By: Jamie Reysen

DJ/producer Wolfgang Gartner took over Middle East Club in Cambridge on April 25 for a Together Festival grand finale. The Grammy-nominated producer’s 2010 BBC Essential Mix is a constant staple in my music rotation. Like the mix, his set was an inspired compilation of songs and remixes that were made seamless by his unwavering talents.

Gartner performed for a sold-out venue of elated fans. In the last 12 months, his popularity has skyrocketed globally, and for good reason. Though remixes, like Ting Ting’s “Hands,” put a dance-rave spin on pop tracks, his originals are the pinnacle of great electronic music today.

Getting an early start in the game, Gartner (a.k.a. Joey Youngman), was locking himself away in his California bedroom in his early teens, honing his craft with drum programmers and synths. Dedicated to musical integrity, Gartner is obsessed with spinning precise tracks matching key and pitch perfectly, a meticulous artist in a sloppy world. That attention to detail has earned him accolades throughout the world of pop, working with the Black Eyed Peas, Britney Spears, and more. When David Guetta gives you the nod, you’re in. The past three years have brought nothing but an upward trajectory for the young electro powerhouse.

There’s nothing like the shrill opening electro beats and much-anticipated drop of “Space Junk” live. Other originals like “Undertaker” and “Illmerica” have quickly become classics—so classic that he played and then remixed them over the course of the night.

Gartner made a fitting closer for Together Festival, embodying all that it is we love about electronic music. Electro has the power to transform something old into a new entity in and of itself, but it also gives artists the means through which to create innovative, original work. Gartner successfully does both, and he shows no signs of slowing down.