Dance music has gone mainstream. There. I said it. Afrojack and David Guetta are all over the radio. Avicii “Levels” is in too many commercials to count. Flo Rida is rapping over “In My Mind.” I could go on and on, but there’s no denying that the influx of attention, money, and new fans has thrust a once “underground” genre into the national (and global) consciousness.
Here’s the thing though: This isn’t bad — it’s natural. It’s survival of the fittest. In the same way that people were clamoring for Lil Wayne and Kanye West tickets just a few years ago, now it’s all about snagging passes to Sensation, or EDC, or Electric Zoo, or any of the other hundred EDM events slated to go down in the next few months.
There is a bad thing happening now that EDM is so popular however: We’ve allowed the talent to get complacent. And that’s not cool.
The always outspoken Deadmau5 recently published a post to his Tumblr entitled “we all hit play.” If you read the entire piece (which you should if you care enough to read this one), you will appreciate his honesty and level-headedness about the realities of being a musician in 2012. He draws a fine line between the skills required for a live show and the skills required to be an actual producer, saying that “my ‘skills’ and other PRODUCERS skills shine where it needs to shine… in the goddamned studio, and on the fucking releases.” That’s the exact distinction that has needed to be made for some time now. It’s not a DJs job to make new tracks in front of a crowd — that’s borderline impossible — but it is a DJ’s job to take a crowd “on a roller coaster… and connect with them.”
“A DJ is a guy that comes into a room… scans it in… is like: ‘Okay. What do I need to do to get these people to go bananas?” – Sebastian Ingrosso
What worries me is not that DJs are simply “pressing play,” but that they’re pressing play on the same tracks in the same order night after night after night. There’s new music being released at a breakneck pace, but many of the big name DJs are still spinning the same freaking sets every time. They are playing the same bootlegs, making the same transitions, and delivering the same exact shtick every day of the week.
You would think that the DJs themselves would get bored of it, yet they continue to drop predictable, staid combinations like “Coming Home” vs “Quasar” in nearly every set they play. Maybe it’s because we’re still jumping around as ferociously as we did the first time or maybe it’s because they still get paid regardless of what they play. I’m not saying that these sets are bad, because they’re not. I am saying that they’re getting old.
“because this whole big “edm” is taking over fad, im not going to let it go thinking that people assume theres a guy on a laptop up there producing new original tracks on the fly. becausje none of the “top dj’s in the world” to my knowledge have. myself included.” – Deadmau5
The draw to see any DJ live usually stems from an affinity for their original productions, so their skills in the studio should be able to make up for the fact that they are going to just “hit play.” These guys get more music submissions than anyone on the planet; is it really that hard to find new material to play out? They spend countless hours on planes with their laptops and production tools at the ready; is it really that hard to put together a new mashup or bootleg before a set? I miss the days where I would say “Whoa, what is this?!” instead of “Ugh, this bootleg again?” As much as it sucks when Shazam can’t ID a track, it sucks even more when you know every single song being played.
If the current trajectory of DJ sets continues, it won’t be long before everyone catches on to what’s really going on here. In the same way that mainstream radio stations have killed songs by playing them far too often, DJs are quickly doing the same.
Luckily, this problem is easily rectified. Now is the time to capitalize on the momentum of the industry, to embrace the sudden infatuation with our music as opposed to shying away from it. People want to be surprised. They want to be blown away. They want a reason to keep liking it.
“you know what makes the EDM show the crazy amazing show that it is? you guys do, the fans, the people who came to appreciate the music” – Deadmau5
Playing the same stuff over and over is not the way to make that happen. That’s the way to turn people off. That’s the way to repeat history from the rap game — and dance music is so much better than rap.
So this is a message to all the DJs out there who read Dancing Astronaut (and to the ones who don’t too): Don’t be afraid to take risks. Don’t be afraid to play a song that you released in 2011, 2010, or 1995 for that matter. Don’t be afraid to play a new song from an up-and-comer that has the potential to make people “go bananas.” Don’t be afraid to omit your latest single for once. Don’t be afraid to leave us wanting more.
If you do, we’ll keep coming back for it.
hello, this is captain obvious speaking
late as fuck on this post DA
I heard “Somebody I used to Know” mashups at least 10 times at Spring Awakening. Great editorial
Great Article. You speak the truth. People really do want different stuff and I like that guys like Sebastian and Deadmau5 are coming out and saying that. Keeps stuff honest. Long Live EDM!
lol this is old fucking news. Many have complanied on this shit for several months..
So true, much respect.
Yeah, I think it’s time to move on from Internet Friends dj’s
Is Deadmau5 “outspoken” or does he just have mouth
diarrhea?
every time i turn the radio on i hear david guetta and avicii – levels constantly. you make a fantastic point. best editorial piece i’ve read on this matter yet.
this is actually one of the best articles you guys have posted. Well said.
What’s the song that flo rider raps over “in my mind” ?
lol
although this post is a little late, I completely agree. I was extremely disheartened when I heard edc sets nearly identical to coachella sets. still enjoyable of course, but the crowds are different, there should be no reason for their sets to be so similar when the events are 2 months apart. I was so glad to check out the smaller stages at edc just to avoid the redundancy.
late to the party…as usual the purveyors of ghetto err “cool” try to ghetto-fy everything and then tell the mush skulls that it’s quality…sickening.
IMO a DJ should move and educate the crowd.
What annoys me is when artists like Flo-Rida `sample’ someone else’s song whether he has permission or not (on his new album he ‘samples Bingo Players – Cry, Avicii – Levels and Georgi Kay & Feenixpawl – In My Mind’) this leads to people feeling like their favourite `EDM’ artists have sold out when most of the time they never agreed to the use of the sample or didn’t even know about it. Of course there are artists (David Guetta) who will happily collaborate with anyone to get a hit.
I totally agree.
REALLY HAD NO IDEA. where have you been the last 5years in a cave?
WOW!!! someone has really spoken from the heart!! THANK YOU!!! you released my anger about this topic!!! THANK YOU!!
i see it differently, anymore these people arent DJ’s they are entertainers, i agree we need more diversity in the live shows but as long as people can go to a show of festival and dance, get crazy and just forget about lifes BS for just a few and willing to pay for it i dont think we are gonna see much change happen
levels -__ sounds almost older than how my grandparents look lol
As a DJ, this is a given. Most pointless article ever. Maybe you’re talking about Top 40 DJs or something, but any dj that doesn’t take risks or break new music is a horrible DJ.
I agree that Producing is the most important aspect of becoming a top “DJ” however why is nobody (including Deadmau5) addressing the deepest and darkest issue in the scene?
Many of the “Top DJ’s” have ghost writers making their music?? Yes, that means that there are dudes getting on stage hitting Play and then playing someone else’s productions!!! Now that is disturbing as they are getting paid a ton just to hit a couple buttons and stand there for a few hours while playing somone else’s productions.
This is what will potentially be the the thing that pisses of the masses (hurting the EDM scene) and makes the paying masses feel like they got Milli Vanillied! OH well…blame it on the rain, hey hey.
hello,yes this is dog
I like how you worded your opinion I just think you contradict yourself. Your mad at the BIG time Djs like Seb and Deadmau5 for playing almost similar sets, yet you quote Seb about scanning the room and getting those people to go bananas. Those dudes play 3-5 sets a week, don’t you think that they KNOW what gets people to go ape shit in the festival setting. ALBEIT an USA Festival Set… I get your point, if I went to a Seb Festival show and then went to a Seb Club show and it was the SAME set, I would be annoyed. However, I would wager that there are different sets for different venues.
You and DeadMau5 are totally right, but there’s a but.. As a dj you want to promote your own stuff. Would be weird not doing it. Many dj’s don’t get longer than an hour and a half to perform in front of a crowd even the SHM, Afrojack’s and Guetta’s of this world. Of course you can be creative in that time, but there’s not really much room for it. Back in the day dj’s would perform 3 hours or something. That way you can take a crowd on a musical journey through hits, underground tracks, classics and upcoming talents. Mark Knight did it last year in Ibiza with 10 hour sets, the techno/tech house scene is still doing it and on many underground parties you see the same. Doing a shorter set doesn’t mean you can’t be creative, but let’s be honest, what would you do when you have 45 minutes on a huge festival?
So true when Djs play the beatport top 10 and add vocals as a dj you gotta seperate yourself from the rest. I love the feeling when you hear a new song that just gets you like the first time I heard One (RIP SHM) I legit teared cause it was so melodic and powerful
No dude, it’s based off of the energy of the crowd at that particular time. Sure, the prefabricated sets will most likely make people go crazy, but the genuine ones that the DJ changes up to fit the reception of the crowd are the sets that you talk about for years. Just my 2 cents.
at first thought “parody” then was like “holy fucking shit”
Support, your argouments are totally right
Personally I love Armin because his sets never seem to be alike. He is one of the few DJs who tries to be different every time he steps on stage. He played twice at EDC NY and both sets were very distinct from each other. He doesn’t just recycle oldies but goodies, he does mashups, remixes and likes to bring out new stuff. Like most trance he has a sequence, takes you on a journey and tells a story – this is why I adore trance more than house, it’s all very emotional and not just about getting as much hype as possible like house has been lately.
However I think it’s natural for EDM to be diluted, this happens with all music. When rap was becoming mainstream everyone started to jump on the hip-hop train which is why Nas said hip-hop is dead. Then there was the boy band era and everyone wanted to be the next NSYNC or BSB. Then pop with Britney Spears, Aguilera, Timberlake et al made alot of collabs outside of their genre at their peaks.
This is just how things happen and we really can’t be angry about it because it’s a natural response to something becoming popular – everyone wants a piece of it.
