All language subtitles for What We Started (2017)

The biggest misconception is

that dance music is a new thing.

That it just kind of
burst from the ether.

People don't see it as
part of a long history.

My drive has always been about

sharing the love of music.

Finding it, and then sharing it.

Some tracks make
me really happy,

some tracks makes me think,

some tracks make you
forget everything.

Such an experience of freedom.

And experiencing this
freedom with other people,

all through the sound of music.

Dance music has
always been about

an escape and letting go.

Just get lost in this
aural sound state.

I close my eyes, stick
my head in the speaker,

and just be...

absorbed.

Sweet!

I'm very nervous.

What if something goes wrong?

I've always done everything

for the love of music.

Always.

I was always
building tree houses

with my dad.

And we'd put a radio in it,

bought, like, cheap
car speakers,

kept expanding it.

Before we knew it,
we had, like, uh...

kind of "tree...
tree house club."

My friends were there, we
started playing music.

Then, we made it like, mobile,

so we could, like,
travel with it.

It wasn't a tree house anymore.

It was just like a
kind of DJ booth.

We made a very big sign

saying, "DJ MARTY" on it.

And it all fitted in the car,

so I could drive him to, uh,

the places where he
wanted to perform.

So, eight years old,

my father was bringing
the music home,

I got inspired by the
music he was playing.

Carl played music nonstop.

We constantly told him,

"Turn it down!"

I used to take my sound
system to school,

and an hour-break that we had,

I would play music to
them to the canteen.

I kind of grew up all the
way through the '70s, '80s,

playing hip-hop, R&B,
funk, and soul music.

Most of the parties that I
did, we never got paid for.

My dad thought I would
amount to nothing.

DJ'ing was not something that
my dad thought was a job.

He didn't encourage Carl.

He was always just
looking at me, going,

"Just get a proper job,"

because whatever
you're doing now

"is never gonna
amount to anything."

I discovered electronic music

due to Tiësto's performing
at the Olympics.

I heard, like, the
sound on television,

and I never, never kind
of listened to it before,

I never really got
connected to it.

I, I loved it.

I, I played at, like, the
local house parties,

for like, ten people.

I had my first real DJ gig

on 16th of January, 2010.

There were, like, 250 people,

and there was, for
me, already like,

there was, like, a goal for
me to, like, make it bigger.

I started to understand music

at a very early age.

I'd just study there as
much as I possibly could.

Where does it all stem from?

How did we get here?

When I first started
working in nightclubs,

there were really one kind of
music that would fill a room.

Live music.

♪ At least They'll
hear me sing ♪

The people I worked
for had a concept,

where they would have
a DJ play records.

Everybody said, "It
will never work.

People want to see a live band."

That was sort of the
beginning of disco.

Uh, everyone comes here
to do whatever they want.

Disco is the phenomenon
of our time.

The Paradise Garage.

♪ Good times ♪

♪ These are the good times ♪

Where so many artists,

so many people met
and congregated,

and created the Downtown
New York scene.

♪ These are the good times ♪

There's a way for people
who would disenfranchise

to connect with other
like-minded individuals,

express themselves, and dance.

♪ Good times ♪

I went to the Paradise
Garage when I was about 14,

and my sister snuck me in.

That's when I went
to my first club

and never turned back.

♪ Happy days are here again ♪

That was kind of, the,
the theater for the DJ.

The way Larry Levan was playing,

he had two copies
of the same record,

going between the
two turntables.

Remixing the record on the fly,

and extending bits of
work with the crowd.

He knew about sound.

How to pick the right
music at the right time,

and it just opened up a whole
new thing for everybody.

This is DJ heaven, when
you walked in that club.

♪ I think I want to live
The sporting life ♪

There's a space for an idea

for freedom and expression,

that was outside of
popular culture.

♪ Leave your cares behind ♪

♪ These are the good times ♪

And then, the next thing I knew,

that every single
Holiday Inn in America

converted their lounge
into a discotheque,

and it started becoming
a caricature of itself.

♪ Look out ♪

It became almost too comical.

Disco died an ugly death.

Disco sucks!

Disco sucks! Disco sucks!

It was billed as disco
demolition night.

And the White Sox went along.

In Chicago, a shock
jock on the radio

challenged everyone to
burn their disco records.

And everyone did it.

One of the saddest sights

I've ever seen in a
ballpark in my life.

It's getting out of hand.

America just gave up
on disco and kind of,

came out of its stupor and said,

"This is gay black music.

We can't listen to this.
We like rock and roll."

