A New Generation of 'Rock Stars'

Electronic Dance Music, or EDM as it’s commonly referred to, has been around for a while, but not until recently have we seen its popularity soar. With DJs like Skrillex being nominated for Grammys and collaborating with people like the remaining members of the Doors, EDM is becoming more mainstream now than ever before.  DJ Atticus of the group Grime Syndicate says technology is a huge factor.

"Technology really has something to do with how it got spread around. Back in the day underground was underground. Today with the Internet everything is accessible so what’s really underground? I think that’s really what has to do a lot with the buzz.." 

Dubspot, a DJ school in Manhattan, has seen a steady rise in enrollment over the past couple of years. Student Glenn Hart says in the 80’s and 90’s the cool thing was to be in a band. Now, he says DJs are the new rockstars.

"There’s been sort of a lull in rockstars over the past 10 years. It’s just kind of fallen off.  You don’t see the big huge bands that you saw in the 90’s and 80’s and I think it’s being replaced right now by these DJs because they know how to work a crowd. It’s all about dancing and having a good time and they know how to do it."

Although geared toward a younger crowd, many of EDM’s most successful DJ’s like David Guetta, Tiesto and Kaskade are in their 40’s. The massive sound they create that characterizes this genre of music is being borrowed by pop stars, tv commercials and movie trailers.

As EDM becomes more popular, so are the festivals like Electric Daisy Carnival coming to New Jersey’s MetLife stadium this weekend. Famous for its theatrics, EDC combines carnival rides, art installations, and fireworks to make it the largest scale music festival of its kind. These elements are now expected at electronic music festivals everywhere, but Mike Martinez, also known as DJ Subset, says the music is what’s really important.

"It didn’t used to be but now a days it seems like it’s an arms race. Who’s got the best lasers and the brightest lights and the coolest visual shows. I think that’s definitely become something that people really look for. They look for the overall audio-visual experience. But, in the end really you can have all the lasers in the world but if the music is not good what’s the point?"

But is this electronic dance music scene just a fad? DJ Subset says in his opinion it’s here to stay.  And if ticket sales are any indication, then he may be right. Tickets for this weekend’s EDC festival sold out within hours, prompting organizers to add an extra day.