Listen to trance its not the same song over and over like house now a daysssss
Deadmau5 is at it again he just talks way too much this is an insane criticism coming from him from a guy who openly admits that going to his shows he plays 95 % of his own music. So the other 5% is made of new hits wow that is like shuffling around your songs every night and throwing in a few things new here and there. I have never been to one of his shows but I have heard from many people that his sets sound very similar seeing him months apart even. In my honest opinion I don’t care if a DJ plays the same set nightly because few DJ’s on tour play the same city consecutive nights and if they do the people who came out the first night aren’t going the second its just too expensive.
I just don’t want to see the DJ/Producer I went to see in March playing the same set in June. Since EDM is so popular at the moment I am sure the DJ’s are receiving promotions at an insane pace even between shows they don’t have time to sort through the amounts of demo’s they receive. I believe most of them are crap if every up and coming producer/dj was making a hit that would make the really good ones nothing special. Many DJ’s do support unknowns or up and coming producers look what Tiesto did for Hardwell last year and Ingrosso with Alesso not to mention Zedd collaborating with a relatively local and unknown talent to many outside the city of Chicago in Lucky Date. If it was all about the music and giving everyone a chance and playing new demos then why are you charging me 40 to 100 dollars to see your show. What happened to the days of old when all tickets were the same price you got there early you took your spot first come first serve now its do you want pit, do you want lower deck, upper deck. As a producer Deadmau5 is exceptional but as a DJ and a person to represent EDM he is downright arrogant and trash. I would like him so much better if he just made music instead of making on the fly comments and later regretting or apologizing for it. It really makes me like him a lot less.
But your next article will praise how awesome dirty south’s set was
Its the same as every other concert. Before the tour, artists pick their setlist and that is what they play. Its the same show night after night for that tour. Everyone does it, no matter if you are EDM, EBM, Industrial, Metal, Rock, Punk, Hip/Hop, Country. I dont see how this upsets people. I thought everyone knew these things.
seriously right i went to a festival yesterday and that song was probably in everyone’s set I mean don’t get me wrong I like it but after hearing it for the fourth time I was over it not to mention none of them played anything from their new album like Rage Valley.
I think that there is room for all kinds of EDM out there. You can’t slight a musician for wanting to play the music that made them popular. Who says EDM “has” to be more like improv rather than a well made play?
FUCKING FLO RIDA….someone arrest him already ughhhhh irritatedd with this Axwell shit! -_____-
Except that typically when a good DJ drops their latest single or mix of the single it tends to make said crowd go bananas…. hahaha
SEB ingrosso has sold out more than almost any other DJ. His sets are beyond predictable. He doesnt practice what he preaches..unlike Joel who actually performs onstage.
I agree about In My Mind, but the chorus in Bingo Players – Cry is a sample itself, so you can’t really complain that he used the same sample.
Listen to trance
deadmau5 assumes that the dj is an important part of a rave experience, for me its the venue, the sound system, the drugs, the other ravers and the songs that are played. this comes from hard work in the studio from these guys, and i dont personally give a shit if someone stands in front of me pressing play if its on the biggest sound system with the biggest tunes. I just like getting hammered and dancing like a prick to massive basslines. these guys are too interested in getting rich, which is diluting the scene massively. bass music used to be about smashing up the rave, now it seems to be about indulging the djs ego and bank account. every scene goes the same way… starts as music by the people for the people, ends up as a few egos being supported by big companies.
ok kiddies, ‘back in the day’ we would go to a carl cox or danny tenaglia show -to name a few- at a REAL club, not some 20,000 seat stadium, not so i can stare at some cube with pretty lights or watch some fool crowdsurfing in an inflatable raft but because DT and cox knew (and still know) how to pick tracks (sometimes their own), mix the shit out of them, and make you dance your ass off till 5am. THATS what EDM should be.
nowadays its commercialized to shit that talent counts very little. the powers that be would rather have a wannabe model that can do a collab with madonna or the black eye peas and who has little actual talent (avicii, porter robinson…etc), but who looks good pressing play on stage.
thankfully cox, tenaglia, van buren, hawtin…etc are still around. you kiddies can go to the arenas with your iphones up and staring at the “performer” and have your fun…but you dont know what your missing out on.
Yeah I love it, or should I say loved it before it got played loads, sleaze, bonfire and rage valley are awesome and haven’t been played by anyone but KP themselves, play some of that!
To say that all of these “DJ’s” aren’t doing anything but “pressing play” is complete farce. Being most familiar with Deadmau5’s sets, shows, and tracks, I’ll say that it’s a completely different experience to see it live, with all of the visual effects, in a large venue, surrounded by sweaty people (some in a chemically altered state), straight up raging. I’m not a drug user, in fact I’ve never touched the stuff. I understand why people do, but it’s not for me. However being there live, beats BLARING, lights shining, people moving, dancing, trancing… it’s a different experience altogether.
Someone like Deadmau5 could easily go up there with a laptop and plug it into the 80,000W sound system, but he doesn’t. He plugs in to an over-the-top production with millions of dollars worth of lights, camera, action. This goes for other artists as well. They all have their schticks on stage, but at the core, they all have their music, their beats, their fans, and their feel.
Best article I’ve read out of the slew that’s come out recently and is absolutely spot on.
I agree with you, however you can’t blast current artists just because they’re mainstream. The DJ is only one part of the whole show. There are dozens of people involved from the birth of an idea, to the cleanup. Current EDM shows and festivals are no longer just about the DJ. The DJ doesn’t represent himself anymore. It’s about the brand. Everyone’s got a logo, everyone’s got a sound, everyone’s got a manager, and everyone’s there for the cold, hard, cash. Nobody cares about authenticity these days, it’s all a big game of moneyball. From Justin Bieber to RHCP to Diplo, it’s ALL about what sells best.
i’m not so sure you got the point of this article…
Very good article really! I did a Mashup with “Quasar” because I was sick & tired of that “Coming home” one. Anyone could take a listen :)
“Laidback Luke ft. Good Grip Vs Hard Rock Sofa – Rocking Quasar With The Best (Oliver Force Mashup)”
http://soundcloud.com/oliverforce/laidback-luke-ft-good-grip-vs
Listen to something other than HOUSE. These are all house artists..there is more (better) EDM than just house. Hardcore, Drum n Bass, Breaks, Hardstyle..none of these styles have gone ‘mainstream’ in comparison to House. You only have yourself to blame. If something is becoming too mainstream..move on to something else. Search more underground artists who release free tracks. That’s the great thing about EDM -it’s extremely vast. EDM as a whole isn’t too mainstream..it’ s usually just one or two genres. As of right now it’s Electro House and Dubstep.
awesome stuff
I hardly see any DJ twice, the ones I have seen are from SHM. But I see them as comedians in the aspect that some of their set will be the same, some will be new. Especially in the same year. since they are usually touring a lot the same sets will be played, the next year they will change.
You’re completely wrong. The reason why these guys are famous is that they play they same tracks over and over again. The predictability of both their sets and the music they produce is exactly what makes them recognizable in the public eye, and as such it is welded into the very core of their business model: The pop routine.
I just saw Kaskade on Tuesday. He only played for 70 min and im 99% sure the set was per-recorded. Thats what i call just pressing play!!
Thank you! I agree. I saw Seb in my hometown three weeks after seeing him at MSG and it was the EXACT same set! Two weeks after that, I saw Alesso who played the same bootlegs/mashups while putting absolutely no energy into it – besides a couple random fist pumps. We were actually making fun of how bored he looked. EDC was another example of the same over and over again .. Internet Friends/Kick Out the Epic Mofo/In My Mind. If my eyes were closed during EDC (namely, Kinetic Field), I would have thought the same dj was playing over and over again.
I have been a part of the scene for years and the increase in popularity is obviously a good thing. It is bringing new talent, money and energy to the world I love and have seen time and time again open the eyes of people who claim they “don’t dance”.
My biggest qualm with opinions like the one displayed here, or Deamau5’s piece, is the whole idea that there can’t be live production.
What about shows like Simian Mobile Disco? The whole time those two are fucking with the analog, tweaking the sounds, and making their sets unique for a truly tuned-in ear. Even they are bored at their DJ sets.
What about live acts like EOTO? They are most definitely EDM and make their whole show a fucking trip to watch come together in front of your eyes. Banging away on a couple souped up drum kits like Jimi did on a guitar.
EDC was a joke. It was billed as the premier EDM event (at least the west coasts) and had such a small swath of electronica represented that I was embarrassed. I heard some songs 6x a night. Example: Adele…wtf?!?. Coachella goes to great lengths to make each year as unique and provide that “never going to see that again” experience. EDC didn’t even come close. All I head was Bangers or Dubsteb with the Hardstyle stage as my only other option.
Don’t be complacent! Now is the time for electronica to show the world that raving can be more than warehouses and teenagers. Let’s put some quality behind the hype and create unique shows that stimulate the mind and body.
PS – Please respond, I would love to hear peoples thoughts.
Genius.
Great article.
At least it’s deadmau5 saying these these things, from my experience (youtube, dvds, etc.) he mixes new stuff each time, but it’s all his stuff or remixes of his stuff.
