By Angelo De Guzman
Eight years after his last Singapore show, DJ Snake returns to Marina Bay on Friday, 9 October. The French-Algerian producer takes over the new Zone 1 Barge Stage at the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix from 9.25pm to 10.30pm.
His last city appearance came at Ultra Singapore in 2018. Since then, DJ Snake, born William Grigahcine, delivered his third studio album, Nomad, marking its release with around 20,000 fans at Le Bourget. He sold out the 80,000-capacity Stade de France in under three minutes, and relaunched Pardon My French at Miami Music Week in March 2026.
The producer has described 2026 as a time for taking risks, having fun and exploring new ideas. For Singapore, that process begins with the atmosphere surrounding race weekend.
“I think the biggest difference is the atmosphere. F1 weekends have such a different energy because people are coming from everywhere, and you see the whole city moving around the race. So it’s quite different, as you’re not playing for people who came specifically for a DJ Set. They’ve been watching the race, going out, and then they come for your show, and I want the set to reflect that. I’ve been going through a lot of my music and constantly testing different combinations to see what feels right, and there are definitely a few things I’m keeping for Singapore that I haven’t been playing at every show,” DJ Snake tells Angelo De Guzman for NYLON Singapore.
What Makes It Into The Set
Since Nomad, his releases have included Club Soda in June, TOKA featuring Dhurata Dora in July, and the ROLLIN remix with BIA, Stunna Sandy and Bay Swag in August. With a 65-minute F1 set ahead, the question is how that growing catalogue gets shaped for a live audience.
“It starts way before the show. I am always working on the music, collecting things that could work in a set, whether it’s a new record, an edit, an old song I want to bring back, or something I’ve just made in the studio. But when I know the show is coming, I start thinking about how everything can fit together. For me, the music always comes first. Of course there’s a lot of testing that comes with it; something can sound crazy in the studio and completely different when you hear it on a huge system with thousands of people.”
Inside A DJ Snake Set
A finished record can take on another life behind the decks. Edits, transitions and unexpected pairings continue to reshape the music from one night to the next.
“I’m always testing things during my sets, making new edits and playing with transitions because sometimes you hear two records together and it just works in a way you didn’t expect. Every crowd and every show is different, so I like adapting the set and finding moments that feel unique to that night. Singapore will definitely have some special things in there, and I’m excited to see how the crowd reacts.”
That process arrives at the Barge Stage, the centrepiece of Zone 1’s new 2,891-square-metre waterfront venue. Major Lazer Soundsystem, Mark Ronson, ZHU, TOKiMONSTA, Rev Run and Flight Facilities are also scheduled there across the Grand Prix weekend.
The work begins long before he reaches the decks, but a crowd can still change where the night goes. When asked how much gets mapped out beforehand and how much is decided in the moment, DJ Snake points back to the connection in front of him.
“I need to have the direction of the set I definitely want to play, but I also leave some room for the crowd. As a DJ, you have to follow how the crowd is reacting. That’s why I don’t like having every minute planned. If everything is already decided before I walk on stage, then what’s the point? The whole thing is about that connection with the people in front of you.”
Building The Show At Scale
The Grammy-nominated producer has spent years working at a scale where the stage becomes part of the performance. In 2017, he performed atop Paris’s Arc de Triomphe. Three years later, his Paris La Défense Arena production placed him inside a transparent LED structure built to the monument’s proportions, with screens opening to transform the stage around him.
Behind the spectacle is a production system built to move in real time. Visuals, lighting, effects and cues have to remain tightly coordinated, even as the music moves away from what was expected in rehearsal. For the teams backstage, precision also means being ready for change.
“There’s a lot happening at the same time. Backstage, there is a huge team working on visuals, lighting, effects, timing everything! And the difficult part is getting all of those things to hit exactly when they’re supposed to. Especially with my sets because I can change things depending on what the overall mood is and how the crowd is reacting, so of course production has to be precise, but also with enough flexibility for me to freely move around. I think the best shows are the ones where you don’t notice any of that. You just feel it.”
What DJ Snake Listens For
For all the scale behind a DJ Snake show, his final advice is surprisingly simple. For those in the crowd, and artists on the stage, the moment worth remembering is the one no production can manufacture.
“I’d say listen to the crowd. For me, one of the best things is when people start singing along, and you can hear the whole place together. That’s something you can’t recreate anywhere else. You can have the best sound system, the biggest production, whatever you want, but when you hear thousands of people singing the same thing at the same time, that’s the moment.”
DJ Snake performs at the Barge Stage, Zone 1, at the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix on Friday, 9 October 2026, from 9.25pm to 10.30pm.
