Ibizafication: The Enshittification of Dance Culture
The underground is not a product. But, the steady creep of Ibizafication has dismantled our culture’s resistance, transforming the raw narrative of the dance floor into a static, easily packaged commodity. When we look at the current state of our scene, we aren’t seeing a movement; we are seeing a marketplace. Defining Ibizafication Ibizafication is…
Best Techno and House Sets and Festivals 2025
The VIP Hell vs. The Underground: Finding House & Techno Soul in Ibiza 2025
Ibiza 2025: A Quest for Authentic Beats Amidst the Commercial Storm We almost didn’t make it to Ibiza this year because the quality of music just wasn’t up to our standards. The Pop EDM slop nearly deterred us. The overcrowded, overtourism, overpriced, dangerous VIP shitholes like Hi Ibiza, Ushuaia, Pasha, and now UNVRS were also…
The Post-Rational Fallacy in Dance Music: Why Popularity Isn’t a Measure of Quality
In the world of dance music, there’s a specific kind of post-rational fallacy. It has become a standard defense. It’s the belief that an artist like David Guetta, Anyma, or Keinemusik must be good because they’re popular. This isn’t a rational argument. It’s a backwards-facing justification. It is created after the fact to explain a…
Deinfluencing Dancing: House & Techno Dance Is for Your Soul, Not Your Influencer Profile
We live in a world dominated by curated feeds and endless digital performance. The pressure to present a flawless life is overwhelming. It’s easy to feel disconnected from your true self. We are constantly “on,” our minds cluttered with notifications and the weight of external validation. The modern self is a product. It is a…
What Is Art, Anyway? Live From Earth’s Radical (and Potentially Superficial) Answer for the Dancefloor
“Who ever said that good or high art has to be deep, dark, intellectual and academic?” horsegiirL This potent question from horsegiirL, an artist on the Berlin-based label Live From Earth, cuts to the core of a pervasive misconception about art. For too long, a narrow, often elitist, definition has dictated what qualifies as “good”…
Is Your “Unforgettable” EDM / Dance Music Festival Selling You a Lie?
The allure of massive EDM / Dance Music festivals is often advertised through the sheer scale of attendance. Hundreds of thousands of people gather. Big-name headliners have massive social media followings and popular Spotify streams. This popularity is often due to name recognition rather than groundbreaking musical quality. Festivals feature over-produced visuals and stage design,…
The Problem with EDM: Unpacking the Commercialization and Whitewashing of Dance Music
The air can feel manufactured, the lights predictable, and the energy, at times, strangely uniform. This is the realm of heavily marketed pop dance music, often lumped under the increasingly diluted label of “EDM.” The genre is undeniably successful in filling stadiums and topping charts. However, a closer look reveals a complex history. It raises…
Carl Cox’s Musical Utopia: Bless His Heart, But… The Myth of Musical “Respect” and Universal Unity
