21:I[451931,["/_next/static/immutable/chunks/0x-9rc1bm-510.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/3c3f-22xoml17.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/2aysqd7pxmaii.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/1j9utsav0l80_.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/3p36ch-aq9oz_.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/1b31y0tag41wn.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/10twbbsv8xpvy.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/2yh-rx77963rh.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/3mk-ia1qyd5mm.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/35fhpglf18mmk.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/28m_qkqf1zp50.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/3mh4qchssoisj.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/26s8ya5u9xp77.js"],"default"] 22:I[951898,["/_next/static/immutable/chunks/0x-9rc1bm-510.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/3c3f-22xoml17.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/2aysqd7pxmaii.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/1j9utsav0l80_.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/3p36ch-aq9oz_.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/1b31y0tag41wn.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/10twbbsv8xpvy.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/2yh-rx77963rh.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/3mk-ia1qyd5mm.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/35fhpglf18mmk.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/28m_qkqf1zp50.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/3mh4qchssoisj.js","/_next/static/immutable/chunks/26s8ya5u9xp77.js"],"default"] 23:T2625,

Finishing a song is honestly one of the strangest parts of producing. Starting ideas is easy. That first loop hits, everything feels exciting, and for a moment you’re convinced this might be the one. Then a few hours or days pass and suddenly you’re questioning every decision you’ve made. Some days you feel like you’ve cracked the code. Other days you’re hovering over the delete button, fully ready to pretend the project never existed.

There’s this weird in between phase where the song doesn’t feel bad, but it doesn’t feel finished either. You keep tweaking tiny things, changing sounds, adjusting levels by barely anything, hoping the track will magically tell you when it’s done. And after hearing the same loop a hundred times, you can’t even trust your own ears anymore. You start asking yourself, “Is this actually finished, or am I just burned out?”

That moment of doubt is usually where things start to get messy. Not because the song is bad, but because there’s no clear way forward anymore. You stop making intentional decisions and start fixing things randomly, hoping one small change will suddenly make everything click.

Over time, I realised that finishing a track isn’t about chasing that feeling of certainty. It’s about having a few simple checks you can fall back on when your ears and confidence start lying to you. Things that help you decide whether the song is actually unfinished, or if you’re just too close to it.

These aren’t strict rules, and they won’t magically finish a track for you. But they’ve helped me get unstuck more times than I can count, especially when a song feels like it’s hovering in that uncomfortable in between space.

Keep Your Track Moving

One thing that always helps me is making sure the track doesn’t sit in the same pocket for too long. Even if the idea is good, repeating it without change slowly drains the energy out of it. Your ears get used to what’s happening, and once that happens, the excitement fades.

Every few bars, I try to shift something. Maybe a new element comes in. Maybe a layer drops out. Sometimes it’s as small as an automation or a subtle texture you barely notice at first. It doesn’t need to be dramatic or obvious. The goal isn’t to constantly surprise the listener, it’s to make the track feel like it’s going somewhere instead of looping in place.

If the arrangement feels like it’s gently evolving over time, that’s usually a good sign you’re on the right path.

Make Sure Every Sound Earns Its Place

Before I call a track finished, I go through and mute channels one by one. This part can be uncomfortable, because you’re often muting things you spent a lot of time on. But it’s also one of the most honest tests you can do.

If muting a sound doesn’t change the feeling or impact of the track in any meaningful way, it probably doesn’t need to be there. Unnecessary layers don’t make a track fuller, they usually just make it harder to understand. They blur the focus and take space away from the elements that are supposed to stand out.

A clean track where every sound has a purpose will almost always feel stronger than a busy one with no clear intention.

Use Reference Tracks as a Reality Check

When you’ve been looping the same section over and over, your sense of balance gets completely warped. That’s where reference tracks come in. Drop in a song you trust and just listen back and forth between the two.

How does your low end compare? Does yours feel weak, overpowering, or unfocused next to theirs? What about the highs? Are they exciting or harsh? Dull or empty? You’re not trying to copy their sound, you’re just checking whether you’re in the same world.

If you want to back that up visually, open a spectrum analyzer like SPAN and take a look. You don’t need to obsess over exact shapes, just see if your overall energy distribution makes sense compared to a finished track.

Test Your Track on Everything

A mix can sound perfect in the studio and fall apart the moment you leave the room. That’s why listening on different systems is so important. Headphones, earbuds, car speakers, cheap Bluetooth speakers, even your phone.

It’s never going to sound exactly the same everywhere, and that’s normal. What matters is translation. Your main elements should still feel like the main elements no matter where you listen. If the bass disappears or the lead gets buried on certain systems, that’s usually a sign something needs adjusting.

Each playback system tells you a different truth about your track.

Get Feedback From People You Trust

At a certain point, you’re too close to the song to judge it properly. You’ve heard it so many times that your brain fills in the gaps automatically. That’s when outside feedback becomes incredibly valuable.

Sending your track to someone you trust can instantly reveal things you’ve been missing. Sometimes they’ll hear a problem you’ve completely tuned out. Other times they’ll point out something that’s actually working really well, even if you weren’t confident about it.

That’s exactly why we set up the demo feedback channel in our Discord community. Having a space where people actually listen and give honest feedback makes the whole process feel less isolating. You don’t have to do this alone, and you’re not supposed to.

Take a Break Before Making the Final Call

This part is easy to ignore, but it might be the most important one. When you’ve been grinding on a track for hours or days, everything starts sounding wrong. Even good ideas begin to feel questionable.

Step away. Close the project. Give it a few hours or a day if you can. When you come back with fresh ears, you’ll hear the track for what it really is. Most of the time, you’ll instantly know whether it’s basically finished or still needs work.

If nothing jumps out as broken, that’s usually a sign you’re closer to done than you think.

At some point, every song reaches a place where more changes don’t make it better, just different. That’s usually the hardest moment, because letting go feels risky. You start thinking about all the things you could still fix, instead of what the track already is.

The truth is, no song ever really feels finished. You just reach a point where it says what it needs to say. When it moves, when the important parts stand out, when nothing feels pointless, that’s often enough. The rest is just you learning to trust your decisions.

