'Universal Nation’ by Push becomes the number 1 in The Made in Belgium Top 100

Friday, 4 December 2020 - Every day for the past week, Tomorrowland’s One World Radio has been counting down The Made in Belgium Top 100, taking listeners on a magical journey through the best music in the history of Belgian dance as part of the entire Made in Belgium week. The People of Tomorrow massively voted for their top 3 favorite tracks and One World Radio compiled everything into the brand-new chart with the most iconic Belgian dance artists and tracks, featuring Amelie Lens, Charlotte de Witte, Lost Frequencies, Marco Bailey, Netsky, Soulwax, Stromae, Yves Deruyter and many more. The legendary timeless classic ‘Universal Nation’ by Push has been voted as the absolute number 1 by music fans around the world. Belgian brothers Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike take the 2^nd place with their anthem ‘Mammoth’, while Jones & Stephenson finish 3^rd with their track ‘The First Rebirth’. 

The Top 10 of The Made in Belgium Top 100

1. Push – Universal Nation (1998)
2. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Moguai – Mammoth (2013)
3. Jones & Stephenson – The First Rebirth (1993)
4. Netsky – Come Alive (2012)
5. Lost Frequencies – Are You With Me (2014)
6. Goose – Synrise (2010)
7. Stromae – Alors On Danse (2010)
8. Thunderball – Bonzai Channel One (1993)
9. Fiocco – Afflitto (1997)
10. Technotronic – Pump Up The Jam (1989)

Belgian DJ & producer M.I.K.E. Push is the man behind some of the most iconic tracks in the history of electronic music and has been releasing records under the guises: Solar Factor, M.I.K.E., The Blackmaster, Return of the Native, Plastic Boy and Push. In total, he has used over 85 different aliases throughout his career. Push’s career shot through the roof in 1998 with the release of his iconic record ‘Universal Nation’ on the legendary Belgian label Bonzai Records – it’s often quoted as an all-time favorite trance record and recognized as one of the classic dance tracks of the trance era until this day. In 2020, Push continues to be a major player and influence on today’s trance scene.

In an exclusive interview with Tomorrowland and One World Radio, M.I.K.E. Push reveals how he made his iconic record ‘Universal Nation’: “This is incredible! It’s been a very strange year, but this is really a beautiful spark in the darkness with lots of positivity. ‘Universal Nation’ was made on a Wednesday afternoon in my studio at the Bonzai Records headquarters. I actually had a record completely done, an A-side, and I already gave it to the A&Rs of Bonzai Records – it was called ‘Prisma’. I went quickly into the studio to start working on the vinyl’s B-side and late afternoon, I ran upstairs to the offices with a digital audio tape. I went back to my studio and someone came running downstairs about an hour later, telling me I had to go back upstairs. Everybody was dancing in the office and I had no clue what was going on – they told me this wasn’t a B-side, but a real anthem. When they asked me about the title of the track, I thought about the Love Parade I was going to a couple of weeks later – lots of people coming together, one nation – and that’s basically the story of ‘Universal Nation’.”

A couple of fun facts about The Made in Belgium Top 100

• The oldest track: The Confetti’s – The Sound Of C (number 100), The Neon Judgement – TV Treated (number 83) and 101 – Rock To The Beat (number 39) were all released in 1988, meaning they are more than 32 years old.
• The newest track: Amelie Lens – Higher (number 72) was released in August 2020.
• 92. Samantha Fu – Theme From Discotheque: Samantha Fu is another alias of the Belgian brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, also known as 2manydjs and Soulwax.
• 87. Lazy Jay – Float My Boat: sounds familiar? The famous American artist Azealia Banks sampled this track for her debut single 212.
• 74. The Mackenzie – Higher In The Sky: known for being played a lot during the afterhours in the legendary Belgian nightlife.
• 62. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike vs Ummet Ozcan – The Hum: The Belgian brothers sampled the famous hum song from the movie ‘The Wolf Of Wall Street’ starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
• 46. 2 Unlimited – Get Ready For This: 2 Unlimited is actually the most successful Dutch-Belgian pop band in history, having sold more than 20 million records worldwide.
• 27. Eats Everything – Space Raiders (Charlotte de Witte Remix): back in 2011, Charlotte de Witte performed at Tomorrowland for the very first time after winning a DJ contest, still under her alter ego Raving George. As a 17-year-old, she got to open the Tomorrowland Mainstage, and the rest is history.
• 13. Yves Deruyter – The Rebel: Belgian legend Yves Deruyter started his DJ career back in 1985 in a bunch of famous Belgian nightclubs. His career as an artist began in 1991 when he signed a contract with Bonzai Records.
• 3. Jones & Stephenson – The First Rebirth: the first take of this track was done in 15 minutes. Although Franky Jones wasn’t completely satisfied with the beginning, Yves Deruyter convinced him not to change it – so the first take became the final version as everyone knows it today.
• 2. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Moguai – Mammoth: this track has been played at every Tomorrowland edition since 2013 and it also finished 2^nd in this year’s Tomorrowland Top 1000.

Relive the entire The Made in Belgium Top 100 online or with the Tomorrowland app and check out the official Made in Belgium Top 100 Playlist on Spotify right here.