August 12, 2022
New and Notable Tracks: Aug. 12
New tracks that DJs should know about.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Martin Solveig Responds To Wolfgang Gartner’s Criticism
Last weekend, DJ/Producer Wolfgang Gartner launched a barrage of tweets expressing his disapproval of Martin Solveig’s set at the Neon Desert Music Festival in El Paso, Texas. Gartner labeled Solveig’s set as a “straight-up Beatport Top 10 hits marathon” and told him and other DJs to “F*cking DIG, lazy ass f*cks.”
After initially defending himself via Twitter, Solveig recently spoke with Billboard to offer a more in-depth response:
“I do experimentation on the mainstream level, for a mainstream crowd. That’s what I do and this is what I’m good at and this is what I’ve been doing for the last ten years.” Solveig continued, “It’s very important to any EDM DJ to be creative, to even when you play big songs to play them in a way that is unique, and this is what I do. Anyone who knows me knows this is what I do, so I don’t need to justify anything.”
“When I’m just a part of an Ultra or of an EDC in Vegas and there are the 50 biggest DJs on the planet all together, then of course I don’t need to play some of the records that I play. This is the beauty of being not only a producer and a record-maker, but to be a DJ and to be able to adapt to any situation.”
Let’s step back for a moment though: the essence of this debate isn’t new and certainly not unique to dance music. For many years, DJs in the hip-hop community have criticized their peers for playing sets with too many mainstream hits. What’s different now is that EDM is the fastest growing genre and has become mainstream after years in the underground (there weren’t many dance “hits” a decade ago). We expect to see this debate continue as EDM climbs to greater heights.
