I’ve just walked into one of the biggest venues I’ve ever seen, I’ve lost my friends for the fifth or sixth time and I won’t even start on the line for the toilet. Then I hear that familiar little beat, and Solardo by tribesman starts to play. The crowd’s energy is instantly lifted and I’m sure I just saw a double vodka red bull and someone’s iPhone go flying. All this effect from the sole appearance of two men from Manchester.

The duo DJ is something that in my opinion has only recently become increasingly popular within the house music scene. One of the most famous DJ duos is the American duo ‘The Martinez Brothers’. They’re world renown for selling out venues in America the UK and party capital Ibiza. Especially well known for their long term residency in super club DC10. One of the reasons they have had such success aside from hard work is the energy they bring to their events. They vibe off each other and in turn vibe off the crowd themselves. They have turned their home made sounds from The Bronx into worldwide hits. In 2014 ‘Mixmag’ named them DJs of the year they wrote ‘no other DJ or DJ duo encapsulates house music in 2014 like the crown princes of DC10’.It’s hard to imagine if they had not been a duo would their success have been as colossal.

Upcoming DJ’s Solardo have taken over this scene for the UK and have now embarked on their American tour. Being someone that has seen them live more times than I can count and met them a handful of times, it is easy to see how their success has unfolded. The duo is made up of James and Mark; James being the crazy one and Mark being the loveable voice of reason. In a way it’s almost their personality’s along with their talent that help sell them as a duo. In 2017 both The Martinez Brothers and Solardo played at the new venue Printworks, both duos closed sets on their nights. It bares the question that will people pay more money to see two people and does two people pairing up help to sell out super clubs such as Printworks?

However it is not just men embarking on the duo front. The Rise of female duo DJ’s has also come onto the house music scene. For many female DJ’s it is hard to break into such a male orientated scene. Record label ‘Abode’ has took on many talented solo DJ’s such as Ellie cocks and Lindsey Matthews. This is a way for women to break into the industry, however some are finding other alternatives. Successful DJ’s Sam Divine and Jess Bays when breaking out on into the house music scene, used each other to branch their success. They would advertise sets back to back with each other in order to sell out massive clubs, for example Egg or Ministry of Sound. Now both DJ’s manage to sell out even bigger venues alone, and Sam Divine even has her own tour currently ongoing.

There are many things that make a duo DJ such a successful force in the DJ industry, Solardo have all of these things. They’re fresh and show no sign of slowing down when it comes to selling out venues and tours. The fresh vibes they bring to the table make them a threat to Solo DJ’s also trying to make it onto the scene. However many events they pop up unannounced at, or do a special guest appearance at it doesn’t matter as a duo I don’t see them ever getting tiresome .Because as soon as people hear the familiar tune of ‘Tribesman’ play they know exactly what kind of unreal set they’re in store for, whether they’ve heard them play live before or not.