Martijn Gerard Garritsen, professionally known as Martin Garrix, is a Dutch DJ and record producer from Amstelveen, Netherlands.
He has headlined festivals around the globe, founded a label and mentored other artists, listed in Forbes’s 30 under 30 and won the #1 spot in DJ Mag’s Top 100 three times in a row.
Martijn start playing flamenco guitar when he was still a kid but his musical journey to become a DJ-producer begins in the year 2004 at the age of 8. After he saw Tiësto perform at the Olympic Games opening ceremony on live TV, he expressed interest to become a DJ. This aspiration made him taught himself how to produce and play his own songs. At the mere age of 14 years old, Martin has produced tracks for someone else as “ghost-producer”. One of the song that he ghost-produced became a cool club records and enable him to be discovered and signed by record label in 2012. While performing and releasing music professionally through record label, he quits conventional school and attended a specialized high school called Herman Brood Academy in order to study music production more intensively. His breakthrough song, Animals, was released while he was still a student there.
After the release of Animals, Martin Garrix has rise to stardom in EDM circle and music scene in general. In 2016, he took first position in the DJ Mag Top 100 for the first time, as well as launching his own label, STMPD RCRDS. Named after his father’s profession, who runs a stamp auction house, the label serves as an outlet for Martin’s own music and as a platform for up-and-coming, creative talents.
A naturally outgoing person and a born entertainer, Martin has also played at some of the world’s most important stages. He has headlined big & famous festivals including Ultra Music Festival, Tomorrowland, Sziget Festival, Coachella, and Lollapalooza. Next to that, he also locked down residencies at two of the world’s most prestigious clubs: Ushuaı̈a Ibiza and Omnia Las Vegas. His career reach another milestone in 2018 when he headlined the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, 14 years after he saw Tiësto perform in Olympic Ceremony and aspired to be a DJ. Martin Garrix also make the official anthem and music for Euro 2020 as official music artist.
Aside from commercial shows, Martin also frequently involve in charity shows such as for War Child, Fuck Cancer, Red Cross, special shows in Mumbai to support the education of 10.000 Indian children, volunteering on Miami Youth Center and also participate in the fundraising to help relief efforts for disaster in Sulawesi, Indonesia. He also become International Friend of SOS Children’s Village, a non-profit organization that builds families for orphaned, abandoned, and other vulnerable children around the world. As model and brand ambassadors, Martin had worked with several notable brands such as Tag Heuer, Armani Exchange, 7Up, Adidas, Axe and most recently JBL.
Martin Garrix said that his no 1 goal when he’s on stage is to make people smile and his goal in making music is to impact someone’s life. At 26 years old, he has achieved many things as DJ-producer and he still has a lifetime of achievements ahead of him.
PROFILE
Birth name : Martijn Gerrard Garritsen
Born : 14 May 1996, in Amstelveen, Netherlands
Occupation : DJ & record producer
Height : 175 cm (5′ 9″, according to mddaily.com & healtyceleb)
Alias : GRX, YTRAM, Area21 (A duo of Martin Garrix with Maejor)
Family : Father, mother & a younger sister
Label : STMPD RCRDS, Epic Amsterdam (a division of Sony Music), RCA (in US), Columbia (in UK).
Favorite food : Pizza
Instrument : Guitar, piano, drums, bass, programming tools (he use FL Studio and Pro Tools)
Garrix Interview 