In the age of social media, streaming, and lockdown, not only does everyone have the ability to become a D.J. but many also now have the time. We used to have real D.J.’s—musical gatekeepers, if you will—like Stretch Armstrong, Grandmaster Flash, and Larry Levan, who told us what was cool, how cool it was, and why it was cool. They helped create the culture and push it forward. This class of D.J. is still out there (D.J. D Nice’s Club Quarantine recently went viral on Instagram), but it is often overshadowed by no-name D.J.’s who put music on the Internet with little intention, thought, or feeling behind it. It seems that in this democratic period, we’re sorely missing something: quality control.
Music is too important not to have a purpose behind every note, even if that purpose is just letting go and forgetting about things for a while. I hope this music makes you feel something good and pure, and that it puts a smile on your face, too.
Mateo DiFontaine is a D.J. living in Brooklyn
