‘Put Your Hands Up for Detroit” is one of the most ubiquitous dance tracks in recent memory. Released in mid-2006, the song continues to be played in clubs around the world, appears on dozens of compilations and has inspired countless cheesy covers and mediocre mash-ups.

It propelled its creator, Dutch DJ/producer Fedde Le Grand, to the list of elite international touring DJs, also guaranteeing that he frequently finds himself discussing just why he produced an anthem about a city far from his own.

“It was two things,” says the good-natured Le Grand, speaking from a tour stop in Las Vegas. “The very first version I made actually contained a sample, but then I redid it with MC Gee. We thought about changing it to ‘Put your hands up for Amsterdam’ or for Ibiza or whatever, but we actually like the Detroit reference.

“When I grew up in Holland, the whole Detroit scene was a huge influence on the house and dance scene there and all over the world, and so I think it’s been really important for my musical evolution. Obviously the record is not techno and I’m not from there, but the song was kind of my homage or tribute.”

While the track is decidedly not techno, it was one of the first chunky electro-house songs to seriously cross over to the mainstream, making Le Grand one to watch just five years into his production career.

Le Grand readily admits to stumbling through styles before arriving at the thick, hooky house amalgam he crafts now. “I made trance and techno at first,” he laughs. “The stuff I wanted to make didn’t come out of me right away.” But the producer says he knew he was onto something back in 2004 when he and friends Funkerman and Raf Jansen started the Flamingo label to release his debut EP, Electronic.

“To me, that was the first time I found the middle road between electronic stuff and the more old-school vocal house feeling,” says Le Grand. “That’s actually what I’m still trying to do. It’s vocal house in a way, but it has this electronic bite to it that makes it more interesting for me than just a disco loop with a vocal on it.

“I just love good hooks, whether they’re vocals or other sounds,” he further explains. “I’m always looking for a certain hook, and I try to find a good balance between underground sounds and stuff that’s not too hard for everyone to understand.”

What Le Grand describes may seem like an obvious formula for success, but — let’s face it — it’s difficult to pull off with real depth. He’s done it repeatedly, turning out a succession of singles that balance funkiness and accessibility with edgy, electronic foundations.

Even more impressive is the fact that while tunes like “Detroit,” “The Creeps,” “Let Me Think About It” and the slinky new “3 Minutes to Explain” are all undeniably addictive, they’re also distinctly different from one another. Le Grand has both songwriting skills and a natural ability to work with vocalists, as we’ll hear later in the year when his debut album arrives bearing the credits of singers including Ida Corr, Camille Jones, Stereo MCs and Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am.

Before then, however, Le Grand will spend most of his spring and summer in DJ booths around the world. No stranger to the decks — he’s been spinning in clubs since 1998 — he says he’s looking forward to the heavy touring.

“Most house DJs pretty much play the same sound in Holland,” he offers. “Playing abroad, I can actually spin a wider range of music, although it depends a bit on where you’re playing. Some people will just book you for the hits you’ve done, but I try to limit that to a certain amount of tracks because I think that when people give you a stage you also have a responsibility to not be completely obvious.

“It would be really easy just to bang out hits for two hours, but I don’t really believe that’s good for the culture,” concludes Le Grand. “I always compare it to McDonald’s. It’s good every once in a while, but if you eat it every day, you get sick.” 

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