DJ Dan

One of the great misconceptions of dance music mythology is that the DJ is an anonymous conduit of groove. This idea of celebrity subversion may appeal to the dance community’s vaguely socialist politics, but it simply isn’t true. There are dance-floor superstars, and in this upper stratosphere of big beats, Los Angeleno DJ Dan is a stealth bomber. As part of Funky Tekno Tribe, Dan helped pioneer West Coast house music. A few years later he inspired the breakbeat trend with the 1995 Electroliners dance-floor anthem “Loose Caboose” before reimagining the aesthetic with 1999’s harder, funkier “Needle Damage.” He has released nine albums (including the recent Lift) and has remixed projects for Keoki, Groove Armada, Filter, A Tribe Called Quest, Olive, and Orgy, the last of which obtained platinum status with “Blue Monday.” If you want an evening of euphoric dance music, or if you simply want to do a little star-gazing, deciding to attend Saturday’s show at Nocturnal is a no-brainer.