Mat Zo, Zac Efron, and several other factors are dealing forceful blows to EDM’s figurative loadbearing walls, and it’s only a matter of time before the whole house comes crumbling down. EDM – both as an umbrella genre of music and as a culture – has experienced rapid growth in United States ever since the end of the last decade, but the growth has become unsustainable. Mat Zo, Zac Efron, and other factors will soon burst the EDM bubble.
We recently posted about the upcoming film “We Are Your Friends†here. In the film, Zac Efron plays a 23-year old up-and-coming Hollywood-based DJ trying to make it big in the EDM scene. The film has a guy, a girl, and drama – all of the ingredients of a typical box office Hollywood film. What makes “We Are Your Friends†different from other big budget Hollywood films is that Warner Bros. is taking EDM exploitation to a new level. While some are disgusted with the film’s simplified portrayal of EDM, many welcome the film because they believe it will lead to the EDM bubble burst. Trance DJ/producer Eco half-jokingly approves of the film with this tweet:
https://twitter.com/DJ_Eco/status/600844742121922561
Zac Efron is certainly a contributing force in the inevitable EDM bubble burst, but he isn’t the only one working towards EDM’s downfall: enter Mat Zo. Mat Zo is the genre-defying DJ/producer who has produced many hits including “The Sky,†“Rebound,†and “Superman.†Here is a snippet from “The Sky†for your listening pleasure:
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Mat Zo started a Twitter war a few days ago. Read one of the earlier tweets he posted on May 28 to start off the war:
https://twitter.com/Mat_Zo/status/603980690439348226
Over the course of the next few days, Mat Zo took aim at many big name DJs:
https://twitter.com/Mat_Zo/status/604204828101840896
https://twitter.com/Mat_Zo/status/605442081817886722
https://twitter.com/Mat_Zo/status/604722123219689473
https://twitter.com/Mat_Zo/status/604368175979982848
https://twitter.com/Mat_Zo/status/604533100031246336
With all of the drama and responses it garnered from others in the EDM community, it seems that Mat Zo’s underlying point was lost for many. Below you will find two of his tweets that best summarize what he was trying to shine light on with his Twitter war:
https://twitter.com/Mat_Zo/status/604187815031750656
If you are happy with where the EDM scene is today and you don’t mind the power hungry superstar DJs supported by ghost producers, you may view Mat Zo as a nuisance. However, if you yearn for EDM to be influenced primarily by the “nerd/geeks/outliers†who put hard work into their productions and are truly passionate about the music, then Mat Zo may appear to be hero who will slay EDM as we know it.
In conclusion, the EDM bubble will burst – it’s just a matter of time. Many are seeking for EDM’s downfall and honor will be bestowed on the hero who destroys EDM as we know it today. While a single person or entity may burst the EDM bubble, it is more likely that a number of factors will be responsible. As the reader, you may wonder what will rise from the ashes of EDM. No one has a sure answer to this question, but there are several theories and hopes. One possibility is that an entirely new genre of music will come into the limelight. But those of us who are optimistic about the future of dance music have another vision of what will rise from EDM’s ashes. We wish for a dance music community that is built and influenced by artists who are passionate about the music that they produce and DJ themselves; artists who aren’t jaded by greed for money and popularity; artists who care about the positive growth of the dance music community. This dance music utopia may seem a dream to some, but it should not be ruled out as a possibility. However, before this utopia can rise from the ashes of EDM, we need heroes to knock down EDM – heroes like Mat Zo.