Editorial
Formula 1 and EDM: Where Racing Meets Dance Music
Formula 1 and EDM: Where Racing Meets Dance Music across race weekends, driver moments, and global DJ crossovers
The worlds of Formula 1 and EDM have often crossed paths, but what once felt occasional has steadily become part of how modern race weekends are built. What used to sit on the sidelines as post-race entertainment now sits much closer to the centre, with electronic music appearing across opening ceremonies, headline concerts, and moments tied directly to the race itself. Events such as the Singapore Grand Prix, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and Las Vegas Grand Prix have played a clear role in that shift, each one placing major DJs within the same space and schedule as the sport rather than separating the two. Artists like Tiësto and Calvin Harris have not just been booked to perform, but positioned in ways that connect their sets to race-day moments, whether on the grid, during ceremonies, or across the wider weekend programme. Beyond the track, links such as McLaren working with Tomorrowland show how this crossover extends into branding and global visibility. The result is a clear overlap where Formula 1 and EDM now operate side by side, sharing the same audiences, stages, and global reach.
Alan Walker Premieres Formula 1 Inspired Song “The Sting Within Me” At 2026 Barcelona Grand Prix
Location: Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, Barcelona
Alan Walker premiered his new Formula 1 inspired song “The Sting Within Me” during the 2026 Barcelona Grand Prix weekend at Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya, releasing the song with STING Energy, Formula 1, and Warner Music India. The idea traces back to an Armin van Buuren video, where Armin pointed out that the sound of a Formula 1 engine seemed to echo “STINGGG” as the car accelerated. Alan Walker later came across the clip and turned that comparison into a full release using real race audio and engine sounds from Formula 1. By premiering the song at the Barcelona Grand Prix, the release had a direct connection to the race weekend itself, with Grand Prix spectators hearing a song based on the same engine sounds they had been hearing across the circuit. With STING Energy serving as the Official Energy Drink of Formula 1 and an Official Team Partner of Mercedes AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team, “The Sting Within Me” connected Armin van Buuren’s original observation, Alan Walker’s production, and Formula 1’s wider push into music and fan entertainment.
Max Verstappen Joins Armin van Buuren After Winning Mexico GP 2018
Location: Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City
After taking victory at the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix, Max Verstappen celebrated in front of a packed Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, where Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren was performing as part of the race weekend. Instead of remaining within the usual post-race setting, Max Verstappen moved from the podium celebrations into Armin van Buuren’s DJ booth, with the same crowd that had watched the race now following the moment on stage. The visual of a race winner stepping directly into a DJ set, with Dutch flags still visible across the grandstands, gave the scene a level of authenticity that connected both worlds without needing a separate setup or dedicated segment. With Max Verstappen and Armin van Buuren representing the Netherlands at the highest level in their respective fields, the moment carried a natural link between Formula 1 and EDM, showing how both could exist within the same environment and reach the same audience at the same time.
Hardwell Performs on the Formula 1 Podium at Mexico Grand Prix 2017
Location: Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City
At the 2017 Mexican Grand Prix, Hardwell made history by performing the first ever DJ set on a Formula 1 podium at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, following the official trophy ceremony inside the Foro Sol stadium section of the circuit. The setup placed the DJ booth within the same structure used for driver celebrations, with the performance taking place in front of around 30,000 to 40,000 spectators who remained in the grandstands after the race. The appearance formed part of Heineken’s “More Than A Race” campaign, introduced after the brand became a global Formula 1 partner in 2016, with the aim of extending the race-day experience through live music inside the circuit. The 2017 race was won by Max Verstappen, while Lewis Hamilton secured the championship that same day, giving the podium sequence added significance before Hardwell’s set began. With the Mexico City round regularly drawing weekend attendance figures above 300,000, the Foro Sol section provided one of the most concentrated crowd settings on the calendar. The moment marked a clear shift in how EDM could be placed inside Formula 1, not as a separate concert after the race, but as part of the podium celebration itself.