So if you’re stuck staring at a project wondering whether it’s done or not, take a step back. Listen one more time with intention. If nothing immediately jumps out as broken, maybe the song isn’t unfinished. Maybe it’s just waiting for you to stop touching it.

And sometimes, finishing a song isn’t about doing more work. It’s about knowing when to walk away.

Stay connected with dancetoday - follow us on social media or join our Discord community for the latest stories, insights, and news shaping the electronic dance music world.

24:T3b4e,

Το να τελειώσεις ένα κομμάτι είναι ίσως το πιο περίεργο σημείο όλης της διαδικασίας της παραγωγής. Οι ιδέες ξεκινούν εύκολα. Βάζεις το πρώτο loop, όλα μοιάζουν συναρπαστικά και για λίγο είσαι σίγουρος ότι αυτό είναι «το κομμάτι». Μετά περνάνε λίγες ώρες ή μέρες και ξαφνικά αρχίζεις να αμφισβητείς κάθε απόφαση που έχεις πάρει. Κάποιες μέρες νιώθεις ότι έχεις βρει τη λύση. Άλλες είσαι ένα κλικ μακριά από το delete, έτοιμος να κάνεις πως το project δεν υπήρξε ποτέ.

Υπάρχει αυτή η περίεργη ενδιάμεση φάση όπου το κομμάτι δεν ακούγεται κακό, αλλά δεν μοιάζει και ολοκληρωμένο. Πειράζεις μικροπράγματα, αλλάζεις ήχους, ρυθμίζεις levels ανεπαίσθητα, ελπίζοντας ότι κάποια στιγμή το track θα σου πει μόνο του ότι τελείωσε. Και αφού έχεις ακούσει το ίδιο loop εκατό φορές, δεν εμπιστεύεσαι πια ούτε τα αυτιά σου. Αρχίζεις να αναρωτιέσαι αν όντως δεν έχει τελειώσει ή αν απλώς έχεις εξαντληθεί.

Εκεί συνήθως αρχίζει να μπερδεύεται η κατάσταση. Όχι επειδή το κομμάτι είναι κακό, αλλά επειδή δεν υπάρχει πια ξεκάθαρη κατεύθυνση. Σταματάς να παίρνεις συνειδητές αποφάσεις και αρχίζεις να διορθώνεις τυχαία πράγματα, με την ελπίδα ότι μια μικρή αλλαγή θα τα κάνει όλα να κουμπώσουν.

Με τον καιρό κατάλαβα ότι το να τελειώσεις ένα κομμάτι δεν έχει να κάνει με το να νιώθεις απόλυτη σιγουριά. Έχει να κάνει με το να έχεις μερικά απλά σημεία ελέγχου στα οποία μπορείς να επιστρέψεις όταν τα αυτιά σου και η αυτοπεποίθησή σου αρχίζουν να σε προδίδουν. Πράγματα που σε βοηθούν να καταλάβεις αν το κομμάτι όντως χρειάζεται δουλειά ή αν απλώς είσαι υπερβολικά κοντά στην ολοκλήρωσή του.

Δεν είναι αυστηροί κανόνες και σίγουρα δεν θα τελειώσουν μαγικά το track για σένα. Αλλά προσωπικά με έχουν ξεκολλήσει περισσότερες φορές απ’ όσες μπορώ να θυμηθώ, ειδικά όταν ένα κομμάτι αιωρείται σε εκείνη τη άβολη ενδιάμεση κατάσταση.

Κράτα το κομμάτι σε κίνηση

Ένα από τα πράγματα που με βοηθούν πάντα είναι να προσέχω να μην μένει το κομμάτι στο ίδιο σημείο για πολλή ώρα. Ακόμα κι αν η ιδέα είναι καλή, η επανάληψη χωρίς αλλαγή σιγά σιγά της αφαιρεί την ενέργεια. Τα αυτιά συνηθίζουν αυτό που ακούνε και μόλις συμβεί αυτό, ο ενθουσιασμός χάνεται.

Κάθε λίγα μέτρα προσπαθώ να αλλάζω κάτι. Μπορεί να μπει ένα νέο στοιχείο. Μπορεί να φύγει ένα layer. Μερικές φορές είναι απλώς ένα automation ή μια διακριτική υφή που δεν την προσέχεις αμέσως. Δεν χρειάζεται να είναι κάτι έντονο. Ο στόχος δεν είναι να εντυπωσιάσεις συνεχώς τον ακροατή, αλλά να νιώθει ότι το κομμάτι προχωράει και δεν γυρίζει γύρω από τον εαυτό του.

Αν η ενορχήστρωση εξελίσσεται ήρεμα με τον χρόνο, συνήθως είσαι σε καλό δρόμο.

Κάνε κάθε ήχο να έχει τη θέση του

Πριν πω ότι ένα κομμάτι τελείωσε, περνάω και κάνω mute τα κανάλια ένα ένα. Αυτό το στάδιο μπορεί να είναι άβολο, γιατί συχνά κόβεις πράγματα στα οποία έχεις αφιερώσει χρόνο. Παρ’ όλα αυτά, είναι από τα πιο ειλικρινή τεστ που μπορείς να κάνεις.

Αν το να κλείσεις έναν ήχο δεν αλλάζει ουσιαστικά το συναίσθημα ή τη δύναμη του κομματιού, τότε μάλλον δεν χρειάζεται να υπάρχει. Τα περιττά layers δεν κάνουν ένα track πιο γεμάτο. Συνήθως το κάνουν πιο θολό και δύσκολο να το καταλάβεις. Κλέβουν χώρο από τα στοιχεία που υποτίθεται ότι πρέπει να ξεχωρίζουν.

Ένα καθαρό κομμάτι, όπου κάθε ήχος έχει λόγο ύπαρξης, σχεδόν πάντα ακούγεται πιο δυνατό από ένα φορτωμένο χωρίς ξεκάθαρη πρόθεση.

Χρησιμοποίησε reference tracks

Όταν ακούς το ίδιο σημείο ξανά και ξανά, η αίσθηση ισορροπίας σου χαλάει τελείως. Εκεί βοηθούν τα reference tracks. Βάλε ένα κομμάτι που εμπιστεύεσαι και άκου εναλλάξ το δικό σου και το reference.

