This week, our regular programming resumes with a survey of the state of post-pandemic nightlife, from ubiquitous Britney Spears remixes to artists griping that DJing is “embarrassing” now. Joined by Shawn Reynaldo, creator of the popular First Floor newsletter and author of a recent book of essays on the evolving nature of electronic music culture and the industry that surrounds it, Emilie and Andrea return to their music-writing roots to explore why going out feels weirdly different than it did in the before times — and the strange and subtle ways that our offline experience of electronic music is being shaped by the ways we discover and consume it on the internet. 

We discuss how platforms like Instagram and Boiler Room are reshaping what club culture looks and sounds like, the rise of the DJ-as-influencer, and why the decline of the so-called “musical gatekeeper” might have actually been a bad thing for music. Finally, we try to parse the legacy of Red Bull Music Academy, the long-running electronic music incubator and publication that cemented the energy drink company as a weirdly generous patron of the arts, and also happens to be where Emilie and Shawn first met.

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