WADE (real name — Juan Carlos Cruz López; born in 1991 in Dos Hermanas, Seville Province, Spain) — is a Spanish DJ and music producer working primarily with house, tech house and minimal/deep tech. He is the founder of the club brand and label Criterio.
Wade's professional career began in the early 2010s. Before his name became widely known in Spain, he spent several years releasing music on European underground labels and touring outside his home country. His records have appeared on MOOD, Suara, Solid Grooves, AVOTRE, Sola, SOLOTOKO, Black Book Records, Musical Freedom and Insomniac Records.
One of Wade's biggest international releases was «Mi Amor», recorded with Cloonee in 2021. Other notable entries in his catalog include «Passion», «Pan Jabi», «Guddi Riddim» with DJ Snake and Nooran Sisters, «Do My Thing», «Never Sleep» with Natos y Waor, and his own releases through Criterio Music.
Childhood in Dos Hermanas
Juan Carlos Cruz López grew up in Dos Hermanas, a city near Seville in Andalusia.
Music was part of his life long before he discovered club culture. He has recalled the Spanish pop music he heard at home, as well as flamenco, a natural part of the musical environment of southern Spain.
Juan Carlos studied music at school, although at the time he had no serious plans to make it his profession.
As a teenager, his first major passion within electronic music was breakbeat. The genre had a particularly strong following in Andalusia during the 2000s, and Wade later described breakbeat as the music that first caught his attention at around the age of thirteen.
He did not only listen to records: even then, he was already experimenting with making electronic music himself using computer software.
Where the Name Wade Came From
His stage name appeared before the beginning of his professional career.
As a teenager, Juan Carlos played basketball. His friends began calling him Wade after the surname of American basketball player Dwyane Wade.
When the time came to choose an artist name, the nickname made sense: it was short, easy to remember and already familiar to the musician himself.
He originally intended the name Wade to be pronounced in English, but Spanish audiences began pronouncing it literally. Over time, that version became so established that the artist stopped trying to correct it.
First Electronic Parties
One of the places where Wade first encountered electronic club culture was the Ohjú club in Cádiz.
Before that, his musical interests had been fairly broad, but attending electronic parties gradually shifted his attention toward house and club production.
His early sets had no strict genre boundaries. Wade could play pop, electro, Latin house and more club-oriented forms of house.
It was only when he began seriously producing his own music that tech house became his main direction.
Beginning of His Production Career
From around 2011, Wade focused on producing tech house.
Interestingly, he considers himself a producer first and a DJ second. In one of his early interviews, Wade said that he had effectively «been born as a producer», with an active DJ career developing later.
For many years, his main production software remained FL Studio, formerly widely known as Fruity Loops.
By 2012–2013, Wade's tracks were already appearing regularly in the catalogs of smaller European house and tech-house labels.
First Releases
Wade's early discography is extensive. Unlike artists who spend years preparing a single debut EP, the Spanish producer released music at an exceptionally fast pace during his first years.
Among his 2012–2013 releases were «Pandeiro», «Fast Shoes», «Bad Dope», «Coconut Grove», «No Acid», «2 Step», «Happy Groove», «Big Spray», «Good Tribal», «MAde In Spain», «Stereo Conga» and other tracks.
The music was released on smaller labels in Spain and elsewhere in Europe, but gradually more prominent names began to appear.
By 2013, Wade had already released material on Stereo Productions and Nervous Records, while his international touring career began developing alongside his studio work.
First International Performance
Wade himself dates his international debut to 2013, when he performed in Naples for the first time.
From the following year onward, he began touring Europe regularly. Early destinations included Switzerland, Greece, Austria, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
This is an important detail in his biography: Wade began building an audience outside Spain before becoming genuinely well known at home.
According to the artist, his music did not receive the same response in the Spanish club scene for a long time as it did in other countries.
Check Point and MOOD
On November 24, 2014, Check Point EP was released on MOOD, Nicole Moudaber's label.
For the young Spanish producer, this was a significant step: his music had entered the catalog of a techno and house label that had already built an international reputation.
Wade later singled out «Check Point» among his early recordings and named it as one of the tracks he would like to use again in his sets.
AVOTRE, Solid Grooves and Suara
2015 significantly expanded Wade's list of labels.
On January 19, «Boldness» was released on AVOTRE.
On September 21, an EP followed on the then-young Solid Grooves Records. It included:
- «Into The Light»;
- «Showtime»;
- «Throwin' Down».
Solid Grooves was only beginning to develop its own aesthetic around groove-oriented house and tech house, making these tracks a natural fit for Wade's musical direction.