David Guetta and Romain Grosjean Feature in “Dangerous” Formula 1 Music Video
Location: Circuito de Jerez, Spain
Released in 2014, David Guetta’s Dangerous featuring Sam Martin used Formula 1 as the full setting for its official music video, with Romain Grosjean appearing on screen alongside David Guetta. Filmed at Circuito de Jerez in Spain, the production included real Lotus F1 cars and a staged race sequence that runs throughout the video, placing David Guetta inside the role of a driver while Romain Grosjean appears within the same race environment. The video was directed by Jonas Åkerlund, who built the storyline around a competitive race structure, from garage scenes through to the podium. Within the EDM scene, this stood out because Formula 1 was not used as background visuals, but as the core setting of the video itself, with an active F1 driver, circuit, and race format all tied directly to the track.
McLaren Brings Tomorrowland Branding Onto Formula 1 Cars
Location: Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps
McLaren and Tomorrowland first brought the festival’s branding onto a Formula 1 car in 2021, when the Tomorrowland Around the World logo appeared on the McLaren MCL35M during the Austrian Grand Prix weekend. The partnership continued in later seasons, including the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix, where the Tomorrowland logo returned to McLaren’s cars during the festival’s 20th anniversary year and the race weekend in Belgium. The crossover worked because it placed EDM inside the visual language of F1 itself, with the festival name appearing on the car seen by global broadcast audiences, team media, and trackside coverage. In 2024, the link also went both ways, with Tomorrowland streaming the Belgian Grand Prix at the festival and McLaren sharing access to Tomorrowland content through its race-weekend hospitality setup. That made this more than logo placement, as McLaren and Tomorrowland created a direct bridge between festivalgoers and race fans.
Lando Norris, McLaren MCL36
Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris Appear in Tomorrowland 2021 Digital Festival
Location: Tomorrowland Around the World (Virtual Festival)
During Tomorrowland Around the World 2021, Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris featured as part of the festival’s official digital broadcast, appearing within the same programme as headline DJs performing across the virtual stages. At the time, both drivers were racing for McLaren, which had already established a link with Tomorrowland through branding and collaboration. The 2021 edition of Tomorrowland Around the World was built using a fully rendered 3D festival environment, where artists performed on digitally designed stages and guest appearances were integrated into the stream rather than added as separate segments. Within that setting, Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris appeared as part of the festival’s content rollout, placing active Formula 1 drivers inside a global EDM broadcast that reached millions of viewers online. The appearance reflected how the connection between Formula 1 and EDM had moved beyond race weekends and into shared media platforms, with drivers themselves becoming part of festival-facing content seen by an international electronic music audience.
F1 The Movie Soundtrack Brings Dom Dolla, Tiësto, Peggy Gou And PAWSA Into Formula 1
Location: Global
The official soundtrack for F1 The Movie brought another clear link between Formula 1 and electronic music, with Dom Dolla, Tiësto, Peggy Gou and PAWSA all appearing on F1 The Album. Released through Atlantic Records and Apple, the soundtrack arrived alongside the film and featured original songs made for the project, placing dance music inside one of Formula 1’s biggest film releases. Dom Dolla opened the electronic side of the album with “No Room For A Saint” featuring Nathan Nicholson, while Tiësto teamed up with Sexyy Red on “OMG!”, Peggy Gou contributed “D.A.N.C.E”, and PAWSA added “Double C.” The soundtrack also carried a direct on screen link, with Tiësto appearing as himself in a Las Vegas nightclub scene in the film. With Lewis Hamilton involved as a producer and Hans Zimmer handling the score, F1 The Album showed how the film treated music as part of the wider Formula 1 world, bringing DJs into the same project as racing, cinema and global pop culture.
Calvin Harris and The Chainsmokers Headline Singapore Grand Prix 2017
Location: Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore
The Singapore Grand Prix has been structured as a night race since its debut, and by 2017 it had already developed into a weekend where music and racing run side by side inside the same event space. Across 15 to 17 September 2017, the Marina Bay Street Circuit hosted both on-track sessions and large-scale concerts within the Circuit Park, with access included in race tickets and movement between zones built into the layout. The Chainsmokers performed on Saturday night (16 September) following qualifying, while Calvin Harris closed Sunday (17 September) after the race, taking over the Padang Stage in Zone 4 as the final act of the weekend. Those set times placed both acts at the busiest points of the schedule, with fans moving from trackside areas into the concert space within the same circuit zone. The 2017 edition showed how Formula 1 in Singapore runs both elements within a single event, where the race and headline shows take place across the same weekend and in the same space.