That’s what gets me excited to see a new video though, not hearing “Some Chords” for the 5,000th time, but instead bring out something like “FML” mixed with the vocals of “I Remember” (from his Toronto dvd). I haven’t really looked into other artists’ live shows, but I can assume they are doing what is described in the article, which while it does work, gets old.
its guys like afrojack, steve aoki, and Deadmau5 fault any ways that this shit went mainstream, nobody today will tell u how cool the last Dj Jean or headhunterz concert was….SMH
don’t most people of any genre play the same setlist for a whole tour? i guess maybe edm was spoiled because it started off with varied setlists and now that it has to fit into the mainstream model of things people are getting ticked. eh, i don’t even listen to DJ setlists often, i stick with the albums.
on a different note: the article seemed to make valid points until “and dance music is so much better than rap.”
let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.
and trance music is dead thanks to mr. DJ Tiesto
Let’s not forget that EDM spans a liiittle bit more than trance, house, etc. Jamtronica is huge and getting bigger; the only place Lotus and STS9 are going is to more festivals, not to mention they play alongside most of the big EDM guys at fests. This obviously isn’t limited to those two bands, just some examples. RJD2 throws awesome sets down. Flying Lotus has KILLER sets. I guess my point is, this stuff evolves constantly and the only survivors are those who stick with their sound, have a lot of material, and mix it all up set after set. I know this is focused more on ” DJs le Propere”, but everyone I just named gets their crowds going lik crazy asses. I’m definitely not hatin’, just saying EDM is a hell of a lot more than solo operators running a table. Natural instruments have a place in any kind of music hell, that’s how we make these outageous noises ;)
i absolutely agree with this article. However i feel one major point that should have been talked about more in depth is the fact that not only are Djs getting lazy during live performances, but I have seen a huge lack of creativity and innovation in terms of productions. I’m not asking for something mind blowing all the time, but songs are all sounding the same today, where as they were a lot more unique before. Although this could just be more apparent now because of the massive amount of tracks that are being released now. And like others are mentioning “listen to trance”. I’ve just been getting into it more myself mostly because it is different, and all the djays don’t play the same songs all the time, and it seems like its a little to intense for the mainstream (for now).
America has raped EDM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv-EnsyI5ns&feature=share
Calvin Harris played the exact same set at EDC NY and EDC Vegas. Till the wind storm blew him off stage. Lol.
*slow clap*
right… and the avicii levels is a sample from pretty lights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sk9XYQMRiLY, which he never gave any credit for… given pretty lights sampled nightmares on wax lol
I agree with this wholeheartedly but the thing is people say they want “something new” but when I drop a set that hasn’t been done before they get scared and say this dj sux…we need to take back the scene from the Kardashian wannabes in bottle service and give it back to the music lovers the people that want new content and not the people that tune in to the radios 5o’clock mix day after day after day I know yall feel me #truthbomb
This article is comedy. Dont you find it funny, that artists who play the same songs over and over at their sets, and play their own productions by the way(playing your own music as a Dj is way fucking tacky imho), are complaining about DJs playing the same songs over and over? To a true lover of underground electronica, deadmau5 and SHM are old news.. Does that mean they are not capable of putting out something new and fresh? I’d love an original sound to come out from them. But I wouldnt hold my breath.
I’ve held a lot of these opinions for a while now, but I must offer a caveat. If you go to a lot of shows and festivals, or at least download the sets from multiple festivals, obviously you are going to hear a lot of the same from a particular artist. And such is the life of a blogger/hardcore EDM fan to go to a million festivals and listen to every set. There are lots of casual EDM listeners who aren’t this privileged; not everyone has been to Ultra, Coachella, EDC NY, and EDC LV in the same year. For many of the new EDM fans, they expect a certain experience when they’re seeing an artist for the first time. I remember at EDC 2011, I only wanted to see Avicii to hear Bromance, Drowning, Levels, etc. People’s tastes change. I’m now more into the guys who switch it up every night (Laidback Luke, Green Velvet, Carl Cox), but that’s because I’ve listened to a lot more EDM now. Just consider, for the average listener, not only are these similar sets “good enough,” it’s what’s expected.
Great article! That is the beauty of Dance Music it is always evolving hopefully DJ’s/Producers can embrace this & take it into the studio when writing Music.
Here’s the problem. These aren’t EDM fans the big guys are playing to, they are pop fans who will kick EDM to the curb the instant MTV starts playing something else. They don’t care about the music, just the scene
ever been to a porter show? doubt it, cause if you had then you would know that his sets are fantastic and the mashups, transitions he has are better than avicii, tiesto, angello, ingrosso.. he opened for tiesto and killed it. tiesto seemed lame afterward
I think you will find it was Etta James in 1962
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmexOmLyuVU
Dance has been mainstream in Europe for about 2/3 decades now. It’s this sudden surge of Americans getting into 2012 dance that’s killing the genre.
The term EDM is America’s way of dumbing down something bigger than itself. I remember being 13/14 and Roni Size dropped one of the best electronic albums I have heard to this date. New Forms was a godsend. What spawned out of that was that metal sounding drum n bass that was like Dubstep’s grandfather. Heavily robotic non emotive sounds that no one but your annoying little cousin listened to. Drum n Bass died fast. 2step in my opinion was the bread and butter for electronic music to be marketed in the states. They failed miserably with Craig David and Daniel Bedingfield by completely changing their styles.
Now on to this electro/dubstep shit that is completely bastardized music. The sound of 56k dial up modem trying to connect. I find it funny that the crown prince of this shit is taking a hit out of a lifestyle that millions envy. It’s nice that Deadmau5 speaks his mind but he’s every bit responsible for this shit.
Plain and simple even Deadmau5 could change his style up if he cared to be innovative. LONE, Floating Points, Disclosure, SBTRKT, Julio Bashmore…these are some of the freshest names in so called “EDM” and they are largely ignored by the masses.
You really think Deadmau5 could do what Aaron Jerome does live during a SBTRKT show? He reinvented his music style and career by doing his homework. On that note go see SBTRKT live with Sampha…and see proper electronic music LIVE.
Well seeing as SHM broke up you probably wouldn’t want to hold your breath.
“Don’t be afraid to play a song that you released in 2011, 2010, or 1995 for that matter”
that summarizes it, I really can’t understand why DJs can’t mix the old with the new from time to time. doesn’t really need to be their release, but there’s SO MANY old and dusty tracks out there that would make any crowd go bananas. I personally can’t get a better feeling listening to a random set or smthg and going “wow, omg!! I haven’t listened to this shit in years!!”
hello? Where were you when Whodini sampled Krftwerk? Dumb point…commerce rules over dignity sadly.
and Rappin 4 Tay sampled in 94 pre existing any of this shit. What is your point?
I agree 100% – there is still a ton of great rap out there as well. All music should be respected and no genre as a whole should ever be put down by such a statement.
lol yea… porter robinson has very little talent *roll eyes*. like i get it, you miss the golden days and some of this shit is getting poppy. but you clearly have no idea who porter robinson is or what he’s capable of, so why include him in your rant? you just undermined your entire argument buddy.
Great point, great point. I have yet to meet one person that can pinpoint EVERY SINGLE track in an Armin set. He’s a true veteran, which is why his sets are amazing.
Porter Robinson is somewhat better than Avicii in the spinning realm, but everyone who is bashing this post has not listened to the other DJs mentioned above. Porter is a pretty solid producer, but he does not play truly unique sets that vary nor does he bring something different to the table. He does have great energy, but you can’t sit there and say the man is a great “DJ” – you would be lying to yourself.
A “DJ” and an “EDM artist” are separate things IMHO. A DJ is the cover band of dance, doing his/her own chopped renditions, sometimes worse, sometimes better. Just look at Noah on youtube rocking out AMAZING covers of pop songs weekly. With timed repeats, delays, dry/wet effects, mashups, etc all day long, its still no different than that dude at the coffee shop on his acoustic guitar singing Freebird at a slow hippy pace. Yeah its unique and cool in its own right, but it ain’t Skynyrd and never will be. The real EDM artist makes their own stuff. And when I pay money to see a band, I want to hear that bands original stuff. I wanna hear Mau5 play the tracks I know and love from him. You don’t go see U2 to watch them play Coldplay covers, so why would you expect a unique artist in the dance world to have to mash things up and play others people shit? If you like DJs, go watch DJs in the clubs. But quit shitting on new original acts that put on unique shows of their own cause they’re not your purist ideal you had fun with back in college in 1993. You just sound like the “old man on the porch, yelling at kids to get off his grass”. Sure, sometime the lines cross (cite Oakenfold, Armin, Tiesto, etc) and magical things happen. But these are the gods of EDM right now. The MINORITY. So quit expecting it from the whole industry and appreciate good tracks when they come, whoever they come from….
And just like in ANY other genera, there are cutting edge acts making one of a kind music like the Beatles did in their day, and theres a multitude of spinoffs the record companies create to make more $$$ (like the Monkeys were back then). At the rate the industry cranks out “talent” these days, 90% of the stuff out there is trash and sounds the same as the other 15 new release albums on the iTunes home page any given day. Rock, country, hip-hop, jazz – all victim to the same treatment. Just because EDM is (relatively) new on the scene does not make it immune, or unique in the fact that the purists are getting pissed that its “selling out”. As so many posts here state: THATS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMETHING GETS POPULAR! Its up to the consumer to filter the garbage and load their iPod with what they like. EDM fans should embrace this fact that they’re getting their time in the spotlight, support the acts they love, and neglect to sink a dime into the ones that don’t. But everyone needs to stop lumping the entire scene into one stereotype or another. And if your hipster mentalities keep you from enjoying anything that conforms to mainstream, then grab a PBR, hit up youtube, and Im sure you’ll find plenty of weird music to listen to that you can still feel unique about….Fact of the matter is, an EDM artist’s instrument is not just the turntables. Its the orchestration of the entire show. Go watch your nearest city’s symphony orchestra, and say that the conductor is worthless for just waving a stick around….
at least paris hilton keeps it fresh
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv-EnsyI5ns
This has been going on for YEARS, not months as somebody else mentioned. It’s obviously disrespectful to play another producer’s track at the same show, and want to know what one of the fundamental problems for this? It is. THE. FANS. It’s the dumbass crowd that fist pumps for 5 hours. It’s the kids that think drugs are synonymous with electronic music. It’s the person who contributes to the millions of downloads, and supports the producer. It’s the person who’d rather fit in with their friends by listening to generic-poppy sounding house, instead of putting on a set of ears and making a choice to listen to something they genuinely enjoy. It’s the moronic people who call festivals “raves”. It’s the trance producers putting out “trouse”. It’s the nu-style producers using the same kicks and structure for every “new” song. It’s the bullshit house producers maintaining the ever-boring “maximal”, big room sound. It’s this recently launched blog (2009) that ranks alongside all other shitty blogs in the saturated EDM blogosphere, and more specifically, this dogshit editorial: “Dance music has gone mainstream. There. I said it.” Well fuck me! You’re brilliant! To really solidify your evidence, you quote MAINSTREAM icons to ground your forever genius hypothesis, and present it as moderately, “on-the-line” as possible. Summation: “Play something new, we’ll appreciate it.” Oh lord god, thank you for speaking such truth in these most horrible of times! Thank you! Thank You! Thank you!