On November 30, 2015, he made his debut on Coyu's Spanish label Suara with the tracks «Collapsed Jam» and «Trucco».
By the middle of the decade, Wade was no longer working with a single regular label but with an entire network of European underground imprints.
Latin America
In 2016, Wade began his first tours of Latin America.
He performed in Argentina, Brazil and Chile. South America would later become one of the most important touring regions of his career.
Those early trips did not bring in much money. Wade has recalled periods when he played several shows in different locations over a single weekend and, after expenses, returned home with almost no earnings.
At that stage, the main benefit was the opportunity to expand his audience and perform consistently outside Spain.
Everybody with Solardo
On March 23, 2018, Wade and British duo Solardo released the collaborative track «Everybody» on Sola.
The collaboration was a logical one: both Solardo and Wade were working at the time with groove-driven tech house designed primarily for club sound systems.
That same year, Wade released «Bazze» on Sola and prepared material for SOLOTOKO.
No Sleep
On November 16, 2018, «No Sleep» and «Let's Play Haus» were released on SOLOTOKO, Sonny Fodera's label.
Sonny Fodera also produced a dedicated remix of «No Sleep».
These releases belong to a period when Wade had already been touring outside Spain for many years but was only beginning to achieve broad recognition in his home country.
2019 and the Breakthrough in Spain
Wade himself has described January 1, 2019 as one of the key dates of his career.
During an elrow party at Fabrik Madrid, the crowd began chanting his name. Before long, the distinctive «Wade, Wade» chant became a regular feature of his performances and a recognizable part of his Spanish shows.
By then, he had already been performing across Europe and Latin America for several years, so the moment is more accurately described not as the beginning of his career but as a delayed breakthrough in his home market.
Por Ejemplo
The track «Por Ejemplo», officially released on August 26, 2019, brought Wade particular recognition in Spain.
The track uses speech by comedian and actor Dani Rovira taken from one of his television monologues.
The idea appeared long before the official release. Wade has said that he was watching a Rovira performance on YouTube when the phrase «por ejemplo» caught his attention. He transferred the spoken fragment into a music project and assembled the first version in roughly half an hour.
As a result, «Por Ejemplo» was not a conventional studio collaboration between a DJ and a comedian: it was built around a spoken sample taken from an existing monologue.
The track was especially successful at Spanish festivals and introduced Wade to listeners beyond the specialized tech-house scene.
All Night Long and Black Book Records
On December 6, 2019, Wade made his debut on Black Book Records, the label founded by Chris Lake, with the track «All Night Long».
By then, his music was regularly being played by artists across the international house scene, while his touring calendar included major festivals and clubs.
Criterio
At the end of 2019, Wade announced his own project, Criterio.
The idea was not simply to organize events under one DJ's name. Wade wanted a platform where he could personally determine the musical direction, performance format and choice of artists.
The first major party took place on January 11, 2020 at Fabrik Madrid.
Wade played a seven-hour all night long set, and the event sold out.
Criterio later grew from an artist-led party series into an independent brand staging events in different cities across Spain and beyond.
The Pandemic
Criterio's growth coincided with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wade had new international appearances scheduled for 2020, including Tomorrowland, but the festival season was canceled.
The pause slowed the touring side of his career but gave him more time in the studio.
When the club industry returned, Wade was already developing Criterio both as an event series and as a music label.
Mi Amor with Cloonee
On May 28, 2021, one of Wade's best-known records was released: «Mi Amor», created with British producer Cloonee.
The track was released on Cloonee's label CLNE.
«Mi Amor» combines a direct tech-house groove, a short vocal phrase and a brass sample with a distinctly Spanish character.
The track became one of the biggest club successes for both artists and significantly expanded Wade's international audience.
That same year, Wade also produced an Acid Remix of Cloonee's «Sun Goes Down».
Criterio Music
In 2021, Criterio gained its own music division.
Criterio Music was created in collaboration with Universal Music Spain.
The first official release on the new label was Wade's «Passion», released on November 26, 2021.
For the artist, having his own label solved several problems at once. He gained the ability to choose release schedules himself, put out music that matched his DJ sets, and work with other producers without having to search for an outside imprint each time.
Passion
«Passion» became one of the defining tracks of Wade's new period.
Compared with the more minimalist recordings of his earlier years, it features a more prominent vocal theme and denser festival-oriented dynamics.
The foundation, however, remained a tech-house rhythm section: a short kick, elastic bassline and rhythmic pauses designed to trigger a response on the dancefloor.
Shake & Bounce
On January 21, 2022, «Shake & Bounce» was released on Insomniac Records.