Swedish House Mafia and Fatboy Slim Headline Singapore Grand Prix 2019
Location: Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore
By 2019, the Singapore Grand Prix had already established its night race format as one where music and racing run across the same weekend inside the Circuit Park. Across 20 to 22 September 2019, the event returned with another lineup that placed EDM acts at key points of the schedule, with Fatboy Slim opening the weekend on Friday (20 September) and Swedish House Mafia closing Sunday (22 September) after the race at the Padang Stage in Zone 4. The 2019 edition carried added weight with Swedish House Mafia in the middle of their reunion run, marking one of their major appearances in Asia during that period. As with previous years, both performances were positioned within the same ticketed event space, with fans moving between track sessions and the main stage across the weekend. The 2019 lineup reinforced how the Singapore Grand Prix continues to place headline EDM acts alongside the race itself, maintaining a format where both share the same audience and schedule.
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Chris Candela becomes the first Venezuelan artist to release on mau5trap with debut single ‘Move Your Feet’ alongside AOSM.
Chris Candela and AOSM debut on mau5trap with the single ‘Move Your Feet’, making Candela the first Venezuelan artist to release music on deadmau5‘s iconic label. Marking a significant milestone and the beginning of a new chapter in his career, the record introduces a darker, more club-oriented sound from Chris Candela.
Discussing the track’s sonic identity, the Venezuelan artist says: “When AOSM first sent me the initial idea for ‘Move Your Feet,’ I immediately felt the track had something special. I’ve always been inspired by artists like Justice, Wolfgang Gartner, and even Knife Party, so bringing those influences together felt completely natural.”
Drawing on those influences, the two artists created a record that fits naturally within mau5trap’s darker, experimental sound. Blending gritty electro-house energy with cinematic sound design, “Move Your Feet” establishes a strong narrative identity. Built around distorted synths, driving grooves and atmospheric textures, the single delivers a modern club sound filled with raw energy.
Chris Candela not only produced the instrumental with AOSM, but also wrote and performed the track’s vocals.
“One of my favourite parts of the process was writing and recording my own vocals. The lyrics explore the overwhelming feeling that can sometimes come with being in a crowded club, until you realize the only thing that really matters is letting go and moving your feet,” says the artist.
Who Is Chris Candela?
Currently based in Mallorca, Spain, Chris Candela is an Italo-Venezuelan artist with more than 15 years of experience in the electronic music industry. Beyond the studio, he has built a substantial Spanish-speaking EDM community through his CDCVLOGS platform, before launching the Chris Candela alias project in 2025.
Throughout his career, Candela has received support from artists including Don Diablo and Fedde Le Grand, but also reached No. 44 on Beatport’s Bass House Top 100 with “Lost To The Rhythm”, his collaboration with RE-KA. Now, with his mau5trap debut, Candela reaches another major career milestone.
Reflecting on the significance of the release, he says: “Releasing on mau5trap has been a dream of mine for years. deadmau5 has been one of the artists who has influenced me the most, both creatively and personally. To become the first Venezuelan artist to sign with the label, alongside my good friend AOSM, who becomes only the second Mexican artist to do so, makes this milestone even more meaningful.”
With “Move Your Feet”, Candela enters a new chapter in his career, defined by a darker and more club-focused sound. “Move Your Feet” is out now on all major streaming platforms. Listen to Chris Candela and AOSM’s latest track below.
Follow Chris Candela:
Spotify / Apple Music / Instagram / YouTube / X (Twitter) / TikTok / SoundCloud
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Skrillex Says AI Songs Can Go Viral, But His Comments Point To A Bigger Issue Around Human Connection In Dance Music.
