Starting off his career with releases like “Theme O”, “Milky Way” and “Ready or Not” on Don Diablo’s Hexagon label, Madison Mars, a DJ/producer from Estonia is now easily recognised for his signature future house sound and immense success with Spotify releases. The debut year of 2016 ended up with over 50 million streams of his original tracks and remixes for such topartists as Galantis, Jess Glynn, Jonas Blue and Melanie Martinez. In 2017, Madison Mars keeps bombing the dancefloors with both original tracks including Lucas & Steve collaboration “Stardust” and remixes for big names like Martin Garrix.
Please talk to us about your latest release and the inspiration behind it.
I’m very proud of my latest single ‘Magneto’ that was released on Tiёsto’s label Musical Freedom. The story behind it starts in the summer of 2017 where I made a track called ‘Atom’ which blew up the DJ scene and got a massive support by the biggest names in the game. Obviously that created a demand for more tracks sounding like ‘Atom’, and while I’m not a big fan of using the same sound on another tracks, I took the challenge and produced a follow up. As a big fan of vocal chops and vocals overall, I added some nice atmosphere to the track with minimalistic female vocals, made the most insane bassline with 9 different basslines and worked hard on a simple but effective main melody. I’m happy to see ‘Magneto’ doing so well and that my fans appreciate my hard work I put into my tracks.
Can you pick 1 or 2 must plays in your recent sets and why?
When it comes to my DJ sets, I play a lot of my own music. These days I cannot play a set without my tracks ‘Milky Way’ or ‘Atom” or ‘Magneto”. Of course, I have many many more tracks that I play each gig, but I’d say these two/three are the most popular ones. If I have to pick 2 tracks from other producers, I’d say Mike Williams x Brooks – ‘Jetlag’ and Don Diablo – ‘Momentum’ are big players in my set game as well.
Last year, you release your song called ‘Stardust’, together with Lucas & Steve. How did you create this?
I’ve always been a big fan of Lucas & Steve’s work, playing a lot of their tracks in my sets and vice versa. So it was just a matter of time before we made this collab happen. After I met the guys this summer in Holland we decided to go for it! We exchanged some melody ideas and once we nailed those, we basically sent audio stems and midis back and forth, and the collab was born! It was a really easy process actually, as we all share the same musical taste, the production progress was just like riding a bike. Love the guys!
What does this record say about your musical evolution as an artist?
I have a long history as a producer, making all sorts of productions, but this track definitely reflects my current state of mind. I like to keep it simple, melodic and energetic. Something to light up my sets and mood!
The track is featured on Spinnin’s New Dance Music Friday playlist. How important is Spotify to you?
“Streaming is a nowadays recordstore, and Spotify is the #1 platform for that. It is very important to get my music out on Spotify and being featured on major playlists is a huge bonus, as then your music will reach wider audience.”
Which recently released dance tracks should definitely be added to New Dance Music Friday?
“Here are few tracks I think definitely should be there 🙂 Let’s start with Madison Mars – ‘Atom’, what a bomb 😉 Also:
Pink – ‘What About Us’ (Madison Mars Remix).
Paniek – ‘Coming Home’
Kaskade – ‘That Dance’
Sweater Beats – ‘Glory Days’ (Madison Mars Remix)
Dave Winnel – ‘Soul Jacker’
Mike Williams x Brooks – ‘Jetlag’
Tiësto & John Christian – ‘Scream’
Wolfgang Gartner – ‘Dubplate 99’
PBH & Jack Shizzle – ‘Bring The House’
Since DJ Mag started to vote ‘Top 100 Clubs”, I want to ask your favorite club and the reasons.
There are so many great clubs in the world, but I have to say one of the best clubs for me has been Bootshaus nightclub in Germany, Cologne. The crowd there is just insane, in a good way. The sound system together with top notch lightings is just out of this world. That is my kind of club!
What is your best gig so far and what memories do you have from this gig?
I’ve had many awesome gigs, but I must say my favorite gig was last year in Tokyo. Somehow the people in Japan are the most humble and kindhearted, they understand music and they won’t hold down their emotions while singing along or dancing like crazy to their favorite tracks I can’t wait to be back!
What are your resolutions for 2018?
I always aim higher and with 2018 I want to deliver even higher quality productions, I want to make more vocal tracks, more club tracks and even make couple radio friendly tracks. I have so many ideas I want to fulfill that you can be sure there’s always a surprise moment when it comes to my music. I would like to travel the world and meet my fans, play my music!