Last November I met Martin Garrix for the first time and despite feeling ill, the deejay was in great spirits. Fast forward to February, when I saw Garrix again in Los Angeles, and he was still in great spirits although he also felt a lot better.

So, how does the number one deejay in the world stay healthy amidst the partying and jet-setting?

“Food, working out, trying to sleep as much as I can,” Garrix began listing, before digressing. “Sometimes I’m not that good at that.”

The electronic dance music star revealed that between the flights and live sets he relies heavily on power naps. As for working out, Garrix doesn’t even leave the hotel room for that – using his bodyweight for closed kinetic chain exercises.

It makes sense given his busy schedule of touring and recording. Garrix is one of the hottest deejays in the genre right now, so when he’s not traveling for gigs or making the media rounds, chances are he’s working on new music. His latest release is the Dua Lipa-featured “Scared To Be Lonely.” Over the Grammy weekend, Dua sang Garrix’s praises to me.

“The energy in general is most important,” the producer told me in regards to collaborating with others. Garrix broke in to mainstream with the wildly popular instrumental “Animals” but has since scored hits thanks to “In The Name Of Love” featuring Bebe Rexha and “Lonely.” “If you can’t connect with a person, the music won’t be good either.”

Regarding the Dua Lipa track, Garrix said that originally she sent over her vocal and he replied by asking for the entire vocal session. From there, he and producer Valley Girl built out the new compilation heard on airwaves today.

As for the songstress, Dua Lipa’s success makes her want to work harder. It does not make her want to leave the place she’s called home since birth though.

“I travel so much so I like being at home in London,” she replied when I inquired if she would relocate any time soon. “I like that being my base.”

London is where Dua Lipa is recording a majority of her work, including the vocals for “Scared To Be Lonely,” and where she flew to after the Grammys to spend Valentine’s Day.

“It’s overwhelming and exciting,” Lipa said both looking back at her past few months, which saw “Blow Your Mind (Muah)” chart at pop radio in the States, and ahead of her first U.S. headlining tour. “It’s exciting when I see some of my songs being received so well … it gets me excited for the next thing.

“The second I do something, I want the next thing to be better than the last,” she added when I followed up about if the success is changing her as an artist. “I want to always be progressing in the right direction; seeing things grow.”

At the moment, Lipa is seeing the country on a trek that started Feb. 24 in Chicago and wraps March 17 in San Francisco. She’ll hop on a quick six-date Europe tour in April and then head back stateside in June for Bonnaroo.

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By Ralphie Aversa | For Weekender

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