The debate around AI music has often focused on fake vocals, copied artist styles, copyright issues, and whether machine made songs should be labeled clearly, but Skrillex has brought the subject back to something more human. In his first formal interview in over a decade, published in 032c Issue #49 Summer 2026, Skrillex spoke with Ecco2K about creativity, rave culture, and the limits of AI in music, including the idea that AI songs can go viral while still missing the feeling of being seen by another human being. That distinction gives the topic more depth because he is not only questioning whether AI can generate music that performs well online. He is asking what happens to dance music when a song can reach listeners quickly, but the person, history, and lived experience behind it become harder to find.
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Why Skrillex’s View On AI Is Not About Rejecting Technology
Before Skrillex became known as a producer and DJ, he was the vocalist of From First To Last, a post hardcore band that already placed him in a scene where live emotion, distortion, and internet era fandom were closely connected. His move into solo production did not erase that background; it carried some of that intensity into songs like Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites and Bangarang, where chopped vocals, aggressive bass design, sharp edits, and software based production became part of the identity of the record. The same artist who helped make those sounds reach a wider audience is now saying that AI songs can go viral, which is why the point cannot be reduced to fear of computers in music.
His own career shows the opposite: technology can still carry feeling when there is a real person making the decisions behind it. In the 032c interview, Skrillex discussed making Mora in GarageBand before moving into Pro Tools and Ableton, along with ideas like Bangarang beginning from rough recordings on Snowball mics or laptop mics. Those details show that electronic music does not lose its human side just because it starts from rough digital material, software, or imperfect recordings. The difference is that an artist is choosing what to keep, cut, distort, rebuild, or leave imperfect, while a generated song can imitate the texture of those choices without carrying the bands, scenes, failed ideas, studio accidents, and years of taste that came before the final record.
Why Viral AI Songs Do Not Prove Listeners Are Connecting
When Skrillex talks about AI songs going viral, the point is easy to connect to cases the music industry has already dealt with. Heart On My Sleeve, the fake Drake and The Weeknd song made with AI vocals, did not become a talking point because listeners had discovered a new artist with a real story. It went viral because people were trying to work out how close the vocals sounded, whether the artists had approved it, and what it meant if a fake collaboration could travel that quickly. That kind of attention can make a song look successful on the surface, but the reaction is tied to the stunt, the confusion, and the technology behind it, not to a real connection between artist and listener.
Dance music has its own version of that problem because records often gain meaning before they are officially released. Rumble by Skrillex, Fred again.., and Flowdan was already circulating through DJ set recordings and crowd clips before its official release, while Baby again.. by Fred again.., Skrillex, and Four Tet gained more attention after being played live, including during their back to back set at Madison Square Garden. That path is different from an AI song going viral because it sounds close to an existing artist or copies a familiar vocal style. In dance music, the memory around a song is often tied to the DJ who tested it, the crowd that reacted to it, the festival or club clip that kept circulating, and the months of people asking for the release. AI can copy the sound of a viral record, but it cannot recreate the human trail that makes people care about where the song came from.
What This Means For AI Music Going Forward
The next stage of AI music will probably come down to what artists, labels, and platforms are willing to make clear before a song reaches listeners. John Summit’s call for human made music labels points to one possible response, especially as fake vocals and copied artist styles become harder to spot at first listen. David Guetta’s experiment with an AI generated vocal in the style of Eminem showed how quickly a technical demo can raise bigger questions about likeness and consent, while deadmau5 has already warned about deepfakes and false endorsement. Once a voice, image, or artist identity can be copied well enough to confuse people, the problem is no longer only about whether the song sounds convincing; it is about whether listeners know who actually made what they are hearing.
Skrillex’s point is closer to what listeners may start caring about as AI music becomes more common. AI may keep producing songs that go viral, especially when the hook feels familiar, the voice sounds close to someone famous, or the curiosity around the technology is strong enough to push the clip online. But dance music has always depended on more than a first reaction. People remember the DJ who played a song before release, the set where they first heard it, the crowd clip that made them search for the ID, and the artist history that made the record feel connected to something real. AI can copy parts of that format, but without a person behind the choices, the trust becomes weaker, and that may be the difference between a song people click on once and a record they keep returning to.
