# Eric Prydz
**Eric Prydz** (born 1976 in Täby, Sweden) is a Swedish DJ and record producer who releases music under his own name and under the aliases Pryda, Cirez D, and a range of lesser-known project names including Sheridan, Tonja Holma, Axer, and Dukes of Sluca.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/eric-prydz-mn0000184677) • [2](https://djmag.com/features/eric-prydz-epic-island) He broke through in 2004 with "Call On Me," a filter-house track sampling [Steve Winwood](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-winwood)'s "Valerie," and has since balanced commercial hits with underground club output while building large-scale audiovisual live productions under the EPIC, HOLO, and Holosphere brands.[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21409-opus/) • [4](https://www.ericprydz.com/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1976, Täby, Sweden[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/eric-prydz-mn0000184677) |
| Breakthrough hit | "Call On Me" (2004), sampling Steve Winwood's "Valerie"; a No. 1 hit[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21409-opus/) • [2](https://djmag.com/features/eric-prydz-epic-island) |
| Main aliases | Pryda (progressive house, and his label), Cirez D (techno, on his Mouseville label)[5](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2016/03/eric-prydz-opus-epic-new-album-interview/) |
| Debut album | *Opus* (2016, Virgin), 19 songs collecting new material and fan favorites[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21409-opus/) |
| Signature live shows | EPIC (five versions by 2017; headlined Madison Square Garden in 2014), HOLO (debuted 2018), Holosphere (2019)[2](https://djmag.com/features/eric-prydz-epic-island) • [4](https://www.ericprydz.com/) |
| Labels | Pryda Recordings, Mouseville, and Pryda Presents[2](https://djmag.com/features/eric-prydz-epic-island) |
| Distinctive sound | A single reverberant snare drum used to build tension, widely imitated as the "Pryda snare"[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21409-opus/) |
## Career and hits
Prydz's commercial breakthrough came early. "Call On Me" topped charts in 2004, and he followed it with "Proper Education," a remix built on [Pink Floyd](https://www.edgepedia.org/pink-floyd), a band that had never previously cleared a sample; Prydz described the track as a DJ tool he made for himself, propelled by momentum from a few DJs playing an MP3.[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21409-opus/) • [6](https://djmag.com/content/60-secs-witheric-prydz) The club anthem "Pjanoo" joined these as a widely played hit, and his debut album *Opus* followed in 2016 on Virgin, a 19-song collection that Pitchfork reviewed as a balancing act between overground notoriety and underground credibility.[2](https://djmag.com/features/eric-prydz-epic-island) • [3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21409-opus/)
**Aliases as artistic freedom.** Prydz has explained that his major-label contract owned his real name, so he used pseudonyms to release the music he wanted: Pryda for progressive house and his label of the same name, and the harder-driving Cirez D for techno on his Mouseville label.[5](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2016/03/eric-prydz-opus-epic-new-album-interview/) In his own words, "The record company owns your real name, so I could only release Eric Prydz music through them... They only wanted music they could sell, and I wanted total freedom."¹ In practice the boundaries blur: Pryda leans toward pure progressive house, Cirez D toward techno, and the bigger crossover tracks come out under his own name.[3](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21409-opus/)
## Live productions
Prydz is known for technically ambitious audiovisual shows. His EPIC (Eric Prydz In Concert) series reached five versions by 2017, and he headlined [Madison Square Garden](https://www.edgepedia.org/madison-square-garden) with the EPIC show in 2014.[2](https://djmag.com/features/eric-prydz-epic-island) EPIC 2.0, toured in 2013, featured freeform lighting design, 3D holograms, and live LED installations, and was performed 100 percent live with nothing pre-programmed, so each show could tell a different story.[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-eric-prydz-raises-the-stakes-of-edm-visuals-with-epic-20-20131108-story.html) • [5](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2016/03/eric-prydz-opus-epic-new-album-interview/)