You write NOTHING and people proclaim it as heartfelt and great. See what I’m getting to? Likely not. I bet your fingers were trembling with excitement just before posting this. You thought, “Oh man, this makes so much sense!” You’re no different from the producers who maintain the same track-list every set, how reddit runs the same meme into the ground, how the hipster takes the contrarian for contrarian’s sake. Dude, you’re a tosspot, and this is drivel.
—
And for the asshat that said Tiesto ruined trance, you would be wrong as well. Armada has a fucking monopoly on trance music. Blame them for it’s current, crap sound.
Fuck this whole article, going mainstream isn’t good at all and it’s won’t kill electronic music if it stayed underground, it’s been around forever. The only downside is the DJs won’t be getting thousands more for gigs but that shouldn’t matter since they have the best job in the world.
yeah but trance is the same boring lirycs…..
i love you
i miss u
i wish we were together
same old boring stuff
I’ll just say A State Of Trance, each episode unique and always amazing, that’s how it should be, I believe goin to a show an not knowing what you’ll hear but hearing that it’s amazingly put together speaks for itself and any true listeners of this type of music will always appreciate that more.
All music genres have a lot more in common than not…and theres a lot of crossover. You talk about EDM like its a definitive label for certain DJ style artists, but I dont think that’s correct in all cases. What about group acts like Pendulum and The Glitch Mob? Or Daft Punk?
thank you
This is so True…Thats Actually How I Play…When I Listen I want to Be Surprised.
Fuck festival edm.. What to hear new bootlegs or track please go to the fucking clubs.. That’s where they would released a lot of ID’s and mashup rather than a set in edc or Coachella because festival is really killing it for edm,the only a festival is worth the played is at ULtra…
Eventually every genre, or every scene in music needs the old “kick in the pants” to get the creative energy moving–especially in the face of commercial music and marketing.
I whole-heartedly agree with the comments here. But where will the creativity come from? And what changes could there be? For the live shows, perhaps play with live instruments, or introduce the turntabling elements from hip-hop. Or, simply assign different drums to different buttons, and use the knobs on the mixer to help lead a tune–perhaps an improvised one. An improvised electronic show, or the DJ reacting to a very very good rapper on a freestyle. These are guys who aren’t necessarily mainstream, but people constantly go to see them because of their skill–like a Gift of Gab, Lateef the Truthspeaker, Slug, Lyrics Born, Sunspot Jonz, The Grouch (who has rapped over a Bassnectar tune), or a Cadence Weapon, Rakim, a pre-2010 Dizzee Rascal. These are some of the many little wrinkles that top artists could throw in.
But the real creativity will come from something else, some group whose music will struggle to be played because of the aversion of the general public in that area to it, or because its different. This was EDM as we know it in the late 1990s (with Eurodance more in the mainstream). This is Go-Go in DC when DC was majority African-American. This is the Weather Report (or that style of jazz) in the 1970s or Funk Carioca in 1980s-1990s Rio Di Janeiro (or 1970s Punk rock or hard rock in the 1960s). It could also be bebop/”cool jazz” in the 1940s-1950s. It is also, the 1990s Black Eyed Peas and A Tribe Called Quest, or early 2pac, or anything DJ Shadow has done.
I love how everyone is saying america killed edm, when House and Techno were both established in Chicago,Illinois and Detroit, Michigan. These Genres are the Stepping stone of what you are listening to today.
http://i.imgur.com/4Ecke.jpg
I have been saying this for years. Thank you for putting it on here.
I saw Hardwell in NYC 2 weeks ago and he actually dropped Rage Valley and Sleaze. Mind blowing
hell yes. spot on, great article, hope the djs listen
great article… except suggesting DJs should omit their latest single. if i go and see an act play for 2 hours and they can’t even find 5 minutes for their last track, i’m going to be a bit unhappy. whilst i want a varied set, it is also nice to hear tracks played by the person that made them.
I COMPLETELY LOVE IT!!
This article is the best thing this year. It is true how Dj’s these days play the same thing over and over again. For example, Swedish House Mafia always start their sets with greyhound and a bunch of bootlegs by ingrosso and axwell, and probably squeeze one exclusive track into the entire set. the dj’s that avoid that imo are deadmau5 and laidback luke. As for the mainstream part i feel people will only use EDM instrumentals and originals for 2-3 years. after that it’ll die out and move onto another trend. That’s the problem with todays top 40 music, it’s always using another genre’s style or working/building ontop of the original idea.
Long Live EDM
Peace.
Go see a jam band. Lotus doesn’t pull a setlist until they get to the venue. Same with moe. and STS9. You know that what you just said is false dude…
i think my point was actually more of a hatred for flo-rida than anything else which probably makes it redundant to this post. I understand that a lot of music is based on samples of other songs i just don’t like when someone jumps on another persons song to make them seem more popular. I know about `Levels’ being a sample but I really like Avicii’s version when it was first around but by the time it was being released in the UK it had been played to death on radio and flo-rida had released `Good Felling’ a month or so earlier which I felt was a bit of a dick move.
I wasn’t born
I apologise I jumped on this post to comment too quick without really thinking about it. I know a lot of music is made up of samples and I know what my point is but I wasn’t/ i’m not very good at putting it into words.
AMEN.
if you listen to laidback luke you never no whats coming
Great article!! I totally agree, I feel the set is the same over and over again a lot like BPM and We no Speak Americano and Mr. Saxobeats, I dont even know if I got those titles right, but they were so annoying!! I really love EDM and have a true appreciation for the genre both trance and techno, more then any other music genre there is because they speak about truth and life. I think this is one of the best articles you have posted and most relevant!!
amen to that.
its not that good songs are overplayed, its that actual good songs just arent being played enough imo
huh? Armin has played replays various times these last few months. His ASOT sets are often filled with tracks that he overplayed.
The end of ATB I guess…
so basically…
dont play the mainstream stuff, go back to the underground roots of EDM
Hmm don’t understand Ingrosso.. They were playing the same tracks at the same order as SHM.
people have to give it a try to other genres! go listen to tech house, techno, minimal, psytrance, experimental. try some Apparat! some fuckin Moderat open yourself to new stuff and you will see that underground has really never dissappeared..
I totally agree with you!
Eric prydz is the best about now days
Great post.
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who noticed. That and In My Mind.
Great article but I think it’s the resident DJs that have the pressure to fit into a certain bar/club’s vibe. They always have to adjust to what the owner/manager wants and it keeps you rigid. This should also be a PSA to all bar/club owners and managers. When one set is liked by the management, the one that got you hired, they want the same kind of thing week in and week out but as we all know it hard to make 2 different sets that give off the exact same kind of vibe. Give DJs the space to take chances and you know they will.
years…
“dance music is so much better than rap.” You lost all credibility there.
of course, new tracks are expected to be played and people want to hear it. throwing away smart track selection just to be 100% different every set is dumb. people always talk about knowing your crowd, well he knows that people that attend his set bought/listened to his latest compilation/singles, so why wouldn’t he play those tracks that people are currently hyped on?
in the end his sets are different, sure they contain some of the same tracks and he uses them for maybe a month or few. EDCLV he played a couple of tracks similar to last beyond wonderland, however 3+ of them were remixes of what he played back then, and he fit them into his set in a different way that worked, it wasn’t like he just swapped their places
even laidback luke, considered an incredible dj who always has a different set, plays all of his tracks, even heartbreaker and that is pretty damn old considering the shelf life of tracks. i wish armin still dropped tuvan, which came out at the same time.
or avicii, dirty south, alesso, or defend querr-o-sexual guetta
Another reason why songs are being extremely out-played, and DJs are repeating the same teacks over and over again when they are performing is, in my opinion, because everyone is trying to be a DJ now-A-days. They are repeating the same tracks and the same transitions every time because it east for them. But what they don’t take the time realize is that, BEING A DJ IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. Simple as that. Its about combining sounds, being creative, having originality. Many peiple lack that but still they go around wanting to he a DJ… NO! Stay in your place and find anoter hoby. You are ruining it for us DJ’s that have all the key engredients to make people “go bananas”.
My issue is that the real underground dance music is House. I wouldnt consider anyone named in this article to be ” House “. Theyre mainstream pop-club-dance-electro bullshit that any 12 year old has on their ipod. Im not worried because real House music is waaaaay to soulful and funky for 75 % of the world to wrap their brains around. Most humans hate terrible music that mimics great music, its just a fact. Real Househeads know the difference between POP electro dance music, and the real underground music that will always remain underground. Do your homework and please keep your EDM label away from my House Music.
It doesn’t take a fucking article to realize this. These djs face a dilema, either to play the productions they created and people expect to hear or to simply play an irrelavent set never heard before. Either way with each option comes backlash. What also must be taken into consideration is that many of these djs are no longer just djs they are producers with top hits. So going to see these djs and not hearing their current single is like going to a Lady Gaga concert and not hearing her singles. One reasonable solution is to differentiate every set and create a balance between original tracks and good tracks never heard before.
it’s easy to say “don’t be afraid to play a new song from an up and comer”, I produce every track that appears in a Riggers set, These are all on Beatport for sale, i produce my own bootlegs for sets, my stuff is on over 35 labels, and I struggle to get gigs because I don’t sell out and play what every other dj does….Now thanks to Shazam and sites like this there is no mystery in dance music, everyone knows what tracks other DJs play, and often have them delivered to their mobile phones before the set has even finished so they can sound exactly like the latest “popular dj” at their next gig…..