As AI music becomes easier to make and harder to identify, the future of dance music may depend less on whether listeners reject the technology and more on whether they still trust the people attached to the songs. Skrillex’s comments point to a problem that goes beyond one viral record or one copied vocal, because the deeper risk is a culture where the source of a song becomes unclear and the relationship between artist and audience starts to feel less certain. Dance music has always moved through clubs, festivals, IDs, edits, and shared recordings, but those moments only last when people believe there is a real person behind the choices, the risk, and the history of the record. AI may continue to create songs that travel quickly online, but the harder question for artists, labels, platforms, and listeners is whether speed can ever replace trust, and whether a song can still mean something long after the first reaction if no one can feel the human life behind it.
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Electrisize Festival Returns With Turbo Takeover and Fireworks as the 2026 Edition Brings Artist Signings, New Areas, Valley of Sound and 55,000 Visitors to Haus Hohenbusch.
Electrisize Festival returns from August 7 to 9, bringing the 2026 edition back to the historic grounds of Haus Hohenbusch near Dusseldorf. Presented by 1LIVE, Europe’s second largest youth radio station, the festival is expecting 55,000 visitors for a weekend built around new experiences, expanded stage production, artist signings and fireworks across all three days.
More than 150 artists will play across the three day event, covering EDM, hardstyle, techno and Mallorca party anthems. This year’s lineup includes Alle Farben, Brennan Heart, Showtek, David Puentez, Eko Fresh and Mia Julia, alongside rising names OSWALD and Yung Saint Paul, both featured on the 2026 New Music Hotlist. They join Gestört aber GeiL, Glockenbach, Paul Elstak and Kati K to round out the bill.
Meet the Artists Up Close
Festival founders Raphael Meyersieck and Michael Frentzen are introducing a handful of new experiences this year. For the first time, fans will get the chance to meet their favorite artists in person through dedicated Artist Signing Sessions, collecting autographs and photos to remember the weekend by. There’s also a new Ferris Wheel Flat Rate giving guests unlimited rides and sunset views all weekend long, and for those craving a cold beer with some rock energy, the new pub “The Thunder” offers a campfire setting built for tribute bands and karaoke nights.
Photography by janheesen.com
Winter Vibes in the Middle of Summer
Austria’s Valley of Sound is bringing its own stage to Haus Hohenbusch for all three days, adding a mountain inspired setup to the festival site during the summer weekend. Another new addition is The Source, an area tucked into nature and designed around yoga, music and mindfulness, giving festivalgoers a place to reset before heading back to the stages. The main stage production is also expanding this year, with lights, lasers and fireworks running across all three festival days instead of just one.
Turbo Takeover on the Mainstage
Electrisize’s Turbo Stage continues to be the home base for singalongs and Mallorca party hits, with artists like Calvin Kleinen, Caro Winter, Eko Fresh, Frenzy, Kreisligalegende and Van Keeken bringing the confetti and party focused sets attendees expect. Friday kicks off with a special Turbo Takeover as Frenzy and Rumbombe bring Turbo straight to the Mainstage, while Sunday closes out with Mia Julia taking over the Mainstage to wrap the weekend.
Beating the Summer Heat
Electrisize has come prepared for high temperatures, with free drinking water, complimentary sunscreen, shaded areas, sun sails and multiple chill out zones spread across the grounds. Water cannons will help cool down the crowd, and thanks to the festival’s partnership with Valley of Sound in Austria, snow machines can even be activated across the site if temperatures rise during the weekend.
Non Stop Action at Electricity
The Electrisize campsite, known as Electricity, comes with its own schedule of activities, from the Runners Club on Friday morning and the After Runners Club Party that follows, to Beer Yoga, Shuffle and Hakken workshops, Beer Pong tournaments and a full lineup of DJ sets. Paved walkways connect the campsite to the festival grounds, and campers can look forward to complimentary premium showers and sanitary facilities, along with a 24/7 supermarket stocked with Dutch snacks and camping essentials.
Photography by janheesen.com
Electrisize is also making the festival more accessible this year with the launch of NextGen Tickets, aimed at attendees aged 16 to 19 and starting at just 55 euros. The festival’s popular Group Deals are back too, letting groups of four or more save on tickets. More info and tickets are available at www.electrisize.de.
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