[divider]Bringing the Discussion Full Circle[/divider]
Through the mess of self-aggrandizing and chest-pounding, there’s a discourse worth having buried deep within the rubble. Unfortunately, it was lost the second every headline (ours included) became all about Mat Zo himself. In the interest of making this the last instance of our guilt in that trend, let’s focus instead on the right way to have this discussion.
In a recent lengthy post from Gareth Emery on Facebook, he told a harrowing story of what happens when an artist is incapable of anything that resembles artistry.
“A few years back, at a European festival, I was sitting in my trailer 15 minutes before my set time when the promoter ran in freaking out and wanting me to start early because the act before me (currently one of the biggest acts in the world) had walked off stage saying ‘we don’t have any more music’. They were scheduled for 75 minutes, but thought they were only playing an hour, so at dead on 60 minutes, they pressed stop, and fucked off leaving 10,000 fans with silence.”
In that one simple paragraph, Gareth says three things (that we’ll helpfully paraphrase): 1. “There are artists who exist in our scene who aren’t capable of finding it within themselves to play more than an hour of music,” 2. “This is a problem,” and 3. “I’m about to propose a solution to this problem that I will actively participate in outside the realm of social media.”
From there, he went on to describe the reasoning behind longer sets, eloquently and constructively breaking down the way DJs focusing on one hour of bangers aren’t doing justice to the music. Simply put, this is how you start a discourse worth having. No threats to delete his social media accounts. No broad proclamations telling people “not to underestimate my foresight” (a direct quote from Mat Zo’s Twitter). Just a well-stated, emotional, and genuine statement of the facts as Emery sees them.
[divider]Moving Forward[/divider]
At this point, the best thing we can do is follow Zo’s own advice: Stop listening to him and go out into the world to help heal the scene we love and cherish. Continue to support the artists you feel are worthy of your time and money. Focus on bringing integrity, respect, and love back to the music, and away from the people in suits who see dollar signs instead of treble clefs.
In many ways, it’s up to us as fans to move the needle. The DJs and label heads that value money over artistry get as far as they do with the support of people willing to pay for their product. At the same time, both fans and journalists need to hold those same people accountable, while propping up the true musicians who find themselves in this scene for the right reasons. Mat Zo is without a doubt an artist worth respecting based on his musical ability. But all that is tragically lost in the din of sniping on social media, rather than actively working toward a discourse or solution.
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Pop culture junkie, dinosaur enthusiast, and proud Managing Editor. While an avowed basshead, has been known to be ever-so-slightly trance-curious under the right circumstances.
