collaborative dynamite of Dada Life and Tara McDonald with “ Give Into The Night ( Tomorrow ) ‘ ; the 2011 Beatport-topping Afrojack and NERVO co-production “ The Way They See The World “ ; and the 2012 solo track ‘ Tomorrow Changed Today “ , which made history as the first ever non-Avicii release  on the LE7ELS label and struck immediate chart gold. 

It has been without doubt an absolute fairytale story that has emerged from this talented and grittily determined duo from Belgium / Greece. With tours taking them back to the US and Canada , South America , across the length and breadth of Europe , through into the heat of Asia and down to the Southern Hemisphere of Australia and beyond , fans can also look forward to a huge run of major hits to come from Dimitri & Mike , including the highly anticipated “ Turn It Up “ with GTA and Wolfpack and co-productions in the pipeline with Sander Van Doorn and Laidback Luke.  

As 2016 moves on , their story will continue to grow and develop , effectively establishing their place  in the pantheon of modern dance music greats.  

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