Πώς στέκεται το low end σου δίπλα στο δικό τους; Είναι αδύναμο, υπερβολικό ή ασαφές; Τι γίνεται με τα highs; Είναι ζωντανά ή κουραστικά; Άδεια ή υπερφορτωμένα; Δεν προσπαθείς να αντιγράψεις τον ήχο τους. Απλώς ελέγχεις αν βρίσκεσαι στο ίδιο σύμπαν.

Αν θέλεις και μια οπτική επιβεβαίωση, άνοιξε έναν spectrum analyzer όπως το SPAN και ρίξε μια ματιά. Δεν χρειάζεται να κολλήσεις σε λεπτομέρειες. Απλώς δες αν η συνολική κατανομή ενέργειας βγάζει νόημα σε σχέση με ένα τελειωμένο track.

Άκου το κομμάτι παντού

Ένα mix μπορεί να ακούγεται τέλειο στο στούντιο και να διαλύεται μόλις βγεις από αυτό. Γι’ αυτό είναι τόσο σημαντικό να το δοκιμάζεις σε διαφορετικά συστήματα. Ακουστικά, earbuds, ηχεία αυτοκινήτου, φτηνά Bluetooth ηχεία, ακόμα και από το κινητό.

Δεν πρόκειται να ακούγεται ίδιο παντού και αυτό είναι φυσιολογικό. Αυτό που έχει σημασία είναι η μετάφραση. Τα βασικά στοιχεία πρέπει να παραμένουν βασικά όπου κι αν ακούς το κομμάτι. Αν το μπάσο εξαφανίζεται ή το lead χάνεται σε κάποια συστήματα, συνήθως κάτι χρειάζεται διόρθωση.

Κάθε σύστημα αναπαραγωγής σου λέει μια διαφορετική αλήθεια για το track.

Ζήτα feedback από ανθρώπους που εμπιστεύεσαι

Κάποια στιγμή είσαι απλώς πολύ κοντά στο κομμάτι για να το κρίνεις σωστά. Το έχεις ακούσει τόσες φορές που ο εγκέφαλός σου συμπληρώνει αυτόματα τα κενά. Εκεί το feedback απ’ έξω γίνεται ανεκτίμητο.

Στέλνοντας το track σε κάποιον που εμπιστεύεσαι, συχνά αποκαλύπτονται πράγματα που δεν άκουγες πια. Άλλες φορές θα εντοπίσουν πρόβλημα. Άλλες θα σου πουν ότι κάτι λειτουργεί τέλεια, ακόμα κι αν εσύ δεν ήσουν σίγουρος.

Γι’ αυτό ακριβώς δημιουργήσαμε και το demo feedback channel στο Discord community μας. Το να υπάρχει ένας χώρος όπου οι άνθρωποι όντως ακούν και δίνουν ειλικρινή γνώμη κάνει όλη τη διαδικασία λιγότερο μοναχική. Δεν χρειάζεται να το περνάς αυτό μόνος σου.

Κάνε ένα διάλειμμα πριν πάρεις την τελική απόφαση

Αυτό το σημείο είναι εύκολο να το αγνοήσεις, αλλά ίσως είναι το πιο σημαντικό. Όταν δουλεύεις πάνω σε ένα κομμάτι για ώρες ή μέρες, κάποια στιγμή όλα αρχίζουν να ακούγονται λάθος. Ακόμα και οι καλές ιδέες μοιάζουν ξαφνικά αμφίβολες.

Κλείσε το project. Κάνε ένα διάλειμμα. Άφησέ το για λίγες ώρες ή για μια μέρα αν μπορείς. Όταν επιστρέψεις με καθαρό μυαλό, θα ακούσεις το κομμάτι όπως πραγματικά είναι. Τις περισσότερες φορές θα καταλάβεις αμέσως αν ουσιαστικά έχει τελειώσει ή αν χρειάζεται ακόμα δουλειά.

Αν τίποτα δεν σου φαίνεται ξεκάθαρα χαλασμένο, μάλλον είσαι πιο κοντά στο τέλος απ’ όσο νομίζεις.

Κάποια στιγμή κάθε κομμάτι φτάνει σε ένα σημείο όπου περισσότερες αλλαγές δεν το κάνουν καλύτερο, απλώς διαφορετικό. Αυτό είναι συνήθως το πιο δύσκολο σημείο, γιατί το να το αφήσεις να φύγει μοιάζει ρίσκο. Αρχίζεις να σκέφτεσαι όλα όσα θα μπορούσες ακόμα να διορθώσεις, αντί για αυτό που ήδη είναι.

Η αλήθεια είναι ότι κανένα κομμάτι δεν νιώθει ποτέ πραγματικά τελειωμένο. Απλώς φτάνεις σε ένα σημείο όπου λέει αυτό που έχει να πει. Όταν κινείται, όταν τα σημαντικά στοιχεία ξεχωρίζουν, όταν τίποτα δεν μοιάζει άσκοπο, συνήθως αυτό αρκεί. Τα υπόλοιπα έχουν να κάνουν με το να μάθεις να εμπιστεύεσαι τις αποφάσεις σου.

Οπότε αν κάθεσαι μπροστά σε ένα project και αναρωτιέσαι αν τελείωσε ή όχι, κάνε ένα βήμα πίσω. Άκουσέ το άλλη μια φορά με πρόθεση. Αν τίποτα δεν σου φωνάζει ότι είναι λάθος, ίσως το κομμάτι δεν είναι ανολοκλήρωτο. Ίσως απλώς περιμένει να σταματήσεις να το πειράζεις.

Και μερικές φορές, το να τελειώσεις ένα κομμάτι δεν σημαίνει να δουλέψεις περισσότερο. Σημαίνει να ξέρεις πότε να το αφήσεις.

Μείνε συντονισμένος με το dancetoday — ακολούθησέ μας στα social ή μπες στην κοινότητα μας στο Discord για τα πιο φρέσκα νέα, τάσεις και θέματα που διαμορφώνουν τον κόσμο της ηλεκτρονικής μουσικής.

