Recently, a few DJs have gotten particularly vocal about certain views on EDM as an industry. Most famously this week, Mat Zo took on Twitter, calling out several DJs for having ghost producers and all around not being real. On the other side of the fence, we see Gareth Emery, also frustrated with something, but offering up a solution. Let’s go sit over there, shall we?
Gareth starts out with a very clear main point: sets need to be longer for DJs to guide their audience properly. He also tells a story about a time when he was called to stage 15 minutes early because the preceding act didn’t expect to play as long as they were scheduled to. They reportedly claimed “we don’t have any more music” as they left the stage. Seriously?
We understand where Mat Zo is coming from. It must be frustrating to be behind the scenes and witness the falsities that a growing audience just won’t stop eating up. However, he threw a lot of people under the bus, and offered no resolution. Gareth Emery could have easily named those DJs that left the stage early, but he didn’t. He merely used it as an anonymous example of what is wrong with the current state of EDM.
It seems likely that DJs who walked off stage with no more music are the manufactured type that angers Mat Zo. Clearly, they had pre-programmed their entire set and left no room for any fluctuation in timing. These are the guys that don’t read a crowd and play accordingly, guiding them through a journey. These are the guys who Max Graham would say are feeding their audience “baby food” when “a lot of these kids are starting to ask for more and want to discover more.” These are the guys that Gareth Emery refers to, when he’s trying to build a set after the mood has already been set.
“…the fact is when you’re doing a 90 minute peak time set in a club, and the opener ends with a mashup of Calvin Harris, Martin Garrix and Knife Party, that ain’t a good time to build up slow and start your set with Eric Prydz or Hot Since 82. Trust me, I’ve tried.”
So in response to manufactured DJs, and trying to take the stage after them when the energy is already at 10/10, Gareth is announcing his Electric For Life tour. He will play open to close in Los Angeles, New York, and London in November and December. Crowds can look forward to a journey that starts, twists, turns, and ends with what Gareth Emery has to offer.
We can only hope that since Seattle has been so lucky to book open to close sets from the likes of Markus Schulz, Max Graham, Protoculture, and Gabriel & Dresden, that we’ll be lucky enough to see Gareth Emery added to that list in the near future.
Read Gareth’s full post below, and let us know what you think of extended sets! Do you think the scene is ready for more marathons, or would you rather keep doing sprints?
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