Follow Protocol; Marcus Santoro's rise in the international music scene

Written by Kylie Vesey

This year I had the pleasure of being introduced to the sounds of Marcus Santoro by a very good friend of mine Bianca, and it was in the moment of first hearing him I knew I was going to love him!

Based in Melbourne, Marcus has been DJing and producing for a decade now. Over the decade, Santoro has made a huge impression on the EDM world, having opened for legendary Trance titans Above & Beyond for their Australian tour, travelled to Dubai and played Tomorrowland Unite, as well as releasing music across an array of labels including Axtone and Armada.

Marcus first made his debut on none other than Nicky Romero's label Protocol Recordings with his single "Shine" at the end of 2019. 2020 has witnessed Santoro continue to release music on Protocol, with his first release "Blackout", seeing him team up with a London-based singer/songwriter Lauren L'aimant in the first week of the new year.

His latest single "Faces'' is the third release on the label and for those of you who have not yet listened to this Melbourne-based DJ, do yourself a favour and put him on.

Come with me as I review his latest single "Faces", released last week on

Protocol Recordings.

In the weeks leading up to the release of “Faces”, I had been closely following the build-up to the release; the small teasers provided had me waiting with anticipation and boy was it worth the wait!

The track sees Santoro produce a classic progressive house track with all the elements one loves to hear. Instantly when it starts, you are met with a funky bassline and once those lyrics begin, you are transported to a futuristic place. The melody boasts a soft, but strong echoing tone throughout with simplistic lyrics that just capture you instantly.

When the track hits the first progressive drop I was instantly a fan. This track brings all of those feel-good endorphins you want from a progressive house track, with soft drops and great build ups throughout. It is a simple, yet energetic track which I think will see Santoro be taken to new places.

Will this be the first of many tracks we see this year for our Aussie DJ? If he keeps producing tracks like this I am going to say HELL YES it will be.

In true BTD fashion, we will be reaching out to Marcus' team to request an interview, to ask all those upcoming questions and hope to get a glimpse of what is next to come. If you have any questions in mind, or thoughts on Marcus Santoro, drop them in the comments below!