‘I Eat, Sleep, Breathe, Live and Love Electronica’

Electronic Dance Music, or EDM, is a fresh sound. It began in dance clubs and is now heard on radio stations. Anyone with a laptop computer and simple computer software can produce it.

DJ Deniz Koyu composes EDM. “Technology changes music. That’s definitely the case, and so you can say like the computer, the laptop is the new guitar.” The electronic beat can be heard at many leading clubs. “I eat, sleep, breathe, live and love electronica.” “It just makes me want to dance. I just love the feeling of the music and how it hits my body.” Because EDM is so popular, people can now enjoy it in theaters.

Echostage opened in September. It is one of the largest concert halls in Washington. Antonis Karagounis owns it. “It’s not a VIP night club, it’s not a lounge like you get a table. It’s pure EDM experience.” That experience can be costly. Theaters like Echostage can charge up to $60 a person when major disc jockeys perform.

Armin van Buuren is one of the world’s top DJs. He has played EDM in more than 100 countries. “Being there on the dance floor, seeing the lights, the visuals, the show and, you know, close your eyes and just take off.” He makes music videos, has his own recording company and a radio show. He says radio stations have helped to make EDM popular. “It’s generated a lot more interest in the, in the style and in the music, and uh, you know, I hate to say ‘I told you so’ ha-ha.” This year, DJ Skrillex won three Grammy awards.

Armin van Buuren says being a DJ is an art form. “It’s not just some guy pressing play. I mean, the crowd is the center of everything that I do, you know. I’m not a painter just because I want to paint something in my gallery, but I’m painting for the crowd because, you know, I have my music palette and that’s what I’m painting with.” I’m June Simms.