House music originated in America. Ever heard of Chicago House. Dont say the sudden surge of EDM in America is the reason fir this when House music originated in America. New York is where Morillo first started in late 80s/early 90s.
i really enjoyed what you said. It might be time to retreat and find refuge in other forms of EDM, because after all it is an umbrella term for many many styles of music. At Ultra i was faced with a similar dilemma, hearing the same songs in every set. In retrospect there is not enough variety in sets, it seems that all sounds are starting to blend together as the same, maybe its because every dj is desperate to play the newest material to hit club land. It certainly becomes over kill. In an age where everything is too similar, i belive that a special group of artists will adapt and push the music and live performance better but not doing what everyone else is doing.
You can make new tracks live. It’s called ableton live sets and no set is ever the same, neither is any clip of any song. It’s pretty simple to use and et voila no two sets or tracks are ever the same. The problem of repetitive sets is embarrassing to admit it exists.
“Dance music has gone mainstream.” — yeah about fifteen years ago.
word.
There is a lot of pure shit being released so it’s extremely hard to find the good new tunes – there is very few amazing new tunes being released – that’s the main problem
Could not agree more, and I love you.
haha ok I had to +1 you’re comment because that truely is what house music NEEDS to be… but Porter Robinson is a genius. I don’t throw that term around lightly at all either. His productions are amazingly complex and beautiful. Whether it’s his electro, dubstep, or trance. He is extremely versatile and to say he doesn’t have actual talent is pretty misguided
Tommy trash basslines… need I say more?
I originally felt the same reaction, being a proud American ‘n all… But he is right to a degree. It’s because our population is so large, and most are under-educated about House music, that the DJs are just taking it straight to the bank doing the same thing over and over because, to be honest, most Americans don’t know any better yet… Is it America’s fault? no… I’d blame it on the DJs for not doing a very good job on educating the masses
LOL @ months
Face. Meet keyboard… asdinjasdoisadnia… You have gotta be kidding me
hahaha what?? seeing deadmau5 live is literally as predictable as it can possibly get
I am so fucking sick of Max Vangeli the absolute hack tweeting ‘Steve Angello killing it at the moment!!’ stop sucking up to your damn boss who is playing the same songs as when you last tweeted that.
Eric Prydz will save us all!!
You mention that the same tracks are played (“Maybe it’s because we’re still jumping around as ferociously as we did the first time”) This is exactly right and is why Dj’s play the same sets. 4 months ago If I was to play ‘levels’ twice within 5 songs the crowd will respond just as well as they did the first time. If the track is not dropped during the night/set they walk away disappointing, these mainstream crowds that love whatever the radio plays them hang out and wait for these songs to be heard. I personally don’t understand it and i’m sure these big producer/dj’s don’t get it either but at the end of the day whilst they are up on that stage they are being payed to keep that crowd entertained.
i totally agree, and a perfect example of artists keeping it fresh is laidbackluke. i listened to his set at ultra this year and he played a remix of insomnia-monster mix…. the first time i heard that song was 10 years ago when i watched a night at the roxbury. it was make in the 1990’s and is a perfect example of old school techno. other producers, artists, djs or whatever need to take note and keep it fresh. no one in a million years expected him to drop that and when he did, there was a different wave of emotion that came with it. it wasnt the usually jumping to some banger like quasar but rather a feeling that you get when you first hear something and fall in love. since then hardwell played it in his set and nicky romero played a little piece at edc las vegas.
many people use the name EDM when actually it is house and electro that has gone mainstream… EDM is a huge genre, there is trance, dubstep, techno, euro, drum and bass, breakbeak and hardstyle to name a few. when i was at edc las vegas, the only sets that played the same songs and sounded the same were the main stage ones, which were all mainly house/electro… when i went to the bass pod or the circuit grounds, all dubstep and trance artists played totally different styles, songs and beats. each was unique
That’s where people get it working dead mau5 and guys like him aren’t really djs they are artists lik foo fighters or eminem so when u go see their shows u go to hear their music David Guerra started as a dj and evolved to an artist
It doesn’t matter anymore. Paris just shit all over the perception of what a DJ does. It’s over. Now, everyone and their mother believes they can hit play, fake turning knobs, dance around, and think they are the next top DJ. It’s a shame. Most DJ’s working in clubs and for events have skill. I’ve perfected it for 22 years. I’m also a producer who always creates remixes to tracks and hardly ever plays the same stuff night after night. EDM is not going to last unfortunately. It’s gone beyond mainstream. I think it’s what is needed as it’s gotten to big. It’s time for it to go back underground where it belongs. Where all the true EDM heads enjoyed it most.
Another issue sometimes when I play new tracks is people look around and give me a weird look and get impatient until they hear what they are familiar with. I’ve had requests for the same song I played 5 minutes ago almost every night I play. It really depends where you are and who you are playing to. It’s sad that most of our audience is conditioned to what is mainstream. That’s the problem!!! That’s why the music needs to go back underground. I’m afraid that in the near future. Everyone will be a digital DJ. I saw this day coming when beat sync was added to software and controllers. I’m already finding it difficult to get my DJ rate with all these kids with a laptop, a controller, and a TB of illegally downloaded music from the internet are undercutting the my rates. It’s horrible what has happened. Looks like I’ll just stick to creating the music and let these fly by night, so called DJ’s play my songs with their beat sync buttons. Sad indeed!
You obviously don’t know what house music is.
My point is that “Doi-Oing – Good Feeling” sampled it before this Tay character in 1991.
Checkout Laidback Luke! Best DJ in The world! (Never repeats the same transitions, nor the same songs go together!)
HURRAH LUKE!
The problem isn’t that djs are playing similar repeated sets (this happens in all music genres , if you go to a rolling stones concert, you expect to hear the top rolling stones tracks), the problem is that a lot of the big djs are playing the sammme tracks as each other. I was pretty blown away by edc, kaskade david guetta and another dozen major guys played almost the exact same set. If you’re a top tier producer and you’re getting up and playing the same beatport top 10 tracks as the guy before you that you didnt produce, that’s a shame. Edm used to be about djs digging deep and finding the cool new bangers that nobody has heard of. Anyway, long live guys like feed me and James Egbert who play sets entirely filled with their own tracks. That’s what I want to hear when I go out to a show , crazy talented producers playing their own stuff and adding all of their energy to support the track the way they meant to have it played…not just another dude making 20k throw some phaser over Toulouse . Edm is the only genre of music where its acceptable for megastars to go up and play a set entirely of other peoples music …. It needs to stop.
this is, just amazing, best article of the year so far.
good job, gotta respect Deadmau5 for that message, lets hope it wakes up a few of the artists who are just repeatingly using the same tracks.
i tried this and was living from this but is not working. what people dont know they dont dance too. its not about the dj. mostly the crowd sucks cause they r not open to any new influences. I can say i was always half year till one year knowing what people will like later… But when u play it to early people r not ready for it… And i stopped Djing. Its not fun anymore. Its not like the 90s where we didnt know even one song and was going bananas (as ingrosso says) … If they want a Jukebox there are many out there calling themself Djs.
LMFAO laiback luke is so predictable its not even funny. he is to edm what soap operas are to tv, the same thing over and over again
I agree with you…. A Dj has to share emotions…. not easy and stupid hits…… the game is changed since middle seventhies with Loft, Garage, Warehouse, Zanzibar, Better Days…. those djs played there continue do same as a past. Let’s Follow them and and who takes inspiration by them …. don’t care about MAJORS
Bored of all this progressive commercial crap now, It’s all about the Deep house, people like Jamie Jones, Seth Troxler, Miguel Campbell, Solomun etc… they know how to put on a show!
Yeah hardwell had an awesome set, but what made it less awesome was that his EDC LV set was nearly identical
This is funny to me,really!!
laidback luke is the shit, he does some awesome stuff live too. as many people say, he is the hardest producer to hate.
It was everywhere at EDC NY. Nothing kills a show buzz like a giant eye roll from hearing the same song for the tenth time.
Deadmau5 is an idiot! I have seen him play 5 times over the past couple years! And his live sets are some of the MOST predictable out there! He talks about other djs just playing the same stuff over and over, what does he do? I know what his set was gonna sound like, and 80% of the songs he was gonna play before I even got there, and it was bang on. And the more time goes on, the worse his sets have gotten. I also DO NOT agree with him on that article… Djing is a joke, and beat matching is as easy as counting to 4? ITS NOT! I have dj friends who played for years and couldnt hit a mix. They didnt have the ear for it, they could not beatmatch! Djing is not just about beatmatching either, there is a lot more technical shit that goes with it… A good Dj is one who can read the floor, feel the vibe and direct their set accordingly to what the room is feeling and then mix it perfectly, and technically in a way that blows people away! A good DJ isnt just beatmatching, its so much more…. And if its so easy and anyone can do it, how come I have seen dj’s who have absolutely blown me away with the way they mix and beatmatch, and other DJ’s who absolutely killed the vibe with the way they mixed and beatmatched…. Deadmau5 is a fucking cocky idiot, he just wants to rant about something so people listen to him, as usual! Yes he is right it is ALL ABOUT PRODUCTION, but doesnt mean that the old way of doing things is wrong, or involves no talent, cause IT DOES!!! He always disses dj’s for not synching everything like a cheeseball like him, saying that turntables are stone age and shit…. WELL, rock music is fuckking super old, and the rock music of today is created with the same instruments it was 60 years ago! Music is Music, the tools used to make the music can change and advance with time, but people arent noobs cause they use those tools! There is actually a lot of talent involved, and its not as easy as just counting to 4!!
