Markus Schulz (born February 3, 1975) is a Trance DJ and producer, active since 1990. He was born in Germany and raised in America at a young age. At age 13, he became involved in the breakdancing scene that was big at the time and was inspired to create his own dance music. He developed his style through his early career when he took up residency in Arizona, playing for nightclubs and other venues and made remixes of songs by Jewel, Madonna, Fatboy Slim, and several more.
Schulz is known in some fan circles as "The Unicorn Slayer", due in part to his preference in using square waves and pitch bends, in contrast to other Electronic Music artists who fall back on lighter, more upbeat melodies (nicknamed "unicorn beats"). After a fan tweeted, "Markus Schulz: the unicorn slayer of trance." Schulz retweeted it and the nickname caught on. His material can be classified as progressive trance, with influences of techno, Drum and Bass, and House Music.
When not producing, he tours extensively, heads his own radio show called Global DJ Broadcast, and helps other up-and-comers in trance through his record label Coldharbour Recordings. He also releases material through another alias/project of his named Dakota and is one half of the duo New World Punx alongside fellow trance producer Ferry Corsten.
Discography (excluding compilations and remix albums):
- Without You Near (2005)
- Progression (2007)
- Thoughts Become Things (as Dakota, 2009)
- Do You Dream? (2010)
- Thoughts Become Things II (as Dakota, 2011)
- Scream (2012)
- Scream 2 (2014)
- Watch the World (2016)
- The Nine Skies (as Dakota, 2018)
- We Are the Light (2018)
Tropes related to Markus Schulz:
- Concept Album: The Nine Skies.
- Darker and Edgier: His material played on a minor key compared to other trance artists' output (which rests on major keys). "Bayfront (Miami)" is an example of his "unicorn-slaying" style. His Dakota material is even darker.
- Epic Rocking: As is the tradition for trance songs, many of them can clock in at 6 minutes or more. He's also very well known for doing very long, extensive DJ sets.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Ferry Corsten (due to their frequent collaborations and doing New World Punx together), Armin Van Buuren and to an extent Khomha (one of the artists signed on Coldharbour).
- Iconic Outfit: A black shirt (button up or v-neck) and jeans.
- Limited Wardrobe: He's so frequently seen wearing black shirts and jeans during live shows that he sometimes cracks jokes when he's wearing something different.
- Identical Stranger: He and Tiësto are sometimes confused for each other.
- Instrumentals: The main bulk of his music is made up of these.
- New Sound Album: Scream has more dance/club oriented tracks compared to those before (which were more of a deep trance sound). Watch the World incorporated acoustics.
- Obsession Song: "Nothing Without Me" and "Erase You".
- Only in Miami: He's lived in Miami since he was a teenager and stays there when he's not touring. There's also his song "Bayfront (Miami)", a leitmotif made for the city for his 2015 "City Series Project".
- Stalker with a Crush: The video for "Nothing Without Me" has a Loony Fan that obsessively stalks Markus. "Erase You" is a sequel to the song where the narrator tries to but can't forget the object of her desires. Both songs were written as a dedication of sorts to an actual stalker
Markus had dealt with in the past. - Surprisingly Gentle Song: While his material isn't "hard" per say, his softer tracks like "Destiny" and "The New World" can definitely count as these.
- Trance: Albeit a slightly darker take on the genre, to the point that he's also called "the anti-trance artist".