So then it went
back underground.

Those primal beats returned
in different forms.

Really like a rebirth of disco.

Although it... It
wasn't called disco.

♪ In the beginning
There was Jack ♪

♪ And Jack had a groove ♪

♪ And from this groove ♪

♪ Came the grooves
Of all grooves ♪

When house music first
kind of started,

it was like the map was
completely redrawn.

♪ Jack boldly declared
Let there be house ♪

♪ And house music was born ♪

♪ I am, you see, I
am the creator ♪

♪ And this is my house ♪

The inner city of Chicago

really celebrating disco
from ten years before.

Experimental sessions
of, of setting

drum machines and synthesizers.

And no one have
ever actually heard

what a drum pattern played
over six, seven minutes

coming out of a
machine sounded like.

The beginning, for me,
for this movement,

was, basically, Chip E.,
"Time to Jack," 1986.

♪ Time to Jack ♪

♪ Time to Jack ♪

♪ Time to Jack ♪

This track, for me,
changed everything.

It would literally
stop the dance floor.

♪ Time to Jack ♪

♪ Jack, Jack ♪

People didn't understand
where this was coming from,

why am I playing it.

It has no elements or soul to it
because they can't see a band.

Well, to me, that was exciting,

because all we've
done is see bands.

Now, what we're seeing is what
could be created and electronic.

♪ Time to Jack ♪

♪ Time to Jack ♪

♪ Time to Jack ♪

♪ Time to Jack ♪

Disco music was
made by musicians,

arrangers, songwriters.

When house music
started being made,

it was made by DJ's.

We had no musical training.

I was lucky to stumble upon
the Detroit scene very early.

I was probably 16, 17.

The main hub was a club
called the Music Institute.

A black box, big speakers,
and a strobe light.

All the Detroit guys
playing incredible music.

Jeff Mills, he was, like,
playing so fast...

He was playing all the records

that I have listened
to for the last year.

And we were sitting in the back,
helping him sort his records,

and just copying all the
records' names down.

Listening to those
first records,

it was like, every
time, it was like,

not only listening to
the future, but...

even if it wasn't every
day or every week,

there was always something,

just when you started to get
a little bit comfortable,

someone else released
a new record.

The sound is minimal.

It was direct and in-your-face.

More industrial.

Detroit is a motor city.

The Ford Motor production line.

That's what you
hear when you hear

Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May

in one act, in their
early records.

Their start with their...

These sounds and synthesizers

and these, like, high-hats,
and it's just like...

Like pulling you into tomorrow.

People like that feel good

and in tune with technology,

not afraid of it.

And they're like, "Where's
this gonna take us?"

A lot of the artists,

they were enjoying a
moment of creativity.

This was brilliant,

because there was no boundaries
to that sound, you know,

especially Detroit techno.

And I found,

a lot of music that was
being made in America

wasn't being paid in America.

Artists kept buying
these records.

Whatever they made
from Chicago, Detroit,

every record I bought
was an American import.

And I was buying it and
playing it in the UK.

The birth of house music,

and then the birth of
the Detroit sound,

did have a profound effect

on what we were playing
as DJ's in the UK.

It wasn't really
fashionable to be a DJ.

You could identify yourself
by playing music that...

you and your friends love

though it kinda
wasn't on the radio.

Trevor Fung, he was a
big DJ in Britain,

as I was growing up.

I got to meet him to
hang out with him

and really got excited by
what he introduced me to.

The British interpretation
of what America was doing.

For the likes of me
and Paul Oakenfold,

we were more excited
about change

than we were about staying,
you know, in our own lane.

We were obsessed
about innovation,

hunting for music.

Trevor, he was in Ibiza,
working there all summer,

I went there with a few friends.

We went to this club
called Amnesia.

All that excitement

could run all night
into the morning.

And just going out
and going crazy.

Ibiza was a seasonal place.

The end of May, early
June, until September.

The workers and the people who
have been there on holiday,

when they all came
back to the UK,

they wanted to go somewhere.

Me and Trevor went on
to start our own club.

Such a wonderful,
exciting moment.

We were very free in the
respect of what we play.

So you would hear Cyndi
Lauper next to LL Cool J,

next to Bob Marley, next to...
a house record.

We didn't do clubs over weekend.

The clubs that I ran

were on Monday and
Thursday night,

till 3:30 in the morning.

If it meant that you
would stay up all night

and go to work...

then so be it.

We were underground, it
wasn't a commercial movement.

We were in the moment.

Really living this scene.

Carl Cox was my sound
man at the time.