25:T15c8,

There are nights that start with simply going out for music and end up meaning something much more. A festival, a club, a big open air event. Thousands of people who don’t know each other, suddenly standing under the same lights, listening to the same tracks and moving to the same rhythm. And somewhere in all of that, a stranger can become part of your group, a group can become a group of friends, and a random meeting can continue long after the last track has played.

It’s not just a nice idea. In psychology, the term “collective effervescence” is used to describe the intense feeling of connection that can emerge when many people take part in the same experience at the same time. A study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, based on four studies and 789 participants, examined this connection in the context of live music events. The findings showed that this sense of collective connection was associated with greater enjoyment and a stronger sense of meaning during the event, as well as increased happiness one week later.

And maybe the most interesting part is that you don’t even need to talk to someone for that connection to begin. Research has found that moving together in sync can make people feel socially closer, even when they are complete strangers. In one experiment involving a silent disco, participants who moved to the same rhythm reported a stronger sense of connection than those who moved out of sync. Suddenly, the dancefloor starts to make a little more sense. Sometimes, the music is already doing the introduction for you.

There is also something physical behind that feeling. Studies on synchronized movement and group bonding have found that dancing together can be associated with an increased pain threshold and stronger feelings of connection between people. Researchers have suggested that the release of endorphins may play a role in this process. It doesn’t mean that every person you dance with is suddenly your best friend, of course. But it does help explain why sharing physical effort, rhythm and emotion with other people can make a night feel much more intense and much more memorable.

And maybe this explains why the people we meet on the dancefloor can sometimes feel different from the people we meet anywhere else. You don’t need to start with a conversation, shared interests or a particular reason to connect. Sometimes all it takes is a drop, a smile, a high-five or that look that says, “What the hell was that?” A shared musical experience creates a different kind of communication, where for a few hours, everyone seems to belong to the same thing.

This is also how our own community at Dancetoday has grown. Not only through music and content, but mainly through the people we have met along the way. The events, festivals and moments we have shared with our community have become one of the ways Dancetoday built its own identity and brought people together. People who may have met for the first time at an event, danced together, shared a track or simply a moment, and eventually became part of a group that keeps growing. Because a community is not built only through posts and stories. It is built where music becomes a real experience.

Maybe that’s why electronic music has its own way of creating memories. You might not always remember which track was playing at that exact moment. But you might remember who was standing next to you when the drop hit. And sometimes, the person you randomly met in a crowd of strangers becomes the person who is there with you at the next festival, the next trip, the next big night.

Because the dancefloor is not simply a place where we listen to music. It is one of the few places where, even for a few hours, thousands of different lives move to the same rhythm. And some of those lives may continue moving together long after the final beat.

Stay connected with dancetoday - follow us on social media or join our Discord community for the latest stories, insights, and news shaping the electronic dance music world.

26:T42bc,

“The worst and biggest clown wannabe DJ ”

That was Sven Väth’s reaction under a recent Instagram clip showing Argy behind the decks, swinging his headphone cable during his set. A few days earlier, Väth had also commented “Clowns 🤡!!!” under another post featuring Anyma and several other artists from the current melodic techno circuit. As of today, neither Väth nor Argy has publicly explained that exchange, so everything beyond the comments themselves remains interpretation.

And that distinction matters. It is easy to focus on the insult: it was public, personal, unnecessarily aggressive and did very little to explain what Sven Väth was actually criticising. You can criticise the act without attacking the person.

But once we move past the wording, there is a much more interesting conversation underneath it. Because plenty of people understood immediately what they thought Väth was reacting to: not necessarily Argy himself, but a version of modern DJ culture where the booth has increasingly become a stage, the DJ increasingly becomes the visual centre of the night, and a moment can sometimes seem designed as much for the phone camera as for the people standing in front of the speakers.

Whether that interpretation reflects Väth’s exact intention, we cannot know until he says so. But the argument exists regardless of Sven Väth and it leads somewhere much bigger.

So What Does Underground Actually Mean?

The easy version goes something like this:

Small club = underground. Arena = mainstream.
Unknown DJ = underground. Famous DJ = mainstream.
Independent label = underground. Major production = mainstream.

Except electronic music stopped being that simple a long time ago.

And let's take Argy himself. It is tempting to present this story as an old-school legend attacking a product of the new generation. But Argy has been releasing music for more than two decades. His Unreliable Virgin EP came out on Väth’s own Cocoon Recordings in 2007. Even more interestingly, in a 2015 VICE interview Argy spoke about avoiding gimmicks and distractions in his work, putting the emphasis on music that would last instead.

Of course, that does not prove anything about Argy in 2026, but it simply makes the old-versus-new story much less convenient. And perhaps that is exactly the problem with the word “underground”. We use it as though everybody agrees on what it means.

But do they? Is underground about the number of people listening?

Imagine an artist making uncompromising music for 300 people every weekend. Then the same music reaches 3,000 people. Then 30,000.

At which number does it stop being underground? Is it the first festival headline slot? The first viral clip? The first million streams? The first big booking fee? The first arena?

And if absolutely nothing about the music changes while the audience gets bigger, what exactly changed: the art, or its reach?

Can Success Make You Mainstream?

Commercial success clearly matters. And it would be strange to pretend that an artist operating inside a huge global touring machine exists in exactly the same context as someone running DIY parties for 150 people.

Because scale changes things and money change things. Also, professional teams, agents, sponsors, global festivals and marketing budgets change things. But they still do not tell us everything.

An artist can be globally successful while taking musical risks. On other hand, another artist can play to 100 people while obsessively chasing status, bookings and online attention.

Similarly, a tiny event can be driven by community, but it can also be driven by ego. A giant festival can feel impersonal, but it can also give somebody one of the most meaningful musical experiences of their life.

This is where “underground” starts looking less like a fixed category and more like several different things mixed together.

There is underground as scale: small audiences and limited visibility.

There is underground as infrastructure: independent labels, DIY promoters, alternative spaces and local networks.

There is underground as sound: music outside the dominant commercial language.

And then there is perhaps the most interesting version: underground as culture,
which translates to: community, curiosity, risk, participation, respect for the people making the records, a dancefloor that matters as much as the person behind the decks.