The release strengthened Wade's presence in the US market at a time when tech house was rapidly moving from clubs onto major festival stages.
Pan Jabi
On July 28, 2022, Criterio Music released «Pan Jabi».
The track is built around Indian vocal material and a heavy tech-house groove. It clearly demonstrates Wade's approach to samples: the source material can come from far outside European electronic music as long as it can be integrated naturally into a dance rhythm.
The musician has repeatedly said that he does not want to limit himself to material of one musical origin and constantly searches for ideas beyond house.
Guddi Riddim with DJ Snake
On December 20, 2022, «Guddi Riddim» appeared — a collaborative single by DJ Snake, Wade and Nooran Sisters.
The vocals of the Indian Nooran Sisters became the central element of the track, while its electronic side was built around a dense tech-house rhythm.
After «Mi Amor», it became another Wade release to reach far beyond his original club audience.
Do My Thing
On June 9, 2023, Wade released «Do My Thing» on Musical Freedom, the label founded by Tiësto.
The track particularly highlights his love of short vocal hooks and grooves that work equally well in a regular club and on a larger festival stage.
In 2023, Criterio also released his own tracks «Cyclone» and «The Movement».
Wade's DJ Sets
Although Wade is most often described as a tech-house artist, his DJ sets have never been completely restricted to a single genre.
He has estimated that tech house makes up around 70% of his program. The rest may include minimal, deep tech, house and techno, with harder music often appearing closer to the end of a set.
Mashups and his own edits are especially important.
Wade rarely plays a purchased track completely unchanged. Before entering a set, a piece of music may pass through his studio, where he adds vocals, drums, compression, a new transition or combines several recordings.
As a result, two tracks from other artists' catalogs may sound completely different in his sets than they do in their original versions.
All Night Long
Another distinct part of Wade's live work is his extended all night long sets.
A standard festival slot requires a DJ to reach the most energetic part of the program quickly. Six or seven hours make it possible to begin with deeper house and minimal, gradually raise the intensity, and move into tech house and techno toward the morning.
The first Criterio event at Fabrik was built around exactly this principle, and the format later returned at other venues.
Never Sleep with Natos y Waor
On August 2, 2024, Wade released «Never Sleep» with Madrid rap duo Natos y Waor.
The track combined Spanish hip-hop with tech house and represented an unusual release for both projects.
For Wade, the collaboration fit naturally into a method he had used for years: rather than limiting himself to traditional house vocals, he brings speech, rap and material from other genres into club music.
2024 Releases
In addition to «Never Sleep», 2024 brought:
- «Let's Get Jack» — Musical Freedom;
- «Hurricane» — Insomniac Records;
- «Dame De Eso» — Criterio Music;
- Wade's remix of Dezko's «Ascend».
By this point, Criterio had become the main home for a significant part of his own music, although Wade continued to release on outside labels as well.
Bailame
On April 11, 2025, Criterio Music released «Bailame».
The track continued the Latin side of Wade's music: Spanish-language vocals are combined with a direct club rhythm, while the extended version is designed specifically for DJ sets.
I Was Made For Lovin' You
On May 30, 2025, the single «I Was Made For Lovin' You» followed.
Rather than moving toward harder techno, Wade once again focused on music built around a simple, recognizable vocal idea and an elastic 128 BPM tech-house groove.
FLEXN and Organ Work
On August 8, 2025, Wade and Italian producer Nicola Gavino released «FLEXN» on Take Notes.
According to Beatport's classification, the track sits closer to minimal/deep tech than most of Wade's major Criterio releases. In that sense, it marked a return to a sound already present in his early discography.
In the autumn, «Organ Work» with Rello followed, and in November came «Dance To The Rhythm» with KENZ.
2026
In 2026, Wade continued his series of solo releases on Criterio Music.
On April 17, he released «Right Move», built around a 130 BPM tech-house groove.
On June 19, «People Stompin'» followed.
The most recent release at the time this biography was prepared is «Funky Beat», released on September 11, 2026, also through Criterio Music.
International Festivals and Clubs
Over the years, Wade has performed at Tomorrowland, Ultra Music Festival Miami, Rock in Rio, EDC, Kappa FuturFestival, Sonus, Music On Festival and other major electronic music events.
In Ibiza, his career has been linked to Ushuaïa, Hï Ibiza, Pacha and Amnesia.
He has developed a particularly strong relationship with elrow. Wade has repeatedly described their parties as some of his favorites because of the theatrical atmosphere, elaborate decorations and audience response.
