It’s that time of year; DJ’s Mag’s Top 100 has rolled around and it’s going to try convince us we should all be listening to Trance once again. Armin, Tiesto, Ferry and PVD will no doubt snag the usual top spots, as well as ignite the annual worldwide debate about the infamous comps relevance in the industry. It’s an interesting conversation – mostly deterred by the proud pioneers of smaller, more obscure genre’s of dance music who can’t handle the sound slumming and those who dismiss it for the general cheesy rating of a music culture that prides itself on being underground.
I think the fact the Top 100 exists is reason enough to give it a go and pledge alliance to the DJs who’ve rocked your socks in the past year, although where the cynic in me starts to feel a nauseous nag is when I see those top 10 boys start to campaign with specialised online advertising that no DJ without their very own flying DJ box could compete with. And then there’s DJ Mag’s diluting some of its repute by encouraging every DJ and his dog to download the press pack and throw themselves into the fray. A bucket load of free branding and promotion for the mag, ye sure, but some of this bandwagon mob would be better spending the energy further fine-tuning their skills than chasing viral superstardom. But then, that’s just me.
The system running the past two years endeavours towards a fair(er) election, with each allowed one go and 5 spots to allocate being simply it! Last night was a repeat of 2008 for me, when I listed 4 and found myself stumped enough to send it through missing a final ‘gap filler’. You see, I want my votes to count, and so they won't be wasted on trying to push Zabiela and Cattaneo into the Top 10- they don’t need my help to get there. I support the underdog- the in-obvious or oblivious one bubbling on the brink of breaking through and shaking the whole box from the backend. The one that deserves to get onto that goddamn elitist map if so be it.
So my advice? Support the real artists before you support yourself and that two bit track you made that night you hooked up with that girl with that laugh that sounded like industrial vocal acid house. Or something. I dunno, I’m just saying...
Little Lexi x