Of course, those things can overlap, but they do not always. Which means an artist could theoretically become mainstream in reach without completely abandoning underground values. And somebody else could look perfectly “underground” while treating the scene purely as a career ladder.

When the DJ Became the Show

There is another reason this debate keeps returning: The role of the DJ has changed.

For much of club culture, the records, the sound system and the dancefloor were the spectacle. The DJ selected and controlled the journey, of course, but did not always need to physically dominate the room.

Today, at the highest commercial level, electronic shows often borrow as much from concert culture as club culture: huge stages, LED walls, cinematic visuals, pyrotechnics, close-up cameras, fashion, choreographed production moments, thousands of phones waiting for the drop.

And artists themselves now have to exist far beyond the booth. They are musicians, performers, content creators and brands at the same time.

Anyma is probably the clearest example of how far this can go. His End of Genesys shows at Sphere turned electronic music into a large-scale audiovisual narrative, combining music, characters, technology and cinematic world-building. Anyma himself has openly described the visual side not as something separate from the music, but as a way of expanding the world around it and bringing his sound to audiences beyond the traditional electronic scene.

And that is important, because it complicates the argument again. Visual spectacle does not automatically mean musical emptiness, and social media does not automatically mean lack of artistic intention. A DJ dancing, performing or understanding how cameras work does not automatically make them less serious about music.

So, the harder question is one of balance: When does performance support the music? And when does the music start becoming background material for the performance? Does swinging a headphone cable actually hurt anybody’s experience?

Probably not by itself... but if DJs increasingly feel they need a recognisable gesture, outfit, breakdown, camera moment or viral clip to remain visible, then something more structural may be happening.

Then, the DJs are no longer simply performing to the dancefloor... they are also performing to the feed.

But Underground Can Become a Brand Too

Before the old-school side gets too comfortable, there is another problem. “Underground” has its own image too: black clothes, dark rooms, no cameras, vinyl, concrete, secret locations, lmited information, serious faces.

Those things may come from genuine culture, but they can also become marketing tools. There is nothing stopping somebody from carefully manufacturing an underground identity in exactly the same way another artist manufactures a superstar identity. Mystery and anti-commercialism can become branding. Even refusing branding can become branding. So authenticity cannot simply be measured by how dark the club is or how little an artist posts on Instagram.

And nostalgia deserves some resistance too. Many DJs now treated as symbols of underground culture became international stars themselves. They toured globally, appeared on major festival lineups, built labels, developed recognisable identities and made successful careers from music.

Of course, success itself cannot be the crime. Otherwise underground culture would have to reject almost anybody who becomes good enough, lucky enough or loved enough to grow beyond it.

But there is also an uncomfortable hypothetical: If Instagram, TikTok and today’s production technology had existed during the formative years of previous generations, would every underground legend have refused them?

We cannot know. And pretending we do is another form of nostalgia.

DVS1: What If We Are Asking the Wrong Question?

And this is where DVS1 becomes particularly relevant. Not because he provides the official definition of underground. Nobody does. But because he has spent years questioning what happens when the individual artist becomes more important than the ecosystem around them. His position is also more nuanced than simply “old school is good, modern culture is bad”.

Back in 2014, DVS1 was already writing about the tension between art and entertainment, phones, self-promotion and the changing behaviour of artists and audiences. But even then, he explicitly acknowledged that the past cannot simply be recreated and that every generation experiences culture differently.

More than a decade later, his criticism has become even more relevant to this particular conversation.

In a 2026 interview, DVS1 argued that young artists now face constant pressure around social-media presence, viral moments and visibility. Importantly, he also acknowledged his own privileged position: he built his career before social media became a requirement and understands that younger artists operate under completely different conditions.

Then comes the line that changes this entire debate: “Music - and art in general - should not be a competition”.

And we should think about that for a second, because the "underground vs mainstream" debate is usually discussed exactly like a competition.

Who is more authentic? Who deserves respect? Who understands the culture? Who sold out? Who stayed real? Who won?

And perhaps that mindset is part of the problem. DVS1’s alternative has consistently been community.

Specificaly, his Support. Organize. Sustain. (S.O.S.) initiative was created around strengthening artistic culture and discussion rather than simply expanding the music “industry”. His Wall of Sound projects physically shift attention away from the DJ and back toward the sound system and the room.

And then there was Aslice. DVS1 founded the platform around a very practical contradiction in electronic music: touring DJs can earn significant money playing records made by producers who receive very little from those performances. Aslice allowed DJs to voluntarily share part of their fee with the producers whose tracks they played. It eventually closed in 2024 after struggling to achieve enough adoption and financial sustainability. But before shutting down, it distributed more than $422,000 from DJs to over 27,000 producers.

But its closure almost makes the example more interesting. Because talking about community is easy, but building an economic system around it is much harder. And that takes us far beyond whether one DJ swings a headphone cable.

So… Who Wins?

Underground or Mainstream? Sven Väth or Argy?

Now the question starts to feel really strange once you zoom out far enough, right? Because maybe there are several different battles happening at once: There is the battle for attention, the battle for bookings, the battle between physical and digital culture, the tension between artistic expression and entertainment, the tension between community and individual ambition, the tension between keeping something culturally rooted and allowing it to grow.

So perhaps the most useful question is not whether underground or mainstream wins.

Instead, ask "what remains when the attention disappears?".

Does the music still matter? Did the night create a real connection between people? Are artists supporting the scenes that gave them somewhere to grow? Are the people making the records valued alongside the people playing them? Does the dancefloor still belong to the dancers, or has it gradually become a background for the DJ? And can somebody become successful without believing that success makes everybody around them a competitor?

So, the most interesting line may sit somewhere between using attention and becoming dependent on it, between building a career and building only a profile, between performing for the crowd and performing for the camera, between growing beyond the underground and forgetting what made it valuable in the first place.

Of course, that line will be different for different people, which is probably why this debate will never completely disappear. But if we need somebody to “win” this debate, we may already be looking at music from the "wrong" perspective, through exactly the competitive lens DVS1 is questioning.

And a scene does not really need a winner. It needs people willing to keep it alive.