Deadmau5 TOOL!!!!
He is part of the reason EDM is becoming cheesy, mainstream, and a lot of dj’s are using tools to give them handicaps live like Sync software!!!
I would love to see Deadmau5 beatmatch and mix, he probably doesnt do it cause he cant do it! He cant count to 4… therefore anyone else who isnt a cheesy button pusher automatically has no skills!
Sometimes Mau5 has good points, most of the time he just rants like the cocky idiot that he is!!
agree. Deadmau5 on the other hand bashes people for playing the same stuff, the same predictable sets… Between him and Avicii, their the two most predictable guys in the biz… i have seen over 5 sets from Mau5, each one was more predictable (and cheesy garbage) than the next!
a good dj plays good stuff, works the crowd right… BUT ALSO MIXES PERFECTLY, AND TECHNICALLY! A good DJ can rip you apart with their technical skills! Its not JUST about what tracks your playing, its about HOW you play them… And the best live sets I have ever seen had a lot to do with HOW the dj’s mixed, beatmatched, and HOW THEY PLAYED THEIR SETS! Not what, but HOW!
Shut up mau5, and make some god dam good music like you used to before selling out and going cheesy!
Well said, and very true…. And guys like Tenaglia and Cox BEATMATCH, and MIX…. according to mau5 (one of the kings of cheese, even though he thinks he is so hard) Tenaglia and Cox must be good at counting to 4, cause thats all it takes apparently! Guys like tenaglia and cox will blow your mind with their technical mixing abilities, their track programming, etx… takes a TON of talent, deadmau5 doesnt know what he is talking about.. He is the cause of many of the problems of EDM today!
Mau5 doesnt know what he is talking about!
I just saw porter Friday in Toronto.. the first 10 -15 min was fantastic and unique… then the next hour was pretty much mindless bass and garbage noise, no art , just noise. too bad since he is a pretty great producer. Also the crowd was just a bunch of dudes in tank tops ,putting their biceps in everyone’s faces, get super aggressive ,big testosterone fest. This is not dance music .
I completely agree with this article but I feel like playing Devil’s Advocate today.
DJs are now seen as bands have always been seen. They tour, the release music, you buy their music, they tour, etc, etc. Any and all rock bands that tour will play pretty much the same exact set night after night, city after city. They practice certain songs to play live and deliver the same set every night.
Now, I don’t see rock fans complaining about “[Insert Rock Band here] played the same set in two different cities!
Then why are we?
I think the issue at hand is not that DJ “A” plays the same set time and time again. The issue at hand is that DJ “A” and DJ “B” play the same stuff. This has to change.
Why will no one recognize that avicii levels is seriously just his ripoff of Pretty Lights – Finally Moving.??? So sick of it. Talk about credit being misplaced and talent being ignored.
This is why clubs like Bootie in SF and LA work so well. It’s an all mashup club. Talk about unpredictability! If you get a chance to make it out, you’d be surprised! http://www.bootiemashup.com. It’s weekly in SF and sells out over 1000-1200 people weekly. Bootie is the exact thing you are pushing for in dance music. The DJ’s make most of their own set every week and it’s always different. Combining new and old music with a dancefloor feel. PLus there’s always free CD’s and crazy performances. There is sometimes a positive side to dancing and DJ’s. This is really one of the exceptions to the mainstream “meh” of big name DJ’s.
EDM was created in America, in Chicago. We’ve always been one of the leading producing countries in edm.
laidback luke is the epitome of a creative DJ. how can u possibly say that about him? compared to most other DJs he is always creating a new and fresh set, even if songs remain in his arsenal for years. I have never heard him play the same song the same way twice.
great stuff as usual
reason why I stopped going to EDM shows to see people like AOKI, AFROJACK, SHM, etc you guys all know the big guys. they play all the music I see everywhere on the internet, that is easily accessible and I have heard hundreds of times. I recently went to a show with Pleasurekraft, UMEK, REMO, Jay Lumen and was blown away, so many tracks I have never heard before (most people who went would agree with me). everybody went BANANAS!
<3 Tech house, deep house and techno <3
This article perfectly describes Afrojack. His sets have become so boring. In his EDC Vegas set I knew just about every song. Maybe he’s too busy trying to teach Paris Hilton to suck.
you’re right laidback luke is predictable but at least he’s still better than afrojack live
borgore played centipede at edc! it was sooo dope
justice and boys noize are the best i’ve seen so far, i’ve seen justice just 1 time, but boys noize played completely different sets everytime i saw him
Thumbs up to this editorial, Jacob. I wonder if we’re setting the standard higher for EDM as composed to other music genres when it comes to performance. Pre-formulated setlists have been a long-standing tradition in live music, but it tends to draw ire more in EDM than any other genre, maybe because non-fans commonly critique DJs for not being ‘real musicians’ and not having instrumental musical ability. Either way, the monotony of house performances is pretty ridiculously obvious at this point. Hopefully insightful thought-pieces like these will help provoke producers into investing in their DJ skills and injecting some more spontaneity into their sets.
boys noize goes soooo hard! and never the same set
Deadmau5 is wrong in more ways than one!
I dont agree with this at
all… He is right, production is the only way… BUT, He claims beat
matching and mixing is as easy as counting to 4.. What an idiot! I have
seen tons of sick dj’s who blow you away simply by their mixing abilities! Music programming is equally important but mixing talents make a good dj a great DJ!!!
He disses turntables and shit saying its stone age. They still use the
same instruments to make rock music that they used 70 years ago! Just
cause he is the king of auto syncing, and button pushing he tries to
make it sound like all dj’s have no talent!!! WRONG! He is the one with
no talent! Sure he is a talented producer and all that, but his sets are
almost more predictable than Avicii’s, and his live performances
include a whole lot of nothing except fancy lights! I would rather have a
dark room with a quality dj and quality beats than the spectacle he
puts on! He is a brand and nothing more! His earlier shit was ok but he
just plain sucks now, and just bad talks all his peers and fellow
musicians trying to make himself all high and mighty! DEADMAU5 blows! I
have seen him 4 times live, each time worse and worse and more
predictable than the next!!!
Just ranting like the idiot that he is!
Cocky prick! He is one of the main causes of lots of the cheese thats
happening with EDM today!
The nerve of the guy though
seriously! He disses the scene he is a big part of, and basically disses
what he himself is doing! Why are people paying him such big bucks if
what he is doing is such a joke? Its rude!!! Have you seen any recent
interviews with him? He talks like he thinks he is a god, he talks like
he is perma sketched out! His ego is way to big! Its time some of the
other artists start attacking him! DJ Sneak should give up on the
Angello bashing business and direct it to mau5 instead! Angello has way
more talent than mau5 does, and even though he is lazy and sometimes
plays pre recorded sets, he is still a talented DJ when he wants to be! I
bet mau5 can’t mix and cant beatmatch at all, and thats why he says
what he does!
As an American and a fan of EDM since 2006, back when Guetta was a side act at Ultra… I agree Americans have a way of beating things to death. I am also a DJ and with the Swedish House Mafia’s Greyhound vs. Call Me Maybe Mashup makes me want to vomit. What happened to the scene I fell in love with 6 years ago?
Wrong Carmel! Phil is RIGHT!!! Bang on!
The american EDM craze is turning house into cheesy poppy shit… And turning the artists into over paid, lazy fucks who dont care about the art anymore, just playing pre recorded sets and hitting their sync buttons
Get educated before bashing peoples ACCURATE remarks
Improvisation is borderline impossible? I never though I would relate that statement with music in general. Kind of sad, but interesting.
COULD NOT AGREE MORE WITH THIS
You have a completely warped perception of what “house” really is… Do some research honey.
I truly believe that the best way to listen to any DJ/Producer, is to go to their OWN personal show – and not some 50 minute time slot at a 150,000+ person festival… The best way to really get a feel for any DJ is to spend more then 50 minutes listening to them. This mainstream bull crap is watering down the true talent and ability most of these guys/gals have because they’re forced to create something in such a short time. TyDi put it perfectly – “playing hit after hit doesn’t make you a good DJ, it makes you a good jukebox” And becoming a good jukebox makes you more $$.. Eventually, things will fizzle out just like they always do – and only the truly talented producers and DJs will remain.
”
Don’t be afraid to omit your latest single for once. “.
If dj’s are not playing their latest hits, 90% of the crowd would say that the dj was giving a bad performance.
you could do this, or you could actually listen to good music…and post about good music…instead of fucking awful ass drops that you talk about every day…you ever heard of Cocoon/Minus/Saved/Desolat/Sci+Tec/Hot Creations…oh no, but you say you know house music? this website is as full of as much shit as paris hiltons dj set was
Last time I saw John Digweed, the lighting guy got on the mic at the end and said “give it up for John Digweed, the only DJ who isn’t going to play a remix of levels” HAHA :)
“if something is becoming too mainstream..move on to something else” – you realize that that makes you worse than all of those people who just jump on the bandwagon. STICK UP for what you love, don’t just toss it aside because suddenly other people like it too. What kind of hipster are you?
Usually people in cave’s tend to have more of a technical understanding because their caves tend to have computers with an Internet access. :P
I have been spinning Funky-Ass House Music for over 20 years and I can tell you that the ONLY thing that keeps me interested is playing new tracks that’ll blow peoples’ minds! Check out http://www.soundcloud.com/dj-midimack
Dance doesn’t have to sell out??? It already did!!! Five years ago producers, industry, and radio programers asked the question of how to break EDM through to top 40 charts. Change the sound! It sold out well before it went mainstream.