Look, look, here comes the mob.

Here comes the mob.

When I started,

I was going up and down
the country, in the UK,

playing four or five
gigs every weekend.

It was only till
roundabout 27, 28

that people started
knowing and...

started hearing the
name Carl Cox.

Oh, yes, oh!

Carl Cox is such a special
DJ, because he is the king.

People that have been
in the game that long,

they still might love it.

But they're not
exuding the energy

that Carl exudes when
he's behind the decks.

The longest that
I've ever played

is up to about ten hours.

Most people

are only gonna work for
eight hours a day.

In their eight
hours, they have...

you know, a breakfast,
they have a tea break,

they have a lunch break,
they have another tea break,

and they go home for tea.

We're still playing.

He's probably the
hardest working man

in this whole business.

I mean, he's nonstop.
He's amazing.

I never really give
myself a break.

So, to play for ten hours, not
even time to go for a pee.

Yeah, it's not a ten-hour
step program, yeah.

You know, to try and get
rid of all the carbs,

you know, that you put on
over the Christmas party.

You know?

After ten hours, I'm done.
My brain's fried,

my legs are killing me,
back's killing me.

My ears are killing me.

You know, if I go
past the ten hours,

and then, I don't know
what I'm playing.

Carl Cox is what
DJ is all about.

He walks into the room,

and he knows how to read
them like they're a book.

And he understand
what needs to happen.

And that's a DJ.

I played the guitar at the time.

I had so many ideas which I
had on my guitar, but I...

had no... Nothing to,
like, put it in.

Started messing
around with the ideas

and with the melodies which
I created on my guitar.

I started doing some research

and I found, like, this program,

which allowed me to put
my guitar melodies

in the computer.

I finished my first record

when I was, like,
ten or something.

I still have it. It's,
it's completely terrible.

But I was super proud of it.

I was doing everything
from my bedroom.

Luckily, I had a
neighbor who was deaf,

who wasn't complaining
about my noise.

I had agreements with my
parents that after 10:00 p.m.

I couldn't play
loud music anymore,

because my sister
wanted to go to sleep.

Then I would be at the
middle of the night,

with my headphones on.

I got discovered
through a local DJ.

I made an unofficial
remix for "Tonight"

by Enrique Iglesias.

And he started playing
it live at his shows.

♪ But tonight ♪

Some other DJ's contacted me,

and one of them was
looking for a producer,

and I played him some of
my stuff, and he was like,

"One track. Oh, I really
liked that track."

And, and he released it
on Spinnin' Records.

And the track became really big.

Spinnin' Records, they, they
invited me at their office,

and what was fun, I never
told them how old I was,

until I actually met
them in real life.

And they were like, "Fuck off.
This can't be true."

So then, they joined
me to my house,

to my room, where I still
produce the music, and...

they were like, "Yeah,
show what you do."

And I showed them, like,
a lot of new stuff.

A lot of melodies which I
was working on, and...

not that much later, I
signed on Spinnin' Records.

♪ Stand back Watch
the bomb drop ♪

♪ All the competition
That try to compete ♪

In the early days,
a DJ was someone

that can juggle two or
three or four turntables.

You had to really be talented

to be a DJ that can
play continuous music.

♪ Come on! ♪

The craft was always
about mixing music,

from our perspective,

always about digging
into the crate,

always about playing
new music to people,

so they can actually
expect the unexpected.

You can give another
DJ the same records,

and have us play in
front of a crowd.

Those records will
sound different...

when we... we each play 'em.

It's getting creative
with what you have.

I think that's something
that can't be taught.

It's something that
comes from here.

With computer now,

you know, you have
a lot of people

who don't know how to mix,
don't know how to DJ.

They've never done it.
It's because technology...

They came in when the
technology was available,

and that's what they
use, and they go,

"You know, I can do this live."

There are a lot of DJ's who've
got pre-programmed sets.

And, unfortunately, are
just pressing play.

Right now, there's a lot of...

USB DJ's, which I'm a part of.

We are also DJ'ing, but
just in a different way.

If you play USB,

and you don't use
vinyls anymore,

does that make you
not a real DJ?

That's exactly the same thing.

You use the technology

that is available to you today.

But I don't get it.

It's a laptop and a dude.

And that's it.

People want DJ's to play
the records they love.

Buy the top 20 records,
put them on a USB,

stick it, put your
hands in the air,

you have a big smile on
your face, away you go.

If you've got your
hands in the air

for three quarters of your show,

how are you mixing records?

If you're throwing
pies at people,

how are you mixing records?