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27:T15ad,

You finish a track, A/B it against a reference on three pairs of headphones, and get a solid head nod from a producer friend. Ten minutes later, you’re scrolling Instagram, hear an unreleased ID that sounds impossibly good, and immediately conclude you’ve been faking it this whole time.

That feeling has a name, it came from a therapy office in Atlanta in 1978. Psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes noticed a consistent pattern among high achieving individuals: despite clear evidence of their success, they were convinced they were frauds about to be exposed. They named it the "impostor phenomenon." They weren't writing about electronic music producers, but they might as well have been.

This isn't just late night studio fatigue, the music industry has quantified it.

73% of independent musicians report dealing with mental health challenges, according to a survey by distributor Record Union, with financial uncertainty and self doubt ranking as primary drivers.
The Association For Electronic Music (AFEM) formally included imposter syndrome alongside burnout and exhaustion in its industry mental health guide.
Beatport and AFEM’s report, Music Connects Us, surveyed roughly 140 established artists, including Kaskade, LOUISAHHH, Junior Sanchez, and Tom Middleton, who openly detailed their battles with isolation and severe self doubt.

If artists playing main stages still feel like they haven't "made it," the issue clearly isn't a lack of talent, it's structural.

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During a mental health panel at IMS Ibiza, AFEM’s health lead Tristan Hunt highlighted that electronic music is uniquely structured to breed self doubt. A few specific factors drive this:

No formal benchmark. A classical musician has grades, exams, and conservatory tiers that signal progress. A producer has a DAW, a pair of studio monitors, and their own judgment, which becomes increasingly unreliable at 2:00 AM.
Arbitrary feedback loops. Success is often tied to playlist placement, social media algorithms, or a crowd's reaction to a drop. Because these variables are out of your control, a great track can easily flop while a mediocre one goes viral, severing the link between effort and outcome.
Blurry attribution. Between ghost production, uncredited sample packs, complex co writing splits, and heavy reliance on templates, ownership in modern production is often ambiguous. When it’s hard to pinpoint where your contribution starts and ends, it’s even harder to internalize success.

When Pauline Clance first documented the phenomenon, her solution wasn't positive thinking or generic self help advice. The primary mechanism for breaking the loop is peer transparency talking openly with others experiencing the exact same thing.

That is why initiatives like AFEM’s guide matter. Hearing established artists explicitly articulate these feelings strips the mystery away.

Feeling like a fraud before a release isn't a personal flaw or a sign that you lack talent. It is a well documented psychological pattern colliding with an industry built on unpredictable metrics and vague credit. Recognizing the pattern won't instantly cure the anxiety, but it stops you from believing everything your brain tells you at 3:00 AM.

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28:T2c93,

For over a decade, Thomas Bangalter hid behind a helmet. As one half of Daft Punk, the French electronic duo that rewrote the rules of dance music, he spent years performing as a robot, a character, a myth, a deliberate piece of fiction. Now, three years after the split, the man has re-emerged. And he's making one thing very clear: the robots are retired for good.

In a candid interview with The Times in June 2026, Bangalter was asked directly whether he and co-founder Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo would ever reunite. His answer was a single, unhesitating word: "No."

He elaborated with a sense of peace rather than bitterness. "I'm really happy that throughout our long run we were able to not screw it up. There are other things to explore. The history of music is made of fruitful partnerships and they usually last way shorter than the 28 year run that we had. It was great, but staying in character and not spoiling it became very difficult."

On the nature of Daft Punk itself, he was equally reflective: "It was almost performance art where you create these characters and blur the line between fiction and reality. I was one of the robots, but now I'm just a human without any superpowers." As for Guy-Manuel, Because Music founder Emmanuel de Buretel confirmed on French radio in late 2025 that his former partner is quietly working on a solo album, though no details have emerged since.

Bangalter's reemergence has been anything but a traditional comeback. It started in 2025 with a surprise DJ set at the closing of Paris's Centre Pompidou, his first in 16 years which set off a global buzz. "I think I was trying to come back as a human being in the simplest possible way, without making a spectacle of it," he told Rolling Stone.

In February 2026, he joined Fred Again for a back to back set at London's Alexandra Palace, his first UK appearance in 19 years. "They were going crazy at 7:30PM, only in the United Kingdom!" he said. Then in June, New York's The Lot Radio streamed a surprise 75 minute set featuring Aphex Twin, Burial, Boards of Canada and more. No helmet. No theatre. Just music.

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At the centre of Bangalter's new chapter is Mirage Ballet for 16 Dancers, released on 5th June 2026 via Erato/Warner Classics. The album is the score for a 60-minute contemporary ballet conceived with Belgian choreographer Damien Jalet and Japanese visual artist Kōhei Nawa, which premiered in Geneva in May 2025 and has since toured Europe to critical acclaim.

Eight tracks of electronic minimalism, it has nothing to do with dancefloors. Bangalter shaped the music over thousands of hours on a graphics tablet, treating sound as physical material to be sculpted. What he describes as finding "the line between where sound ends and music begins." It follows Mythologies (2023) and the Chiroptera soundtrack (2024), building a remarkable body of post-Daft Punk compositional work.

The guiding spirit behind Mirage is a name that will resonate with dance and classical music audiences: Iannis Xenakis.

For those less familiar, Xenakis was one of the most radical composers of the 20th century and his Greek identity was inseparable from his genius.

Born in 1922 in Romania to a wealthy Greek family, he grew up in Greece and studied architecture and engineering in Athens before fighting in the resistance against the Nazi occupation during World War II. Severely wounded and eventually sentenced to death for his political activities, he fled to Paris in 1947, where he worked as an assistant to the legendary architect Le Corbusier and designed the iconic Philips Pavilion for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair.

It was in Paris that he turned fully to music. His mentor Olivier Messiaen, rather than steer him toward conventional training, gave him defining advice: "You have the good fortune of being Greek, of being an architect, and having studied special mathematics. Take advantage of these things. Do them in your music."

Xenakis did exactly that. He pioneered stochastic music, compositions built on mathematical probability, the physics of sound masses, and architectural logic, treating music as an architect treats space. He was one of the first composers to use computers to generate music and developed the UPIC system, which translated graphic drawings directly into sound. By his death in Paris in 2001, he had received the Polar Music Prize and a UNESCO International Music Prize, with French President Jacques Chirac mourning: "France loses one of its most brilliant artists today."

