Mau P at Coachella 2025: How the Dutch Producer Became the Dance World’s Next Headliner
It’s a scorching Saturday afternoon during the first weekend of Coachella 2025, and the artist compound is buzzing with the kind of barely controlled chaos that defines festival life. Among the parade of golf carts, gear trucks, and security details, Mau P arrives fashionably — or rather, unavoidably — late. Stuck in traffic like everyone else trying to make it to the Empire Polo Club, the Dutch DJ and producer rolls in about 30 minutes behind schedule. No diva behavior here, though. With his manager, agent, and content team trailing behind him, Mau quietly lights a cigarette and sinks into a couch outside his trailer, grabbing a few fleeting moments of calm before the madness of the evening unfolds.
This year marks Mau P’s second appearance at Coachella, but unlike last year — when he was added to the lineup a month before the festival for a last-minute b2b set with Diplo on the new Quasar stage — his name now commands a spot in the Saturday night prime time slot. He’s no longer the new kid with potential. Now, he’s one of the main attractions.
At just 28, Mau P (born Maurits Jan Westveen) has already carved out a name as one of dance music’s most exciting next-gen figures. Tall, sharply dressed, and blessed with movie-star bone structure, he lounges outside his trailer wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a powerful image: his late father, Gerbrand Westveen, mid-performance, playing two saxophones at once. It’s more than a fashion statement — it’s a tribute. Later that night, Mau will close his Sahara tent set with that same image lighting up the screens, accompanied by the words, “In Honour of Gerbrand Westveen.”
If his father was a man of musical genius, then Mau is certainly following in the family tradition — albeit down a different sonic path. “I feel like I have this responsibility,” he says, seated in his trailer surrounded by half-drunk bottles of Coachella-branded water. “Because I love everyone that listens to my music so much, and they put me up front, so I better live up to it.”
Mau P’s Meteoric Rise
If Mau P isn’t quite a household name yet, he’s rapidly becoming unavoidable within the dance music world. While he hasn’t yet crossed over to the mainstream heights of peers like John Summit or Dom Dolla, those inside the scene know the deal: Mau’s been playing the long game — and he’s been winning.
Earlier this year at Ultra Miami, he played an unforgettable b2b2b2b set with Solomun, Four Tet, and Chloé Caillet. Among fans, the performance has taken on near-mythical status, with some dubbing the eclectic crew “The Avengers.” Mau, for his part, remains humble, showing little sign that the pressure is getting to him. Backstage, he casually chats about accents and age like he’s got nothing but time. But in just five hours, he’ll command the massive Sahara tent in front of a crowd that looks to be at least 20,000 strong, spilling past the tent’s edges and climbing the surrounding hills for a better view.
When Mau takes the stage, it’s immediately clear why he’s been given this coveted time slot. His hour-long set is an expertly constructed journey, blending signature tracks, crowd favorites, and bold remixes into a narrative that feels both personal and communal. He works the crowd like a master, twirling and dancing as the big screens declare, “Mau P is dancing.” And the crowd? They follow suit — shuffling, swaying, raving under the desert sky with an energy that feels distinctly un-Coachella-like in its abandon.
Unsurprisingly, the biggest reaction of the night comes when Mau drops his 2022 breakout track “Drugs From Amsterdam.” As the hypnotic beat pulses through the Sahara tent, the screens flash another message: “THIS IS THE SONG THAT CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.” It’s a full-circle moment — a declaration of gratitude and a reminder of just how far he’s come.
From Maurice West to Mau P
Before he was Mau P, he was Maurice West — a teenage producer chasing trends in big room house, building his career on the styles that were already working. “I was really wanting to do what other people were already doing, which is sort of the safe option,” he says. “But it worked for me for like, six years.”
Then came “Drugs From Amsterdam,” a darker, tech house-driven track that exploded into a global hit. Since its release, the track has racked up more than 259 million global streams and nearly 40 million in the U.S. alone. It wasn’t just a hit — it was a signal. Mau had found his sound. And with it came a new name, a new vision, and a new trajectory.
“Now I have the audience because of ‘Drugs From Amsterdam,’ and I have the freedom to do whatever I want,” he says. “So might as well do some crazy s–t.”
That “crazy s–t” includes the genre-mashing single “Merther,” which samples Jamaican icon Ini Kamoze and fuses ‘90s breakbeats, tech house grooves, and basslines reminiscent of Metro Boomin. He’s also collaborated with hip-hop heavyweights like Gunna (on 2024’s “Receipts” with Diplo) and Mike Dean, who helped craft the ethereal “On Again” — the first track to feature Mau’s own vocals.
And then there’s his official remix of Tame Impala’s “The Less I Know the Better,” which dropped earlier this year on Nervous Records. It currently sits at No. 1 on Billboard’s Dance Mix Show Airplay chart, giving Mau his first U.S. chart-topping single.
Solomun, Legacy, and Launching His Own Label
Another major turning point in Mau’s ascent has been his relationship with Solomun. The dance music titan has taken Mau under his wing, signing two of his latest singles to his Diynamic imprint. “He’s like a dad to me,” Mau says. “We talk for hours about life and careers and how everything went for him. I think he sees himself in me, and that’s why he’s so protective.”
Solomun’s advice? Never compromise your style. And Mau is listening.
“My parents brought me up listening to jazz, soul, Chaka Khan, and Sade,” he explains. “My dad played the saxophone, so all of my knowledge of older music combines with how I see modern music and dance music.”
That hybrid approach has led him to release tracks across nearly ten different labels — a strategy designed to connect with diverse dance music communities. Soon, he’ll launch his own label, further cementing his place as both a creator and curator of the sound he’s helping define.
Looking Ahead
With more than 463 million total streams and a growing list of marquee bookings — from Lollapalooza and III Points to Portola and Pacha Ibiza — Mau’s schedule is packed through the end of the year. He’ll make his Red Rocks debut this fall, a rite of passage for any artist serious about claiming their spot in dance music’s upper echelon. And just yesterday (May 27), he announced a headlining show at the Los Angeles State Historic Park — a venue typically reserved for dance’s biggest names.
Only two years ago, he was playing 300-capacity clubs on his first U.S. tour. Now? He’s front and center at Coachella, with the kind of momentum that doesn’t come around often.
His agent, CAA’s Roger Semaan, attributes the rise to both timing and talent. “He wasn’t copying anyone… The way he presents himself on stage and the way he controls the room is truly like no other.”
Mau agrees that his success came faster in the U.S. than in Europe, saying, “In my homeland, you have to kind of win them over a bit more. It takes a while. The States sort of feel like another planet. A lot of people recognize me in the streets. Then when I go back to Amsterdam, I can go grocery shopping and it’s not a problem.”
A Grounded Star in a Surreal World
For all his success, Mau is still adjusting to the weight of fame. “The hardest part is navigating mentally, because this s–t is not normal,” he admits. “I’ve only experienced a little breadcrumb of what Justin Bieber has done, but I feel for people like Martin Garrix — he blew up at 17. I’m glad I blew up after my brain was fully developed.”
He keeps his circle tight — his manager has been with him since they were teenagers, and his photographer since the early days of couch-surfing and bed-sharing on tour. “I never liked that saying, because it sounds so negative,” he says of keeping his crew small. “I just work with the people I know well.”
There’s talk of an album, though the idea scares him. “I’ve never released more than two songs together,” he says, laughing. “That’s a big step.”
For now, he’s focused on the present — on stages like Coachella, on fans who shout every lyric, and on a legacy that stretches from the clubs of Amsterdam to the deserts of California. Mau P may have arrived a little late today, but he’s right on time.
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