It's just kinda dumbing down

on what made the
craft, the craft.

Watching some of the guys

that do the main
stages at festivals,

play their hour-long
pre-recorded set,

with their arms in the air,
it's very hard to acquaint that

to what, say, Carl Cox
does in our set at Space.

The '80s were not really
great years for the UK.

We had a series of...

you know, industrial strikes,

people with no jobs,

violence and riots,
at the same time.

Clubbing was very exclusive.

That changed in the kind
of mid to late '80s.

Lasers, smoke machines...

smiley faces.

The sound of acid house
music had arrived,

and I was like, "What is this?"

Before you know it, that
sound had kinda taken over.

The rave culture developed
from acid house.

Outdoor parties held in fields.

Something completely new,

that no one had
ever done before.

There's no legal venue in
London you could do that,

hence, started to
do it in warehouses

and fields around the M25.

The only way we had to know

where these parties
were happening

was if you had a number to call.

The address would be
on the answer phone.

You are cordially invited

to A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Take the M25 motorway,
to 8296, and head east.

Ten thousand people
on the motorway

going around and around
and around the toll.

Someone found out
where it was located,

then everyone
followed that person.

And at that time, we
were playing vinyl.

So you imagine walking
through a field

with two boxes of vinyl.

It just kicked off at three
o'clock in the morning,

at some poor guy's farmland.

♪ Check, check your body ♪

♪ Check, check your body ♪

♪ Check, check your body ♪

♪ Check, check your body ♪

♪ Check, check your body ♪

♪ Check, check your body ♪

♪ Check, check your body ♪

Dance music made
people feel like

their own secret society.

They're on to something

that the rest of the
people are not.

It was called the
"Summer of Love."

Because the culture
finds its roots

in the hippie culture.

The late '60s, and
peace and love.

I come from a city

which is full of like
really hard guys.

It's a hard city.

To see these guys go from
fighting every Saturday night,

to dancing, with their
arms in the air,

and, you know, it was
just unbelievable.

It was our punk rock moment.

It was like everything
that had gone before

didn't exist.

It was the year zero.

We were starting again.

And you're either part
of this or you weren't.

How cool was it when you have

like a little secret
that no one understands,

and you go to this place
where there's 10,000 others

that feel exactly
the same as you do.

In the world of
electronic dance music,

we are in sort of
uncharted territory.

When I was growing up, dance
music was supposed to be

the alternative, you know?

You're supposed to
have top 40 over here,

and dance music over here.

And dance music was
supposed to be the domain

of like weird underground-misfit
electronic musicians.

Underground dance
music is about art,

where EDM is show business.

And there is still
some of the same

shared aesthetics of unity,

and expression, and people
opening up, you know.

But they are two
different things.

The main core of our music

will always be underground.

Doesn't matter if your Carl Cox
or Tiësto or Martin Garrix.

It always will be underground.

With, uh, the popularity
of electronic music today,

sure, um, we all appreciate

that more and more
kids are in to it.

Um...

But we know, we
always hope that...

getting into electronic music
via like Afrojack or Tiësto,

they're just sort of
scratching the surface,

and, you know, interested
to explore further.

Thing with dance music,

it is not about focus, but
it's about arrangement.

The whole journey you
can take someone on.

You create something

that sounds like, "Hey,
this is a nice song."

Like, for people that are
not used to dance music,

and then you present
them with the drop.

If I ask my grandma, "Do
you like the drop?"

She's like, "What's the drop?"

Then she heard the drop,

"Look, oh, I like
the dancing parts."

"I like the dancy part."

I've got this bad habit when
I start working on an idea,

I'm like working, working on
like a breakdown so much,

and I build up, and then I
have to come up with a drop,

and I'm like, "What?"

Martin Skypes me,

and he's like, "Hey!"

you know, "Haven't been
able to sleep all night",

uh, there's this
melody in my head.

"I made this new record,
you need to hear it."

And it was the
demo of "Animals".

Sometimes, I start
with the melody.

Sometimes, I start
with a kick drum.

I go through a sound bank

with already
pre-programmed sounds,

where I start programming
my own sounds.

When we started out,

we did very small shows,

you know, just to get him going,

get, um, get him to experience
how the life is and stuff.

And, um...

And, suddenly, you know,

we release his
record, "Animals".

It's an amazing piece of music.

That's an example
of electronic music

becoming top 40.

That...

seems to have quite a lot
of integrity around it.

It's this special
drop, you know.

Everybody was making hard drops,

and his was still special.

