Back in 2010 before he had become arguably the biggest electronic music artist in the world, Martin Garrix was working on a song titled ‘Swedish House Mafia Break’ that wouldn’t be finished or released. This may seem like an irrelevant project amidst his incredible discography, but the melody from this project would go onto to be part of one of the most iconic songs ever made, ‘Animals.’
Martin Garrix had a rapid rise to the top following being signed by Spinnin Records in 2012 after they heard his remix of Enrique Iglesias’ ‘Tonight (I’m Loving You).’ Upon meeting him, Spinnin Records thought they were having a joke played on them as they met with a 14-year-old Martin Garrix who was much younger than they expected. Despite his young age he would release several massively successful songs with them such as ‘ITSA’, ‘BFAM’, and ‘Torrent’ which would start to put his name on the name on the map, even getting praise from one of the greats of electronic music, Tiesto.
But it was in 2013 with the release of ‘Animals’ that his career would really take off. It would launch to number 1 in the Official UK Top 40 Singles chart on debut making him the second youngest artist to ever get a number 1 single in the UK at the age of only 17 years old. This big room house banger would go on to garner over 400 million streams on Spotify and is widely considered one of the best electronic music tracks ever made. The success of ‘Animals’ would take the Dutch DJ from playing at small clubs in 2013, to playing at some of the biggest festivals in the world in 2014 including Creamfields, Lollapalooza, Ultra and Tomorrowland.
The thundering kick and unique lead sound are undeniable perfection from a thriving time for EDM. This track made Martin Garrix the household name that he is today and deservedly so as he has kept on releasing music that dominates the EDM scene and he has shown no sign of slowing down. For many people ‘Animals’ was their gateway into electronic music, and it will continue to be as 11 years on from its release it is still just as exhilarating and adrenaline pumping to listen to as it was on its release.
