#6 __ how to enjoy dance music

More than any other art form, music is experiential. A cheesy pop song with zero artistic skill or merit can still enrapture if it hits at a precise moment in time, with a certain group of friends, in the right environment. On the flip side, it’s possible to completely miss out on a masterpiece without the right perspective. If you listen to Bach with the same kind of ears you bring to Wu Tang, it’s not going to work out. The expectations you bring to a piece of music will drastically alter your experience.

A number of people have told me they just don’t get dance music and never will. I still want to believe that dance music can be enjoyed by anyone. I probably can’t write an essay that could change anyone’s mind about house or techno, no matter how much poetry I sling. But perhaps there are ways of thinking about this music that could make it more approachable.

Dance music works on large timescales. A typical set will be 2 hours long, and 4 hours is common. Some DJs can go up to 6, 8, even 10 hours straight. If you listen to these sets in the same way you approach a concert or performance, your ears will quickly tire out; the moment-to-moment experience is so repetitive, even in more active genres or spontaneous styles of mixing. You’ll be overwhelmed by the never-ending bass lines that carry on at a steady 120–140 beats per minute, the relentless 4/4 drum patterns that are foundational in many dance genres.

But if you take a step back, there’s broader narratives at play. Skilled DJs are doing far more than selecting tracks and transitioning between them. Sometimes, they’re guiding the crowd through a long journey across many moods and soundscapes, deftly weaving between vastly different genres. Some sets are purpose-built to prepare the crowd for the next DJ, gradually building anticipation and excitement for an eventual climax delivered over the course of 3 hours. Every party has its own arc. That’s part of why I like showing up early to parties, to see how it evolves from beginning to end.

Patience goes a long way in this regard. I often let my mind wander on the dance floor, thinking about anything and everything, just letting the sound and atmosphere fall into the background. There are many ways to be on a dance floor, and countless ways to enjoy this music. Part of what’s beautiful about this music is seeing what it brings out in each person.

Dance floors contain a crowd, not an audience. This isn’t so much about the music itself as the environment — but you can’t really separate the two anyway, because so much of the purpose in dance music is about establishing moods and vibes.

To the point: there’s a line from one of my favorite dance zines: “Music without words shouldn’t come from a stage”. The modern reality of dance music is that it often does — it’s gone mainstream, there’s money to be made, and big names draw big crowds. But that’s not the spirit of this thing. My favorite parties always have the DJ right up on the dance floor, and I’ll often see other DJs dancing in the crowd throughout the night after their set is done.

What this means is that your focus need not be on the DJ. You can turn around and look at people the whole night. You can dance wherever you want — in a corner by yourself, standing next to the bar, in line for the bathroom — wherever you feel compelled and comfortable. You can stand back and watch how the crowd responds to certain tracks, or look at what the more active dancers are doing.

Dance floors are living terrain. This means that not all spots are equal. At Bossa, for example, I almost never dance in the back or middle — it’s dense, there’s no room to move, people are constantly passing through towards the bathroom, and multiple drunk people will inevitably spill drinks on me. So when it’s packed, I stick exclusively to the front or sides, and that transforms my experience from mediocre into glorious.

Every DJ has their own personality that comes out in their mixing. Some DJs are tuned into the crowd, watching what people respond to, looking for ways to lure more people onto the dance floor. Others come to play exactly what they want to play, no matter how eccentric or weird it might be.

That said, all sets are beholden to the environment. Some tracks, or even whole genres, could never work in certain contexts. Disco doesn’t make sense in a dark, foggy basement. Industrial loses much of its oomph in the daylight and open air. If a track feels suddenly out of place or incongruent, that’s probably because there’s a mismatch with the current vibe, or maybe the DJ didn’t pull off the transition.

There’s a lot more I want to explore here, particularly on the topic of genres, styles of mixing, and emotional narratives — but I’m a horribly slow writer this week, so I’ll leave it at that for now.

Thank you so much for reading.

Friday is a toss-up. Elsewhere has some excellent minimal stuff lined up that’s free before midnight with RSVP. I love Etapp Kyle and Rachel Noon never disappoints.

If I’m feeling lazier and don’t want to walk to Elsewhere, I might be at Mood Ring for Elixir with AMD, vveiss and Ne/Re/A. Should be eclectic and weird, probably covering all genres. Also I have a soft spot for this FF-style promo that Elixir does.

Saturday might be MoMA Ps1 for Warm-up with Discwoman — it’s gonna be some real solid house. I didn’t make it to Soul Summit last weekend unfortunately, so I still haven’t been to this venue. It mostly depends on how much dancing I get done on Friday; if I’m unsatisfied, then I’ll probably be here.

Sunday is the real event which I will most certainly not be missing. A 24-hour Aphotic party. A mix of dark/industrial and more minimal/melodic. Only x-factor here is the venue. One of the promo blasts mentioned it being outdoors, so we’ll see. Also, HOLY SHIT these flyers are good.

Previous issues

• the derelict ship rave
• crowd dynamics
• the bass party
• more than just music
• art of the promo
• launch

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