♪ We are the fuckin' animals ♪

This instrumental record,

becomes a top 40 radio
record in the US,

the number one single in the UK.

He was the first
17-year-old guy,

who made it into the UK chart.

He was the youngest guy
ever playing Ultra.

Mr. Gorbachev,

tear down this wall.

There was this
explosion of openness.

A lot of the
problems of the past

just started to fade away.

The wall had come down.

And the world was becoming
a more prosperous place,

and I feel like the Love Parade

was very much a
reflection of that.

Like this new...

youth culture that
wasn't burdened

by the prejudices of the past.

It started off very innocent.

Maybe 250 people.

Couple of trucks going through
the streets of Berlin,

and they would just
stop the trucks

and just party.

East and West come together,

and brought people who
were into dance music

to, basically, celebrate life.

It was the same spirit

that went into the
league of raves

in the UK.

You know, it was pretty
crazy for the way it grew,

through the first five
years in the '90s

was insane.

The scale of it was just unreal.

I can't believe
it, it's amazing.

I've never seen this many
people in one place before.

I'm from Holland, and I
really, really like it here!

I was invited

to come and be a part
of the proceedings.

At my first time
to go in there...

completely blew my mind.

Going through the
streets of Berlin,

I just cannot believe

there's over a million
and a half people.

Breaking down the walls,

breaking down, even culturally,

and there's no way we
could have done this

anywhere else in the world.

We've got this big
massive monument

in the middle.

And in the monument is where
they built the DJ stage,

and you go up in the
monument, and you see over

the whole of the park.

And all you can see
is just heads.

I discovered
electronic dance music

in the early '90s.

I started going to a
lot of the events.

In Miami...

the community and the culture

was like nothing I've
ever seen before.

I discovered electronic
music in New Orleans.

I was working at a restaurant,

and the other waiters
invited me to a party.

I kinda walked in the doors
and it was a whole new world.

I discovered electronic music

by getting dragged to
an underground party

in Los Angeles.

You know, when I
was 15 years old.

It was one of the most
magical experiences

in my life.

I fell in love with the music,

the culture, and the vibe.

I started promoting

even though I had
nothing financial

to gain from it.

It was basically a hobby.

We would rent out warehouses.

It was totally illegal.

You were basically risking
a house every weekend.

Um, and all it takes
is for somebody

to do something stupid or
something bad to go happen,

and then you could
lose everything.

Because I loved it.

I put that house on the
line every weekend.

First event that I ever promoted

and produced was in a warehouse.

We would rent the venue,

contract the venue, hire police,
hire fire rescue, hire security.

We were definitely
in over our heads.

But we didn't realize
it at the time.

I did my first event
in Los Angeles,

thinkin' I and my friends

would have a place to go, and
party, and have a good time,

and listen to, you know,
the music that we loved.

And I found out

it was extremely difficult
to even get a venue.

It was all ages, and we
were serving alcohol.

It was just... It was just
a recipe for disaster.

But at the time,

when you're 23 years old,

it just seemed like
nothing could go wrong.

Yo!

I'm nervous as fuck.

I'm really nervous, yeah.

- Oh, you...
- I threw up earlier today.

- Oh, really?
- Yeah.

The craziest thing for me
is like how it all went

so quick.

And that's also why I still...

don't really realize yet what,
what's happening right now.

Omri, is this for fireworks?

Yes.

I was at Ultra
2013 in the crowd.

And right now...

uh, you're playing
the main stage,

you're a main stage actor and...

It's...

It's super...

I had to pinch myself
a million times.

It went that fast
at every moment.

You had no time to getting
used at the success.

It went that fast.

But imagine for him, he
just did this in two years.

- Yeah.
- What we did in ten years,

he did in two years.

It must be hard to process

so much in such a short time.

You know?

You go from being
in your bedroom,

to play in front of
a 100,000 people

in a year almost.

- Like this is crazy.
- I was in the crowd

two years ago.

What the fuck.

Like, for me, it was,

boom, this!

Then, oh, we got a
request for tomorrow.

Oh, we got, then...

before you know it, you're
in the middle of it,

and there's so much
happening at the same time

that you kinda forget
what's happening,

and you're focused
on the next thing.

Where is it gonna end?

- That's my question.
- Hm?

'Cause I have no clue.

What's gonna happen next?

I don't know.

Do you know what's
gonna happen next?

I mean...

I think it's about
not being scared.

And not having...
And having fun.

You know, the fact the
you're nervous now

is a good thing.

How is a 17-year-old kid

the fucking face of dance music?

