Martin Garrix

I get to travel the world doing what I love to do - making other people happy... They might not even understand my words, but the one thing everybody understands is music.

The thing is, people only care about their selfie. I am a fan of artists, and if I have 30 seconds with an artist, I am not going to take a photo just to prove on social media that I was with the artist. I am going to enjoy every single second of those 30 seconds, ask questions, talk, actually make something of the moment, thank them.

There's so much more that I want to do. Of course it's great what has happened so far: Ultra, Coachella, EDC. But still, production-wise and show-wise, I'd love to play a show at Madison Square Garden. Stuff like that is beyond my imagination.

Lately, I love creating ideas on my acoustic guitar. I sit in my living room for hours trying different chords.

When I come up with a melody in my head, it could be anywhere: in the shower, on the plane, in bed - often when I'm on the go. I'll record it on my phone with my own voice, humming. When I get to the studio, I check which melodies work.

I think I will never stop working with music; it has become a part of who I am.

I'm always excited to see the reaction of the crowd when I'm playing a new song.

Radio helps you break into a whole different audience. Radio has so much power. And that's my mission: to not only break into the EDM audience, but to break also into the mainstream audience.

I was really young when I signed with Spinnin' Records, and the huge success of 'Animals' hit me by surprise. I didn't expect my life to turn like that at all. But it was a very welcome surprise, to say the least!

I think it's difficult to say what exactly made me become a successful DJ. It depends on so many different things. If I were given an award, I would thank my family, friends, Tiesto and the great team behind me for all their support and hard work. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today.

Of course I party. Of course I go chase girls. Again, for me, balance is important. One hundred per cent, my work goes first. Martin Garrix is my main priority. But to maintain Martin Garrix, I have to enjoy my downtime.

I love Deadmau5 as a producer, as a person. He's super interesting. He's very funny to follow on social media. But as a producer, he gets every single credit I can give him. He's nuts.

When 'Animals' released, I still had one year left in school, so it was, like, super weird. I had number one in the U.K., and I would still go to school five days a week. They made, like, a schedule when I could tour and when I had to be home for tests. But my team made it happen. My parents, they helped as well.

Guetta, in general, what he did for the entire industry, same as Tiesto, same as Daft Punk, they paved the way for us. If Guetta didn't exist, 'Animals' would have never been played on the radio. Because of people like him and Avicii. But mainly Guetta.

I played the Spanish guitar for eight years, like flamenco.

I love Disclosure. Dillon Francis. Bauuer. Flosstradamus. I listen to a lot of different genres.

My parents even let me switch schools, to leave my regular school to go to the producer's school, because I told them producing is what I love to do, and it makes me happy to share my music and my passion with others. I was dreaming to go to that school. I begged them. They were like, 'Yah, know what? If you are happy, we are happy.'

I'm not sure if I'll make the Europeans feel bad, but I'll say it like this: The U.S. crowd is even better than the European crowd.

Tiesto is legend. I've been in the studio many times. We did a tour together; I jumped onstage with him, he jumped onstage with me. Still, every time, I have to pinch myself and realize this is the guy who made me start doing what I'm doing right now.

I think Dutch people are very sober. I don't know if it's the right word. Like, you have the most famous person walk by some Dutch people, and they're like, 'Oh, hello.' And they maybe take a photo, but most of the time, they'll respect you and leave you alone. And if you go to some other countries they will literally mob you, go crazy.