Criterio as a Festival Brand
The project that began with a single all night long event at Fabrik gradually expanded beyond Madrid.
Criterio has staged events in Seville, Málaga, Valencia and the Canary Islands before beginning to appear outside mainland Spain as well.
Individual events have also taken place in Latin America, where Wade has maintained a loyal audience since the middle of the 2010s.
Criterio therefore exists today in two forms at once: as a series of club and festival events and as the Criterio Music label.
Flamenco and Spanish Music
Wade's music often contains elements connected to his Spanish background.
This does not mean that he systematically produces electronic flamenco. More often, the influence appears through short brass parts, guitar colors, vocal fragments or rhythmic ideas placed inside a contemporary tech-house track.
«Mi Amor» is a good example: its Spanish character is created through a handful of details rather than by directly quoting a traditional song.
Wade himself links this approach to the music he heard while growing up in southern Spain.
Breakbeat and Andalusian Roots
The influence of breakbeat is equally important.
Southern Spain, particularly Andalusia, had a significant breakbeat scene in the late 1990s and 2000s. This was the scene that first sparked Wade's interest in electronic music.
Although his own productions later moved toward house, an interest in broken rhythms, unexpected transitions and more aggressive passages remained part of his DJ mindset.
For that reason, defining Wade solely as a producer of formulaic tech house oversimplifies his approach. The genre remains the foundation, but his sets regularly include elements of minimal, techno, hip-hop, Latin music and other styles.
Production Approach
One of Wade's most recognizable characteristics is his love of short, instantly memorable samples.
It may be:
- a spoken phrase, as in «Por Ejemplo»;
- Spanish-language vocals;
- a fragment of Indian singing;
- a brass motif;
- rap;
- a recognizable phrase from older music.
The vocal or instrumental idea is usually repeated over a dense bassline and percussion. This makes the tracks easy to use in a DJ set: the central motif is recognizable almost immediately without occupying the entire sound field.
Another important element is groove. Wade has repeatedly said that the feeling of movement matters more to him than strict genre classification.
Major Wade Releases
- 2013 — «Coconut Grove»;
- 2014 — Check Point EP — MOOD;
- 2015 — «Boldness» — AVOTRE;
- 2015 — Into The Light EP — Solid Grooves;
- 2015 — «Collapsed Jam» / «Trucco» — Suara;
- 2018 — «Everybody» — with Solardo;
- 2018 — «Bazze»;
- 2018 — «No Sleep»;
- 2019 — «Por Ejemplo»;
- 2019 — «All Night Long»;
- 2021 — «Mi Amor» — with Cloonee;
- 2021 — «Passion»;
- 2022 — «Shake & Bounce»;
- 2022 — «Pan Jabi»;
- 2022 — «Guddi Riddim» — with DJ Snake and Nooran Sisters;
- 2023 — «Cyclone»;
- 2023 — «The Movement»;
- 2023 — «Do My Thing»;
- 2024 — «Let's Get Jack»;
- 2024 — «Hurricane»;
- 2024 — «Dame De Eso»;
- 2024 — «Never Sleep» — with Natos y Waor;
- 2025 — «Bailame»;
- 2025 — «I Was Made For Lovin' You»;
- 2025 — «FLEXN» — with Nicola Gavino;
- 2025 — «Organ Work» — with Rello;
- 2025 — «Dance To The Rhythm» — with KENZ;
- 2026 — «Right Move»;
- 2026 — «People Stompin'»;
- 2026 — «Funky Beat».
Main Labels
Throughout his career, Wade's music has appeared on:
- MOOD;
- AVOTRE;
- Solid Grooves Records;
- Suara;
- Sola;
- SOLOTOKO;
- Snatch!;
- Black Book Records;
- CLNE;
- Insomniac Records;
- Musical Freedom;
- Criterio Music.
Creative Journey
Wade's path differs from the familiar story of an artist who is immediately pushed onto the international stage by a single hit. Before becoming widely known in Spain, Juan Carlos Cruz spent several years releasing smaller club records, touring Europe and Latin America and gradually building experience behind the decks.
2019 made him visible to a much larger Spanish audience, but by then he already had substantial international experience behind him. The next major turning point came with the creation of Criterio and the release of «Mi Amor»: Wade gained his own event platform, his own label and one of the most successful tracks in his discography at roughly the same time.
At the same time, his music has preserved a connection to where everything began. Tech house remains the foundation, but minimal, techno, flamenco, Latin American and Indian vocal influences, rap and reworked pop-cultural samples constantly appear alongside it. For Wade, genre usually serves as a framework, while the identity of a particular track is created by groove and one strong musical idea.