What the fuck?

You know? Like...

A 16, 17-year-old
kid makes a record,

he's never... He has got
no experience ever,

playing in front of a crowd.

And they book him.

Why?

You know, a 17-year-old kid,

who has no context of
the greater history

of anything he's doing.

He made some track
for teenage kids.

Like, it's not music,
'cause it's just a way,

for... to sell music
to teenagers.

There's a lot of
commotion going on,

like, "Oh, you're
too mainstream."

From like the underground people
or the mainstream people,

who don't understand the
underground thing, but...

If, if people who love techno
don't like the electronic music

or the stuff which I make,

then don't listen to it.

So what is underground?

I guess underground, for me, uh,

is anything that's outside
of the mainstream.

It's outside of like whatever
is considered popular.

But it always been more
interesting to me.

Underground dance music

is a representation of
trying to do things

with a cultural acknowledgement
who we are as humans.

There's always gonna be
super underground music,

and there's always
gonna be stuff

that some people
consider cheesy,

and that's gonna appeal
to the pop market.

David Guetta's underground
for Katy Perry fans.

I'm underground for
David Guetta fans.

Like, compared to me,
deadmau5 is underground.

Compared to deadmau5, Feed
Me would be underground.

Compared to Feed Me,

Richie Hawtin would
be underground.

But if you compare Richie
Hawtin to Nicolas Jaar,

Richie Hawtin is
commercial techno.

But, like, no matter how
underground you are,

if you're driving your car,

and A-ha "Take On Me"
comes on the radio,

you sing along.

If Richie Hawtin will
play it in his set,

you would not be happy.

But if the song comes
on in the car, like...

♪ Take on me ♪

♪ Take on me ♪

Like, it's always.

You can't deny that.

And that's why I
love music so much,

because it's universal.

♪ I'll be gone ♪

♪ In a day or two ♪

♪ So needless to say ♪

♪ I'm odds and ends But
I'll be stumbling away ♪

♪ Slowly learning
That life is okay ♪

Did you guys have fun tonight?

- Yeah, man.
- Yeah, excellent.

Why? What was so good about it?

Good atmosphere.

Excellent atmosphere.

Are you guys gonna stop ever?

Or you're gonna keep
dancing forever?

I can keep dancing
forever, I mean.

Well, at least till I
remember where I put my car.

When you talk about

thousands of people
gathering together

in a field or on a warehouse,

and throwing their
hands in the air,

and having these
euphoric experiences,

of course, the music
plays a big part in it.

The drugs play a huge
part in it, too.

Are you all good?

Yeah, there's, uh...

Oh, no.

When you do ecstasy,

music feels unbelievable.

As a DJ, it's incredible

because, you know, you
could really take 'em

to different heights.

I spent time at raves sober,

and I've spent time
at raves not sober.

The sound is huge.

Visuals are huge.

Everyone's dancing.

The crowd is the star.

It's hardwired into our
evolutionary DNA...

to wanna dance with each other,

have ecstatic experiences
at night in front of light.

You know, 50,000 years ago,

people were banging on sticks,
and dancing around the fire.

No one has to learn

how to throw their
hands in the air,

and dance ecstatically

at three o'clock in the morning.

The rave scene, what
were they like?

Did many deny it?

Many denied it.

Did they really?

Were they really there?

Or they were just trying
to claim they were there?

The first raves were
very successful.

And then, of course, the
police got wind of it.

People who go to the parties

are calling for them
to be legalized.

But the authorities

are worried about drugs
and noise levels.

Things were getting
pretty crazy.

Some stuff was happening

that wasn't necessarily
that safe.

Police moved in to
break up the party

at five this morning.

Eight hundred and
thirty-six youngsters

were arrested,

and officers seized 1,000
pounds worth of drugs.

This was an easy outlet
for them to sell drugs.

We got some very firm evidence

about major criminals involved,

major criminal organizations,

drugs, protection rackets,

all at the background
of these parties.

They really thought

that I was a part
of the syndicate

that was basically
making parties

just to sell drugs.

And, apparently, I was
carrying it around

with a silver platter,
while I was DJ'ing,

I'm handing out
ecstasies to people

who I know would take it,
while they were dancing.

I said, "Well, if I
was doing that,"

how would I be mixing the
records at the same time

"I was handing out
all the drugs?"

Castlemorton.

What began as a small gathering,

suddenly turns this
huge, huge rave.

At the height of the festival,

an estimated 20,000
people have converged

on Castlemorton Common.

More and more people
were arriving.