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The link between the two artists is more than a passing reference. Like Xenakis, Bangalter is no longer interested in groove or melody as primary forces, he is interested in the texture, weight, and architecture of sound itself. "Finding the line between where sound ends and music begins is a good exploration," he has said.

For a generation that grew up treating Daft Punk as the pinnacle of electronic music, watching Bangalter align himself with one of the 20th century's most demanding avant-garde composers is a genuine provocation. It suggests someone not coasting on legacy, but actively pushing toward new territory.

The message across every interview and surprise appearance in 2026 is consistent: the Daft Punk legacy is intact precisely because it ended when it did. The reunion is not coming. The helmet stays on the shelf. And in its place, Thomas Bangalter is making art on his own terms, drawing a line from the Parisian dancefloors of the 1990s all the way back to a Greek composer who once turned mathematics into music, and sound itself into architecture.

The robots may be gone. But the human is only getting started.

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29:T269a,

Zamna x Primer has officially revealed the first names for its 2026 edition and it's looking like one of the strongest & most promising lineups the festival has put together in years.

First things first, this year's edition is a special collaboration with Zamna, the globally recognised brand that started in Tulum, Mexico and has since expanded to destinations around the world. The festival returns to OAKA on September 4th and 5th, with two stages operating across both days: the Helios Stage and the Lunar Stage.

For Greece, this collaboration is more important than it might initially seem. It puts Athens under the spotlight of one of the most recognisable festival brands in electronic music and further strengthens the city's position as a growing dance music destination. Looking at the lineups announced so far for other Zamna editions around the world, it's fair to say that Athens has been given one of the strongest combinations of artists outside of Tulum itself.

Over the years, Primer has established itself as Greece's biggest dance music festival. Names such as Tiësto, Steve Angello, Eric Prydz, Martin Garrix, David Guetta, DJ Snake, Armin van Buuren, Alesso have all performed in Athens through the festival. For many Greek dance music fans, seeing artists of that calibre locally once felt almost impossible.

For 2026, Primer isn't slowing down. The first phase of the lineup includes Axwell (Swedish House Mafia), MRAK (Tale Of Us), Armand van Helden, Stephan Bodzin, Bedouin, Adam Ten, Omiki, with additional artists still to be announced.

Axwell

This is arguably one of the most significant bookings Primer has ever made. While some may gravitate towards bigger streaming numbers or newer trends, true dance music fans understand what Axwell represents. In terms of legacy, influence and pure quality this is historic for Greek's dance scene.

Axwell will return to Athens after more than a decade, bringing with him one of the most influential catalogues in dance music history. Whether through Swedish House Mafia, Axwell /\ Ingrosso or his solo career, his records have helped define multiple generations of electronic music fans.

From classics like "One", "Don't You Worry Child", "Greyhound" and "Moth To A Flame", ''More Than You Know'', ''Sun Is Shining'' to solo anthems such as the grammy nominated ''In My Mind'', or ''Resurrection'' to "I Found U", "Feel The Vibe", "Watch The Sunrise", and "Tell Me Why", very few artists have remained as relevant across so many different eras of dance music.

With Swedish House Mafia currently preparing their second studio album after ''Paradise Again'', & Ax ready to release one of the hottest IDs in the coming days, plenty of new music expected in the following months, there's a good chance we will get to hear some fresh material when Axwell takes the stage at OAKA.

MRAK

Known as one half of Tale Of Us and co-founder of Afterlife, Carmine Conte has spent the last few years building MRAK into a project with its own identity.

Unlike a traditional DJ set, MRAK performances are usually presented in a live format, combining synthesizers, Ableton and original productions to create a much more immersive experience. His sound remains darker and more introspective than what many people associate with the current melodic techno scene, with a strong focus on unreleased music and live performance.

With a debut solo album currently in the works, MRAK arrives at Primer at a particularly interesting moment in his career. For now his album date has not been confirmed yet. His sets in general are filled with unreleased tracks.

Armand Van Helden

He needs no introduction to anyone who's spent time in house music.

Over the last three decades, he has produced some of the genre's most recognisable records, including "You Don't Know Me", "I Want Your Soul", "The Funk Phenomena" and, alongside A-Trak as Duck Sauce, the global hit "Barbra Streisand".

His sets usually move between classic house, disco, French house and funk influenced sounds, mixing old school energy with a modern approach. For younger fans, this is a chance to see one of the artists who helped shape house music as we know it today. A lot of today's house DJs you see have influenced by him.

Stephan Bodzin

Long before melodic techno became one of the dominant sounds in electronic music through labels and projects like Afterlife, Stephan Bodzin was already helping shape the genre.

The German producer built his reputation through emotional melodies, powerful analogue synths and a cinematic approach to techno that has influenced countless artists over the years.

Unlike a traditional DJ set, Bodzin performs live using synthesizers and custom hardware, allowing him to manipulate and reshape his music in real time. Tracks such as "Singularity", "Healing" and "Falcon" have become staples of his performances. His sets are largely built around his own productions.

Adam Ten, Bedouin & Omiki

Adam Ten has quickly become one of the most talked-about names in the underground house scene. His blend of deep house, minimal grooves and Middle Eastern influences has earned support from artists such as Keinemusik and Black Coffee, while recent releases continue to push his profile higher. If you're into groovy, deeper sounds rather than big festival drops, Adam Ten should definitely be on your radar. His latest single ''I Never Knew'' was released on the legendary label Defected.

Bedouin bring a different flavour to the lineup. The duo of Tamer Malki and Rami Abousabe are known for combining organic house, melodic elements and Middle Eastern influences into sets that focus more on atmosphere and groove than peak time energy. Out of all the names announced so far, this booking feels particularly aligned with Zamna's identity and audience.

Finally, there's Omiki. Returning to Primer for a second appearance, after 2024 when he appeared as a guest beside ARGY to play together his powerful Rmx of the huge ‘Aria. His sound is between psytrance and melodic electronic music, combining powerful basslines with emotional melodies. Fans of artists such as ARGY will likely find plenty to enjoy in his sound. His sets are energetic, uplifting and designed for large festival stages.