Dance music has already been mainstream in Europe/UK for decades. Only now in US and A it getting more popular again like the late 90s but more so. More of it means more crap, but a lot of decent stuff as well…
Flo Rida is rapping over In my mind ? He will destroy a beautiful tune, hate that guy since now.
better than rap? eek, wouldn’t go that far. edm is unique and amazing in its own way, but you just took a massive genre that holds some of the greatest composers in history and generalized the shit out of it.
I just hate paying to see an opening DJ with no lights for three hours, and Deadmau5 for one hour. If you play longggggggg sets like Tiesto did in ATL ’09—–no one gives a flying fuck what order you play in, or even what you play. Remembering the exact order of a 9PM – 5AM Tiesto show is goddamn impossible.
or any r3hab track
anyone know of an awesome tech house/deep house blog that sticks solely to these genres???
it’s the kids wearing neon that are the cause of this not the dj’s. there was a time when calvin harris played len faki’s ‘stranger to stability’. if he dropped that bomb at a festival these days he would get crucified by the scenesters in the crowd.
yep
Would you like me to amend that? Every band that sells records puts on the same show every night. Lets face it, you dont buy jam bands albums.
LISTEN TO LORIN ASHTON…….Dude had the balls to remix his OWN TRACK and RERELEASE it on his OWN ALBUM……that takes talent, those are the guys I listen to, those are the guys who will still be doing this come 2015
AMEN
I agree, I saw him at Roseland Ballroom, and I may not of known most of the songs, I did however know that every song he played would have a 3 minute break, a horrible vocal, and an abused synth that was way too loud. I can stand trance but when I hear a beat I don’t want it to stop. Rock the fuckin boat man.
Man what a brilliant post this is !
there are two types of dumbasses in the world of music, people who only listen to something because its mainstream, and people who stop listening to something because its mainstream. just listen to it because its good.
also all you people need to delve a little deeper than all the big name dj’s and producers you have mentioned here. go spend a night on soundcloud. hell. i grew up in an edm scene where we made our own fucking music and went and played it on mountain tops in the middle of nowhere in montana. some of the producers who come out of that scene do indeed create a live production experience everytime, support local music dammit
I think you meant brostep there. Dubstep would have to be almost the opposite of mainstream.
what is it
the track he did with steve aoki “turbulence” is the jam…and thats my two cents… right after lil jon screams “WE HIT TURBULENCE!” you cant help but bang your head to the beat!!!!!!!!
These guys are constantly on the road just about every day of the year, sometimes playing multiple gigs per day. They’re not robots. When do you suppose they make new sets? There’s an incredibly small window of downtime for them and most of that is focused on new productions, aka. the things that make people want to be at their show in the first place.
The reason why they play identical sets on their tours is because they want to give every stop of the tour an optimal experience. If they played a different set every night, one that wasn’t pre-determined, certain venues would get better sets than others.
If you want to have a more personal experience with your favorite DJ go to the after-party. That’s where they usually throw down whatever they want to.
Also, if I went to a Dada Life show and they didn’t play “Rolling Stones T-Shirt”, I’d be outraged. I am going to see Dada Life because I like their music. While variety is always good, to insinuate DJs shouldn’t always play their hit song is completely absurd
This article makes DJs sound lazy. Try putting yourself in their shoes for one week. I’m sure your train of thought would quickly change.
porter robinson is a self righteous asshole. you should have read what he wrote about the origins of dubstep….talk about lack of knowledge…FUCK PORTER ROBINSON! the kid needs to get off his soapbox…
Long live the Art of Djing. We may need to take it back into the clubs for extended DJ sets to fully appreciate an artist’s skills as a “DJ.”
and i cant fucking wait for this to happen…..ive been screaming this for about 5 years now when dubstep first hit atlanta…i said ” i have a feeling this is going to be big”. then two years later when all the “bros” started coming around shirtless and fucked on molly i thought to myself “this is going to be bad” at the time i didnt know just how right i was…its gotten ridiculous. but im pretty sure this is the EXACT same thing that house heads said about jungle when it first hit the scene….dubstep will turn into to something else..and so on..and so forth…thats life…but still cant wait for dubstep to turn into something else…maybe the next group of fans wont be so douchie
I don’t complain about the music i listen to becoming mainstream though. So my comment was for people who complain about such trival things.
how does my comment come across as not knowing what house is?
i totally agree. I just went to an awesome show this past weekend. Low key club, dark, 100 people maybe, DJ(s) who used 2 cdjs and mixed their own tracks. It was awesome. Big shows can be fun too but once you start throwing in stage set ups, lights, etc.. it’s too much and you are making up for the lack of something. If you can’t stand out as a producer then don’t try to become an entertainer to make up for it when playing live sets. Some of my favorite djs/producers use cdjs and are geniuses at mixing.
just becomes we invented it doesn’t mean we aren’t the ones that can kill it.
are you stupid… that shit was from etta james back in the 60s and Avicii’s use of that vocal has absolutely nothing to do with the construct of Pretty Lights’ song. Yeah shits getting mainstream, yeah artists are looking for money. We all are. If you’re so pissed with the climate of EDM and its sudden push toward the mainstream then get off your high horse and go to a small club and sweat your dick off to a somewhat unknown and “talented/fresh/different” dj like the old days and shut your mouth. If you’re looking for Carl Cox guess what, he and Armin will be headlining all the same mainstream festivals like everyone else. Everyone has their own sound in their own right and its fun to see them all play live. Granted its unfortunate that it sounds the same sometime, but not everyone can go to every show and every festival so to most of the viewing public it is somewhat new. I on the other hand have been to multiple festivals and seen the djs themselves elsewhere in the past years and have noted the similarities in their sets but still love them all the same. Let people do them and you do you. Bottom line.
i remember when i went to my first EDM event, and cd for that matter, the sets i listened to always seemed to tell me a story. could never quite figure out what the story meant or was trying to say, but thee was always something there. and then when i got to see my fave DJ live it was a different story, even the couple of times that i followed the same dj to different parties. sure there were a few tracks that he did play night after night, but the set was different and even the mood seemed diferent. although i never got into trance, even though some of my recent breaks i’ve bought will tell you diferent, i’ve found over the years that my taste in music has changed for the better….sorry dumbstep….i’ve grown to appreciate music better than before. and i’m sure everyone has seen or heard about paris hilton and her shenanigans being a “DJ”, i really think that this is going to be bad for the scene because although i have told my nieces and nephews, friends and families to at least try playing turntables, this will bring bad karma to the scene because every little fan of hers will try to be her, try to dress like her at our shows and be as ridiculous as her at our shows….whoops too late! sorry about me rambling on, but in reccent weeks i’ve read countless articles about the music industry, DJ scene and its starting to test my patience and this particular piece has calmed me down for now but with the way shit is going, the younger kids getting stupider and doing more drugs and going to shows JUST for the drugs, we may never have the same scene we did in the 90s-early 2000’s. time to post and go to work, thank you again for reading and hoping it made sense
But that’s what use to be great about EDM – variety. So now all DJs/Producers are becoming like pop/rocks stars. Same songs at every venue. I actually like when DJs mix it up between their tracks and others and play what THEY WANT. People need to stop making the association of ‘well it would be like so and so singing so and so’s song’. No, it’s not. EDM is completely different than any other style of music out there right now. DJing started by mixing other peoples tracks together. Mainsteam music was never about singing other peoples music. There is no comparison.
i honestly believe Deadmau5 only speaks up for the attention. It’s a marketing scheme.
I honestly dont get why so many people are hating on the djs so much… we’re the idiots who are still allowing them to sell out stadiums and paying top dollar to go to festivals where all of the sets become somewhat monotonous… if you don’t like what you hear then don’t act like you do and don’t support these acts or events. force them to make a change, and they will. because if it is wealth and popularity they are seeking and it is uniqueness and more “talent” that we are seeking than their will be a convergence somewhere in the middle and those who are looking only to capitalize and make a quick buck will fall by the wayside. furthermore, for everyone who is blasting EDM for being more popular than ever fuckin realize for one second that it is only because the music is so good that everyone has taken notice or suddenly wants to join the craze. granted there is a great degree of illiteracy to the music out there, this is only because people still have their training wheels on so to speak and will only gain more knowledge with time. It is impossible for them to simply gain the knowledge of what the music used to be or even what it should be overnight and to a certain extent it needs to happen over time for it to really take hold. Every genre of music goes through a cycle of evolution and has its time in the mainstream spotlight but that is not to say that will inherently lose any of its quality. It will just be harder to find the quality you are looking for since so many suiters will be trying to capture the publics attention. If you love the genre so much, weed through the bull shit and find the true gems. If you really love the genre its worth the effort. If you love the genre ignore the assholes allowing it to lose its luster and work to keep what you love about the genre in tact until those who are just in a phase all go away.
I think a lot of his productions are pretty similar, but I would never call his sets predictable – he’s a blast live.
Well, honestly? if you go to all the festivals in the same year you will hear the same music. Its just what is expected. Heres a hint, pick one festival and go. I dont get why my friends go to EDC NY VEGAS EZOO & NOCTURNAL and expect to get blown away by hot spanking new bangers. Have any of you tried producing? Do you know how hard it is to put out new tracks in the rate you want? So I dont blame the DJs for overplaying certain tracks… They should however take some downtime to go back into the studio.
From what I’ve been reading no one has mentioned yet the fact that a lot of the people that attend these shows aren’t even real house music fans. They’re stupid college students who want to party, wear their stupid neon uniform with shudder shades and fist pump like baboons with beer in their hands. All they know is like Avicii and SHM and they go there expecting to hear the same songs they’ve heard on the radio or have come across on the internet.The last time I attended a show (Laidback Luke) I decided to observe the crowd and every time he played something that wasn’t in the likes of Calling (lose my mind) the crowd seemed so uninterested and didn’t care for it (It’s depressing for us who want to hear less commercial and more underground). In the end, the DJ is a performer and has to give what the MAJORITY of the people want, even if it means playing the same thing over and over again. I’m sure that’s at least one reason for the repetitive sets . And clearly the more people attend, the more money they get (Not to say that all DJs look for money).