It went on for a week.

And the police just
couldn't break it up.

It was just so big.

Twenty thousand people
on this Common,

and no toilets.

You can imagine the mess

they're going to
leave behind them.

The police view is that these

are purely criminal events.

These people are crooks,

and they are
destroying the lives

of hundreds not
to say thousands,

of decent law-abiding citizens.

I remember going to some parties

that were really dangerous.

Packed into sweaty warehouses,
no lights, no exits.

If people get hurt,

then it needs to be addressed.

It can't, it can't carry on.

That point, a lot
of people realized

that concept of the
illegal raves was dead.

It couldn't continue.

You know, the government
were crazy about it,

the media were all over it.

And so something has to change.

You had the beginnings
of the legal space,

where all the DJ's could work.

We launched Cream,

and it just became
this phenomenon.

It just exploded.

They started putting on
really highly-produced venues

with great sound systems,
and it was safer.

I like DJ'ing because I
was nerdy, insecure.

And DJ'ing was the perfect,

anonymous way to connect
and touch hundreds

even thousands of people,

without actually having
to talk to them.

What you gotta remember
in the late '80s,

where was the DJ in the club?

In the corner, probably
the darkest corner.

And the corner here,

was where the original DJ booth.

Yeah, yeah, in between
these two columns. Here.

In between the two columns here.

So, when you were DJ'ing here,

you can see the people
dancing if they're up there,

and you can see people
coming inside here.

But I always felt that
the DJ should be...

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course.

- Should be there as the area.
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

When we set up our club,

we put the DJ center stage.

We built a huge gold
gilt frame around him.

So there was no escaping

the fact that you had to
look in this direction,

you had to worship the DJ.

We aggressively
promoted the concept

of the DJ being as important
as the lead guitarist

or the lead singer in a band.

Paul Oakenfold is
the most obvious DJ

who had used the
advantage of the time,

and the interests in DJ's,

and packaged himself
as a rockstar.

I was doing remixes for
the love of the big acts.

I was approached by U2 to
do some remixes for them.

I remixed a track

called "Even Better
than the Real Thing".

That became a bigger
hit than the original.

And then they asked me

if I would like to
be the opening act

on their world tour.

Primarily a rock and roll crowd,

so I can't play
underground music.

So what am I gonna do?

I didn't want to
let anyone down.

I started to look at a lot
of the remixes I've done.

I would take classic rock songs,

and do my own version of it.

The club version.

They still had the
roots and essence

of what it was.

But it had my flavor to it.

Knowing 2,000 people,
nervous, excited.

It was a scary
moment walking out,

and you find just you,

and all these people
looking at you.

It was such a wonderful,
exciting moment.

I really was like,

"Wow, these people
are really into it."

The big story, you know,

wow, there's a DJ playing
to a U2-size crowd.

And I think it really kind
of set something in motion.

That was a big moment for me.

'Cause it really
proved to myself

that I was more than
just a DJ in a club.

I took a lot of what
I saw and learned

from the biggest
band in the world,

and put it into my career.

The DEA raided the
State Palace Theatre,

which was the venue that
I was doing shows at.

Some creative genius in the DEA

came up with the idea

that the owner and
the management

of a dance event
should be charged

as if they were operating
a crack house.

The manager and two
promoters of the club

were indicted,

for simply knowingly
and intentionally

making the building available

for the purpose of
unlawfully distributing

and using controlled substances.

Imagine when you go and you
meet with your lawyer,

and they say, "Well, it's bad."

They wanna charge you with
the Crack House Law."

There was a lot of
other people that...

did the same thing I was doing.

If you're a club owner
or you're a promoter,

you go to battle in
order to produce shows.

I don't have to worry.

Um...

Donnie was the one they
used as an example

to scare other promoters
from doing the raves.

Who is he with?

It was a test case.

And what they wanted to do
was take my conviction,

and basically use it
against everybody else.

We had a full trial in
front of a federal judge

in New Orleans.

We insisted that there was
a constitutional right

to play music of your choice.

And Donnie, at the
end of the day,

was exonerated.

But the United States
was in the middle

of a sort of a moral panic

about ecstasy,

and about the perception
that a certain kind of music

was causing people
to use the drug.

After the Crack
House Law failed,

they came up with The Rave Act.

A way to scare venues.

I mean, it was ridiculous

trying to put the club owners,

venue owners, promoters in jail.

And right at that same time,

then you have 9/11.

And then, boom.

You know, the whole
market crashed.

We went from never stop growing

to half.

