Famous DJ Quotes – Part 1

Compilation of some of the most memorable quotes from legendary DJs around the world. Enjoy!

“Why people used to go to clubs was to have a great time and to forget their troubles and worries and stresses of the week and enjoy themselves and I think that the music was a huge, important part of that”

– Paul Oakenfold

“Trance had become a dirty word. Thanks to Ian Van Dahl, Lasgo, Flip ‘N’ Fill and DJ Sammy, a generation of kids has grown up thinking trance is the shittiest music since country and western.”

“Since the early days of humankind, dancing was always an expression of feeling good, and making someone feel good is the main intention of DJ’ing. I don’t see the point of playing a record that makes people stand there, look at you and say “Umm, very interesting”

“I wouldn’t call myself a leader. I don’t want to lead people, I want to tempt them, I want to create a new world for them, just for that very small moment, when they are losing themselves in my music. I want to inspire them”

– Paul van Dyk

“It’s not love for music, it’s a passion, and it goes beyond liking, and beyond a hobby, it’s about a way of living… Music is essential for my life.”

“I think dance music is a beautiful thing, it’s a great thing, and that’s what I want to show the world: dance music can really bring people together. We’re living in a very tough time, and tough times have always been. Its just about showing people we should not be sitting at home being scared for whoever we should be scared for, its about going out, its about meeting people, having a great time with your friends. That’s what life is about. It’s not about bullshit or whatever. So I challenge people to come to my shows, see what happens, not to me, but to your friends, to all the people in the club.”

“Call us toilet paper because we’re on a roll!”

– Armin van Buuren

“I love what guys like Oliver Lieb and Paul van Dyk do. I hate that ATB and those sorts of people have prostituted this stuff. You listen to an ATB track and then you listen to Sasha, and the difference is as obvious as listening to Led Zeppelin and Rachmaninoff.”

– Brian Transeau (BT)

“The problem is a lot of things I hear out here on the radio are not trance – I mean that ATB track I heard the other day – is this trance? This is fucking Tellytubbies music.”

– Laurent Garnier

“A set is created to make dance the crowd not for listening at home. A electronic set should only be heard in the party and when this party finishes the set shouldn’t be heard for nobody, it should only be keeped on the mind of clubbers who were in the event.”

– Richie Hawtin

“I think all trance DJs deep down are embarrassed by what they play. They take it on the chin! They know deep down that they’re playing watered down techno.”

– Dave Clarke

“I think trance music is the only music you can listen to without taking drugs. You can really feel the emotions in it. You can get on another level without the drugs. If you listen to techno, it’s so monotone that you really need drugs to enjoy it.”

– Tiesto

“The weekend is a time to go out and dance your fucking nuts off. You don’t want to do that listening to a boring, 8-minute progressive record.”

– Ferry Corsten

“Trance for me is more like the basic channel stuff, hypnotic and trance-inducing. The word trance has been bastardized to mean something totally different to what I originally intended and hoped it to be. To be trancy a record has to be monotonous almost, a long sequence without pause without a massive breakdown, up and down. This isn’t trance, you can’t fall into a trance when your emotions are being dragged up and down.”

– Mark Reeder

“It’s about music! Not one music style is better than the other, not one music style is more truly than the other. The whole thing is based on respect. It’s all about respect, respect to the music, respect to the DJ’s, respect to the crowd and respect to each other. It’s all music, music never separates people!”

– Carl Cox