Marcel, Laidback Luke actually is predictable-Dirty Talk beat ring a bell? He was here in CT & for $20 I went to go see him. I knew what to expect but hoping he would play something different. I can’t name a new track thats popular w/his name on it….
YES! I saw him twice at EDC vegas and his sets were both fucking incredible and only played one track in both sets.
I remember at Spring Awaking Kill the Noise dropped Baauer’s ‘My Nose’, none of my group knew anything about it. Guess what? EVERYBODY WENT BANANAS!!!
Laidback Luke is a shining example of a real DJ. Not a producer who can beatmatch his own songs. A real DJ. He plays on average (from his own admission) 25 songs per hour. Do the math. Watch his hour performance at Pioneer Lives Sound Labs and it shows you what he is doing behind the decks. Constant use of 3 to 4 CDJs and effects through the DJM900. All on the fly. Yeah he plays Dirty Talk. But who cares. That’s his biggest hit. Wouldn’t you play it?
meh, everyone pretty much samples. by that same notion, Etta James seems like a sell out because of Avicii’s levels.
ok, i just saw ur other post… way to man/woman up
I still wonder when I’ll ever hear that song live again….
I don’t understand why people would pay money to see a producer just hit play. I actually respect producers more than DJs because I think it takes much more skill, but I’m not interested in paying 20 or more dollars to see producers just play the tracks without delicately mixing and layering them nicely, or throwing in surprise new tracks here and there that are unreleased. If some guy’s just going to play his album on the huge speakers without messing with it, well I can do that at home FOR FREE. Just need a good sound system.
Eric, a DJ can play the exact same 20 songs for 400 different sets and still create a completely different experience for 400 sets. He can mix them in different order, raise the tone and base levels differently in the mixing, change the timing of the layering between songs, and so much more. I understand people want to hear their favorites, especially when they dont’ go to too many events or are seeing an artist for the first time, as do I, but people are still gonna hear their favorite songs, but in the process the DJ can create a live experience that you can’t get by just sitting in front of your stereo and hitting play on your own. These two aren’t mutually exclusive.
I just don’t understand why you’d pay money to have someone do something you could do yourself at home.
There’s no such thing as an optimal set. One set is apples and another one can be oranges. One venue might have more energy which requires some quicker paced songs. Another venue might have less energy so you’d bust some softer stuff once in awhile. You can still play your big hits everyone loves on top of that. Not sure why you think there’s one optimal performance when different regions and different types of people can disagree so much on what is good and what is bad.
I agree. To me the reason rock stars can get away with playing the same stuff is that the “same stuff’ played on live instrument sounds much more fresh and crisp being heard live than it does on a recording. So there’s no problem hearing the same thing. EDM, though, NEEDS to be mixed, otherwise you can hear it as home, and because it’s a recorded sound by nature, you don’t get anything special out of hearing it live in the first place unlike Rock and other types of music with live instruments.
lol yeah porter with his hands in the air and doing the jesus christ pose for 95% of his set while playing his premixed Traktor set. great producer, push play performer who plays with a few fx
that is so false… shure alot of it is about the money, but there is still djs and fans that could care less about the image, the brand, and really come to appreciate the music, and nothing else. just like everything else mainstream, money is a big factor, but its easy see through the bullshit, and pick out the real artists, that arent motivated by anything but self expression
Having been behind the booth for 5 straight years every single day in Miami as a VJ – I have to say as a surprise for u all – Danish DJ Morten Breum is by far the best technical DJ ever played here. He spins 4 cdj’s and making his own bootlegs live while playing. Tiesto, Alesso, Avicii, Guetta all played the previous days – BUT not to be compared at all – and two of the above mentioned played pre-recorded sets.
Not exclusively tech/deep house, but it covers them in depth: http://www.residentadvisor.net/
Something that people need to understand, is there is a remarkably small amount of money in dance music for how much work goes into it. There will always be Afrojack or Deadmau5 making millions of dollars, but for every one of those guys, there’s hundreds of Felix Cartal/Clockwork/Nick Thayer/etc.-level producers who make relatively a lot less money, but are expected/required to be on tour EVERY FUCKIN DAY of the year. Imagine never coming home, never having a minute of rest, being on airplanes constantly and in and out of hotels and taxis on 3-5 hours of sleep. I’m sure that sounds like an enchanted fantasy for most of you, but the reality is it gets old fast, and you often get floored by a cold or the flu because your under-nourished and under-slept body starts giving out on you. It takes a lot of work to put together a great DJ set (many, many hours if you’re doing something besides the Steve Aoki play-songs-front-to-back and hit people with cakes) … You can’t expect producer/DJs/performers/whatever to come up with new, spanking original DJ sets constantly for shows and simultaneously expect them to put out piles of quality music at a breakneck pace for FREE dollars, that you will also expect to never pay a cent for.
Here’s an example:
After playing a show and schmoozing with people until 3am in Vancouver, you have to get on a flight to Miami that boards at 7:20. You’re at the airport/going to the airport for 2+ hours starting at 5am, the whole time in the car/waiting at the airport you are curating (responding to tweets, tweeting) your Twitter account so that hyper active fans can get a piece of you every second of the day, answering emails from your probably-partially-incompetent management team and lazy-booking agents about interviews, the show you have that night in Miami, etc. Then you’re on a plane for many hours. During this time, you are not sleeping, you are probably having to spend this time working on a new remix, since every modern music consumer will forget about you unless you put out a new, spot-on, hyped out track at least once per month (the exception to this is people like Tiesto, Steve Aoki, etc., who to varying degrees have haven’t written an original note of their own music in years [if ever], but have farm production studios writing their jams for them to keep up with the times – they don’t have to worry about creating anything on airplanes [or anywhere else]). You get to Miami, and maybe you have a second for dinner or to eat somewhere, but of course you didn’t get lunch except for airplane food (which always sucks) and if you got breakfast it was probably just coffee to keep your brain going. You’re not going to show up to the club and find a spread of sandwiches on your rider because that is truly only for a very small minority of live performers, of which you are probably not a member. After playing another high-energy set (that may or may not have had some sort of stressful technical problem, the sound guy was an ass, your computer is crashing in one way or another, the bootleg you printed didn’t print right so you have to last-minute adjust something in the setlist to replace it) and hyping up the crowd as much as possible, you’ll probably be drunk and/or drinking more to keep up with the promoters and the 10-15 people backstage who think you’re a hero and want to give you free alcohol (again, while you may think this sounds great, after the 50th time it doesn’t hold the same allure when you’ve done the same thing for the last 3 weeks and would rather have a nice meal and a second to rest your ears than dealing with DJ LocalguyhippoXX trying to become friends with you and shoving Smirnoff down your throat), so your body will again be slammed when you wake up in the morning, after 3 more hours of sleep, and get on another airplane to Austin, TX to do the same thing all over again.
I love music and always will, but I’m sick of hearing anybody say anything about music that doesn’t pay respect to the fact that all of us in this industry are working very hard (even Skrillex and Avicii, who have buckets of money now, are two of the hardest working guys in this industry [and on the topic, continue to write their own music despite pressures in the industry to do otherwise]) to create an excellent music experience for you all while trying to stay relatively healthy and make enough money to have an apartment and eat decent food – which is very, very difficult when the amount of money we make from the sale of the actual music we work so hard to create is basically $0 so we have to live in airports and vans and taxis and (if you’re lucky/rich) tour buses on tour to pay the bills.
Either start paying for music so that musicians in general can live a normal life, or don’t bitch about what the musicians today are doing.
This couldn’t be more true. Thank you! (++ for the last paragraph)
Hallelujah……
Had that experience with the Twelves. They were my favorite live DJs, but after I’d seen them play three times I realized that the set was going to be pretty much the same every time…so what’s the point in going back?
worst example ever
I love how people get so wound up by this. Who actually cares? Go and see the people you like and rave your ass off and forget about everyone! As long as they are dropping tunes you like and it’s not exactly the same as you’ve seen before what’s the problem? I went to see SHM last weekend at Milton Keyens and it was sick! Throwing down some great tunes and mixes. If you want to see a show with great tunes go see someone like this, and if you don’t then see someone else and quit your whining! Noone forced you to listen to them or go see them. That gig was as good as when I seen Rage Against the Machine, and the reason they were so good was down to pure talent on their instruments. No lights, no smoke, no lasers. All bands/DJs have their own way of making you enjoy the gig, be that a “show” or raw talent and performance. So make sure you actually get out there and enjoy some eclectic material, and quit hating on people just because they aren’t your thing.
PS loved the artical!
At DEMF (Movement) this year I heard Rage Valley being played on 2 stages at the same time and 5 more times throughout the weekend u cant tell me no one plays it. That was right around the time the ep dropped tho so im hoping i dont have to hear it until i see Knife Party at northcoast
i feel you thats one of the reasons i feel that artist place the same songs.
I remember when i was new to the scene and Id see an artist and I would already have a set list in my head that i want to hear. It almost was disappointing when an artist didnt play a particular track you were hoping for.
Its sad but now that edm is getting so popular so quickly mainly i feel that artist are catering to the new fans more than the veteran edm lover.
I think they feel they need to play their classics to keep these new fans satisfied. While veteran edm fans suffer the same set they have heard for the past 5 years of seeing them
reading Deadmau5 it seems he does not know what a live is, a real live:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaMkbcD58Uo
and with this think don’t need to say a word….
resident advisor is the best place for “real” electronic music.
simple and perfect solution
I concur hahaha. Turbulence is shit. Laidback Luke however is very talented.