Nineties Electronica Survivors Rave On
The last time the DJ scene was this huge in the U.S., Bill Clinton was president – and many of the superstars who took electronic dance music to the top of the zeitgeist back then are still going strong. From the Chemical Brothers to Fatboy Slim and more, here are 12 of the biggest EDM survivors.
By Steve Baltin
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The Chemical Brothers
Image Credit: Jim Dyson/Getty Images The British duo, who burst out of the same scene as Orbital and Underworld (who are both still doing it too) with anthems like "Hey Boy Hey Girl" and "Block Rockin' Beats," are still major headliners. Check their mind-melting new live DVD, Don't Think, for proof.
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Daft Punk
Image Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/WireImage Every major EDM act, from Deadmau5 to Skrillex, owes a monster debt to the French robot duo. Their Tron soundtrack might have been a little Hans Zimmer, but everything else they've ever done is full-on epic. Especially their 2007 tour – featuring an illuminated pyramid – which showed everyone else how intense a live experience dance music could be.
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Fatboy Slim
Image Credit: Michael Burnell/Redferns via Getty Images How many late-Nineties songs are better than "Praise You"? Not many! Norman Cook is still lifting dancers on festival stages from Miami to Barcelona with a super-sunny mix of electro, hip-hop and whatever else he feels like.
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The Prodigy
Image Credit: Andy Sheppard/Redferns These dudes' aggro energy – on tunes like the seriously un-PC "Smack My Bitch Up" – won them tons of rock fans (and got them the cover of Rolling Stone). This summer they're topping Euro fests and working on a new LP.
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Richie Hawtin
Image Credit: C Flanigan/Getty Images The techno legend pioneered live EDM shows as Plastikman – now he's offering kids a taste of something a little tougher at fests like Electric Daisy. "I'm hoping as this explosion continues, I can give a wider scope of what electronic music can be," he tells Rolling Stone.
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Sasha & John Digweed
Image Credit: Charley Gallay/Getty Images Way before Swedish House Mafia, this British tech-house duo was the biggest superstar DJ tag team in the world. They don't perform together quite as often these days, but we're crossing our fingers for another massive tour before this decade is over.
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Carl Cox
Image Credit: Michael Burnell/Redferns via Getty Images The techno and house pioneer, who turns 50 on July 29th, is a certified legend. Don't even think about counting him out: Cox is still teaching kids how it's done with a wildly popular Ibiza residency, an unforgettable set at Miami's Ultra Music Festival this March and his latest album, last year's All Roads Lead to the Dancefloor.
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Paul Van Dyk
Image Credit: Jonathan Leibson/FilmMagic Since bursting onto the scene in the Nineties, the German DJ has rocked countless crowds, including over a million fans at one New Year's Eve gig in Brazil. And Van Dyk refuses to slow down – his sixth album, Evolution, hit stores this spring.
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Paul Oakenfold
Image Credit: Skip Bolen/WireImage The original trance king made new fans in recent years by opening for Madonna and rocking Coachella. Now he's looking to reclaim his old throne with an upcoming album featuring Cee-Lo and Ryan Tedder.
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Erick Morillo
Image Credit: Victor Spinelli/Getty Images Two decades after his club hit "The New Anthem," the house music star is planning a major push to coincide with the current EDM boom. "Right now I'm happy," he tells Rolling Stone. "To see it finally happen in America has reignited a fire in me as an artist, as a producer, as a DJ."
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Underworld
Image Credit: Tony Woolliscroft/Getty Images Karl Hyde and Rick Smith have been doing it since the Eighties, but the English act broke through with 1996's "Born Slippy," featured prominently in Trainspotting. Since then, they've embraced the role of EDM's elder statesmen. This summer, they're getting the royal treatment as music directors of the Olympics opening ceremonies in London.
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Roni Size
Image Credit: Louise Wilson/Getty Images With the drum and bass-derived sound of dubstep dominating EDM, O.G. junglist Roni Size – whose 1997's Mercury Prize-winning New Forms is a classic of the style – is ready for a comeback. Size continues to be a major live draw overseas, and he just played for tens of thousands of fans at Detroit's Movement Electronic Music Festival.