News

Off the back of the tragic news that surfaced yesterday concerning the cancellation of day 3 of the Electric Zoo festival due to a number of deaths an outpour of grievances and messages of support surfaced from some of the dance worlds biggest names.

A couple of things spring to mind when something like this happens, namely that there is a severe lack of education and transparency when it comes to drug use at music festivals. Ultimately, people have an inherent will to push the limits and impress their mates. But it’s also hard to dispute that the “EDM” scene that so many embrace is characterised by drug use at large festivals. This has been a cornerstone of the dance scene for years and isn’t necessarily solely attributable to the recent growth in festival attendees and fans. What we don’t often see though is DJ’s and producers who reject the party lifestyle. Rather, many acts unintentionally create the assumption that they too are rave heads who experiment liberally and live life on the edge.

One way in which this ideal is perpetuated is through DJ’s who flaunt extravagant rider bills, like some of these. Diplo took a shot at some of his contemporaries by revealing a somewhat sarcastic rider late last year, which we think is far more imaginative, and revealed that not all DJ’s take themselves too seriously.

Well, Tommie Sunshine is not afraid to let everyone know that he’s a bit of dweeb, and we respect him for it. Sunshine posted a number of tweets discussing the state of drug use at music festivals, calling for a number of things that need to exist for a safer raving environment, including honesty, transparency, accountability and education, which in turn should equate to prevention of death or injury when it comes to drug use.

Standing by his convictions Sunshine posted out his rider list for everyone to see. It’s not what you’d expect from one of the world’s most popular DJ’s. He keeps it pretty low key, which in turn is quite humbling. The list is short and simplistic. His requests include a guest list allocation requirements, dinner and a case of water. He also stipulates that no alcohol is to be in the booth or on stage while he’s performing, which might seem a bit steep, but proves his dedication to changing the often sullied image of the DJ.

My gig rider. for all to see. http://t.co/09AOx9mxwK — Tommie Sunshine (@tommiesunshine) September 2, 2013

source: Do Androids Dance