"Just DJs" Seem to Be Making a Comeback. Not Everyone Is Happy About It.
a.k.a. For years, people complained that getting gigs required making tunes. Now that it doesn't, a new kind of DJ has stepped into the spotlight.
A few weeks ago, I came across the following tweet from LA techno producer 1morning:
To be more accurate, I actually first came across the discussion that this tweet had triggered. Techno Twitter is nothing if not predictable, and 1morning’s words had prompted a rash of likes and comments, including an enthusiastic co-sign from Skee Mask.
From my own perspective, I wouldn’t take issue with his thoughts on “spotlight demons.” Here in First Floor, I’ve written extensively about how DJs are now effectively required to behave like influencers, and how that transformation of the job, particularly in the context of the electronic music industry’s growing commercialization, has left many artists questioning their career choices. While the genre has always had its fair share of clout chasers—no one can look at NYC’s infamous Club Kids from the late ’80s and early ’90s and credibly claim that scene was “all about the music”—it is true that electronic music is now in a place where social media followings often directly correlate with booking offers, and what a DJ is thought to represent has in many cases become more important than what music they actually play.
What’s interesting, however, is that 1morning isn’t some grumpy, middle-aged artist who’s decided that the proverbial “kids” are doing it wrong. Less than a week after the above tweet was posted, he turned 25. His first record came out in 2021, and while he’s had a rather impressive rise since then, touring regularly, dropping additional releases—including last year’s excellent Modus Operandi EP for Fixed Rhythms—and recently landing a mix in the RA podcast series, there’s no question that he’s someone whose career has blossomed in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Over the past few years, 1morning’s generation has repeatedly been blamed for ruining, or at least cheapening, dance music. When I interviewed L.I.E.S. founder Ron Morelli last year, he referred to the current state of affairs as a “clown show,” and with the tweet above, 1morning was arguably making a similar assessment. Hearing that from a 25-year- old (i.e. someone who’s supposed to be “part of the problem”) is something frustrated Gen X and elder millennial ravers should take as a hopeful sign for the future of dance music, along with a reminder that they ought to proceed with caution when regarding any generation, including Zoomers, as a monolith. (I myself have admittedly been guilty of that from time to time.)
So yeah, maybe the “kids,” or at least some them, are alright after all. Dance music’s silly season can’t last forever, and after multiple summers of Britney edits and braindead TikTok fodder, it is possible that something with a bit more substance is around the corner. Time will tell, but regardless of where things go, there is another aspect of 1morning’s tweet that merits further discussion: his assertion that DJs who “can’t produce at all” are worthy of mockery.
I can understand the sentiment, especially in a time when people with minimal skills and a puddle-deep knowledge of dance music are now being routinely invited into the DJ booth. In that context, 1morning (and those who agreed with him) aren’t necessarily wrong, but the notion that all DJs should know how to produce (and presumably vice versa) is something that many artists have spent more than a decade fighting against.