**HOLO and Holosphere.** HOLO first debuted in 2018 and, after several years of development, became his first tourable holographic live experience, headlining festivals including Coachella, Tomorrowland, Sonar, and [Creamfields](https://www.edgepedia.org/creamfields).[4](https://www.ericprydz.com/) Its successor, EPIC: HOLOSPHERE, premiered at Tomorrowland 2019 on 19 and 26 July; Prydz said the required technology was not available off the shelf, so his team developed proprietary technology over more than two years.[8](https://djmag.com/news/eric-prydz-new-live-show-its-far-most-technically-advanced-epic-production-ever) The sphere measured 8 meters in diameter, weighed almost 5 tonnes, and was covered in over 800,000 LEDs; according to a 2025 report, after barely a single session the structure came down in poor weather conditions, making the first-show audience a privileged witness to something not repeated.[4](https://www.ericprydz.com/) • [9](https://los40.com/2025/02/06/eric-prydz-renueva-su-holosphere-con-una-version-20-para-su-nueva-residencia-en-ibiza/) A revised Holosphere 2.0, described as five years in the making, anchored a 14-week residency at UNVRS in Ibiza beginning 2 June 2025.[4](https://www.ericprydz.com/) • [9](https://los40.com/2025/02/06/eric-prydz-renueva-su-holosphere-con-una-version-20-para-su-nueva-residencia-en-ibiza/) For the same island circuit, his [CELL] show is a bespoke light installation and live audiovisual concept created for his Hi Ibiza residency.[4](https://www.ericprydz.com/)
## Ibiza and radio
Prydz had been playing Ibiza since 2004, when he traveled from Stockholm by train over roughly two and a half days because he disliked flying, and he took his first residency there in 2017 at Hi Ibiza (formerly Space).[2](https://djmag.com/features/eric-prydz-epic-island) His EPIC Radio show on Beats 1 ran from 2016, and the show later returned after an eight-year hiatus.[10](https://djmag.com/news/eric-prydz-i-make-music-missing-my-record-box) • [11](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eric-prydz-epic-radio/id527682150)
## Recent activity
For more than 20 years Prydz declined to play "Call On Me," calling it "super lazy"; at one 2008 gig in [Quebec City](https://www.edgepedia.org/quebec-city), Canada, punters bottled his decks when he refused. In March 2025 he changed course, mixing the track into Steve Winwood's "Valerie" at a show in Austin, telling Billboard there had been no planning and that he was as shocked as everyone else.[12](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/djs-producers/there-was-no-planning-i-was-as-shocked-as-everyone-else-eric-prydz-reveals-why-hes-changed-his-mind-about-playing-the-hit)
In 2026 he announced six completed EPs under the Pryda alias, each with two tracks in the classic two-track format of Pryda Recordings' earlier era, with titles including "Mygga" and "Modulation." He also teased unreleased IDs for his European sets and scheduled a twelve-date United States tour running from late October to early December 2026, from Miami to Chicago via San Francisco, Dallas, Mexico City, Washington, Atlanta, and Boston.[13](https://los40.com/2026/05/29/que-esta-preparando-eric-prydz-todo-sobre-su-nueva-etapa-como-pryda/) • [14](https://los40.com/2026/08/31/eric-prydz-inaugura-una-nueva-era-con-un-id-inedito-para-sus-sets-europeos-de-2026/) • [4](https://www.ericprydz.com/)
## References
1. [Eric Prydz – Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/eric-prydz-mn0000184677)
2. [Eric Prydz: from Epic to the island, DJ Mag (2017)](https://djmag.com/features/eric-prydz-epic-island)
3. [Eric Prydz: Opus Album Review, Pitchfork (2016)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21409-opus/)
4. [Eric Prydz official site](https://www.ericprydz.com/)
5. [Eric Prydz Does Whatever the F**k He Wants To Do, SPIN (2016)](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2016/03/eric-prydz-opus-epic-new-album-interview/)
6. [60 secs with...Eric Prydz, DJ Mag (2007)](https://djmag.com/content/60-secs-witheric-prydz)
7. [Eric Prydz raises the stakes of EDM visuals with EPIC 2.0, Los Angeles Times (2013)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-eric-prydz-raises-the-stakes-of-edm-visuals-with-epic-20-20131108-story.html)
8. [Eric Prydz on new live show: 'It's by far the most technically advanced EPIC production ever', DJ Mag (2019)](https://djmag.com/news/eric-prydz-new-live-show-its-far-most-technically-advanced-epic-production-ever)
9. [Eric Prydz renueva su Holosphere con una versión 2.0 para su nueva residencia en Ibiza, Los 40 (2025)](https://los40.com/2025/02/06/eric-prydz-renueva-su-holosphere-con-una-version-20-para-su-nueva-residencia-en-ibiza/)
10. [Eric Prydz: "I make the music that is missing from my record box", DJ Mag (2019)](https://djmag.com/news/eric-prydz-i-make-music-missing-my-record-box)
11. [ERIC PRYDZ – EPIC RADIO, Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eric-prydz-epic-radio/id527682150)
12. [Eric Prydz reveals why he's changed his mind about playing THE hit, MusicRadar (2025)](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/djs-producers/there-was-no-planning-i-was-as-shocked-as-everyone-else-eric-prydz-reveals-why-hes-changed-his-mind-about-playing-the-hit)
13. [¿Qué está preparando Eric Prydz? Todo sobre su nueva etapa como Pryda, Los 40 (2026)](https://los40.com/2026/05/29/que-esta-preparando-eric-prydz-todo-sobre-su-nueva-etapa-como-pryda/)
14. [Eric Prydz inaugura una nueva era anunciando varios IDs inéditos para sus sets europeos de 2026, Los 40 (2026)](https://los40.com/2026/08/31/eric-prydz-inaugura-una-nueva-era-con-un-id-inedito-para-sus-sets-europeos-de-2026/)
¹ Quoted in SPIN, 2016.
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › Transnational genre scenes › Electronic dance music (EDM) and rave culture › Artists, groups, and people: Electronic dance music (EDM) and rave culture › Mainstage EDM and dance-pop crossover artists*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license