Final Thoughts

One thing worth remembering is that Greece is still a relatively small market when it comes to electronic music. While the genre has existed here for years, the last three to four years have marked a significant shift, with more people discovering dance music and more international events choosing Athens as a destination.

That growth is exciting, but it also comes with challenges. Booking world class artists isn't easy, especially when promoters and festivals are competing with countries like Belgium, the Netherlands or Germany, where electronic music has been part of the culture for decades and audiences are much larger. That's why festivals like Primer deserve credit for continuing to invest in the scene and bringing names that, not long ago, many Greek fans could only dream of seeing locally.

The reality is that the more the audience grows, the more opportunities there will be for bigger events, stronger lineups and even more international attention in Greece in general. And judging by the direction things are moving, we're definitely heading the right way.

Next phase lineup is coming within 10 days!

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2a:T2a54,

Rezz just pulled out of everything. Red Rocks. Tomorrowland. Breakaway. Beyond Wonderland. All of it. Gone.

In a statement posted to Instagram, Isabelle Rezazadeh, one of electronic music's most beloved artists, was brutally honest: "The past few months my body forced me to stop. For 15 years, I was fully focused as an artist traveling the world, but wounds began to scrape at me until I became the most physically sick I've ever been."

It's a statement that should hit every fan hard. Not because Rezz is gone, she isn't, and she'll be back but because of how familiar it sounds.

Five artists. Fourteen months. The same message.

Jauz. Timmy Trumpet. Chris Martinez. ChaseWest. And now Rezz. All of them, at different moments, saying some version of the same thing: I need to stop.

In December 2025, Timmy Trumpet announced he was stepping away from the stage for the first time in his career. "This has been the toughest year of my life," he wrote. He didn't overexplain. He didn't need to. Anyone who has seen his schedule understands. Seven shows in nine days across seven different countries, as he himself once described a typical stretch on the road.

These aren't isolated incidents. They are a pattern.

And the pattern started in the most devastating way possible with Avicii.

Avicii warned everyone. He retired from touring in 2016, writing openly: "I have too little left for the life of a real person behind the artist." He played up to 250 shows a year at the height of his career. He struggled with anxiety, addiction, and a body that was physically breaking down. He tried to stop. He was pressured to continue.

He died at 28.

His family's statement after his passing was one of the most heartbreaking indictments of an industry ever put into words: "Tim was not made for the business machine he found himself in; he was a sensitive guy who loved his fans but shunned the spotlight. An over-achieving perfectionist who travelled and worked hard at a pace that led to extreme stress."

According to research cited by Help Musicians UK, people working in the music industry are three times more likely to suffer mental health issues than the general public. And yet the machine kept moving. The schedules kept filling. The tours kept being booked.

100+ shows a year. 150+ flights. No real breaks. For many artists, that's simply the job. And for a long time, the industry treated it as normal.

Pete Tong, speaking at the International Music Summit in Ibiza, put it plainly: "In my 40 years of being around this world, I can't think of a single person who has achieved success who hasn't paid a personal price via health, relationships, divorce, broken homes, addiction, depression, and anxiety."

The life of a touring DJ sounds glamorous on the outside, festival headlines, private flights, crowds of thousands losing themselves to your music. But the reality underneath is relentless jet lag, chronic sleep deprivation, the disorientation of being somewhere different every 48 hours, and a culture that has historically treated saying "no" as a career risk rather than a basic act of self-preservation.

And unlike other performers, DJs are often expected to show up night after night in environments where the entire culture revolves around substances. The industry has long glorified excess as part of the brand. For artists who are already exhausted, isolated, or struggling, that environment is not just unhealthy, it's dangerous.

The story isn't only dark. Some artists have found a way to do this sustainably, and their examples matter.

Kaskade has been active in dance music for over 20 years. In a recent interview with DJ Life Magazine, he was asked what decisions were pivotal to his longevity. His answer was simple: "It's a boring, but crucial decision I made to prioritize my health. This industry is built to break you... I've had to stay healthy by kicking things out of my life that don't work for me. I don't drink; I don't do drugs. I surf and I do yoga. I soak up sun when I can and say 'no' to things when I don't have the bandwidth for them."

He's been sober his entire life. He credits that choice, made early, as the reason he's still standing after more than two decades.

Illenium has spoken openly about looking up to Kaskade as a sober role model in an industry that often makes sobriety feel like a risk. Calvin Harris, Chris Lake, and Kai Wachi are among other artists now openly discussing their own decisions to step back from the party culture that so often comes with the territory.

Armin van Buuren, shaken by Avicii's death, gave up alcohol, started therapy, and began meditating daily. "I realised that in 10 years, I'll remember the camping trip, but I probably won't remember all the festivals," he said. That shift in perspective is something the industry is slowly learning to value.

There are signs of genuine change. Some major festivals have begun incorporating wellness zones where artists and attendees can decompress. Several management companies now provide mental health resources for their rosters. The Association for Electronic Music (AFEM) has made artist wellbeing a formal priority.

But awareness and action are different things. Booking agents still fill calendars. Labels still set expectations. The economic incentives of the touring machine haven't changed as fast as the conversation has.

What has changed is that artists are speaking up loudly, publicly, without apology. Rezz's statement is the latest in a growing body of testimony from people at the top of the industry saying: this is not sustainable, and we are not going to pretend otherwise anymore.

That matters. Because every time a major artist says it, it gets a little easier for the next one to say it too.

There's something the dance music community needs to sit with: the artists we love are not machines. They are people who are often more sensitive, more anxious, and more susceptible to burnout than they appear on stage. The same emotional depth that makes their music move us is the same quality that makes the lifestyle hardest to sustain.

Rezz will heal. Timmy Trumpet is already performing again, talking about 2026 as a new chapter. The music will continue.

But the least we can do is stop treating burnout as a personal failure and start treating it as a systemic one. Start listening when artists say they need to stop. Stop filling the calendar before the human being inside it has had time to breathe.

The dancefloor will wait. The music will be better for it.

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