You know, record companies

were closing labels down,
magazines were going bust.

People were getting laid off.

Literally, everyone
pretty much disappeared.

After you put, you know,

every last dollar you
have on the line,

and that event doesn't happen.

I was broke.

We were losing a lot of money.

Everybody I knew

asked me if I was
crazy to continue.

There was no point to continue.

It didn't make any
sense on any level.

I was very anxious.

I didn't wanna really imagine

that I had to stop
doing what I loved.

The rave scene was the
lowest of the low.

I would go to a party
with somebody, and like,

"Okay, don't tell anybody
you're a rave promoter, right?"

It's like, "Okay, yeah, I won't.
I won't embarrass you."

Maybe people are
just tired of it.

Yeah, maybe the...

The people that
were in, into it,

for just 'cause it was
a cool thing to do,

I think they found
something else.

Now I have a 4-year-old,

and my wife's pregnant again.

And, you know, I'm there
at the gas station

using five credit cards to
put five dollars in my car.

And I have to ask my wife
for her credit card.

And she's like, "You
know, you need to stop

doing these shows,
and go get a job."

I really sorta
thought, "Well, okay,

that was a fun ride
while it happened."

I always wished

like, when I was in my bedroom,

like, I wanna do this

in front of 100,000 people,

but I never really
thought it would happen.

I never had the intention
to become famous.

For me, I make music
'cause I love it.

Because it's my hobby.

I do this 'cause I
love the music,

I have a passion for it.

Since I was 8 years old,

I have not looked back.

When the time comes where
you have to close the door

and put it all behind you,

is the time that you know
that you've done something

of self-worth with your life.

I believe in what I'm doing.

And if you do that,

you're gonna find other people
that also feel the same.

This movement is still
pushing forward.

Having come to America,

I saw that there was
pockets of people

that were into electronic
music in certain cities.

Paul turned around to me,
literally, in the DJ booth.

Mid-season in Ibiza and said,

"By the way, I'm not
gonna be here next week.

Can you do the rest
of the season?"

And I said, "Why?"

He said, "'Cause I'm
going to America.

'Cause I'm gonna go
and break America."

I looked to America and thought,

"I really want a
challenge here."

I really wanna go to Cincinnati,

I wanna go to Nashville,

"I wanna go to these
smaller places."

I did about 150 shows in a year.

Across the country,
backwards and forwards,

touring in America

in the same way a
rock band would.

It was like a chemical reaction.

This metamorphosis happened

with the advent of the Internet.

Napster had started.

And LimeWire and file
sharing really took off.

You can make a track at home.

You could share it,

start sending files
around the world.

Uh, how many mp3s you
have on your computer?

About 600.

Maybe like 100.

Six or seven thousand.

- Come again.
- Six or seven thousand.

You have all these kids

that were really
looking for the music.

And the Internet kinda
brought it to them.

Suddenly, people were able

to monetize themselves
in a different way.

Big turning point for me

was when I sold
Hollywood Bowl out.

I was like, "Wow! I
didn't realize it",

that there was these many kids

"that were really into
electronic music."

Things would just
seem to get bigger

and bigger and bigger.

People started calling
from around the world

to actually book you
for the first time.

The DJ's started
migrating like birds

to other parts of the world.

Uh, I played at festivals.

And they asked all the people,
"Who do you come here to see?"

And most would say, "We
come here to see Tiësto."

And the promoter and I decided,

"Why don't we try a
Tësto solo show?"

You play for like,
six, seven hours

and you might sell
out a stadium.

Ladies and gentlemen,

please welcome...

DJ Tiësto!

I walked on stage
and I was like,

"This is... This is not real."

Just one DJ in a stadium
for 25,000 people.

Oh, that, that never
happened before.

There was this one
guy from Greece,

he saw the concert.

And he was like, "I want you
to play at the Olympics."

I saw, like, presidents
fist-bumping and stuff.

So, it was... It was
an amazing experience.

It was live on television
for 4.6 billion people.

He became the first
global superstar.

After Olympics in
2004, you really saw

it's going further and
further into the mainstream.

I remember seeing
a massive poster

that said, "Sold out
Victoria Park."

And Victoria Park is,
like, 40,000 people.

It said, "Sold Out
Victoria Park, Tiësto."

I was like, "Who the
fuck is Tiësto?"

DJ.

We were doing Electric
Daisy Carnival.

Everything was
kinda building up,

the crowds kept getting bigger.

And in 2002, we did
about 6,000 people.

And then, in 2003,
we did about 10,000.

Barely trickling up.

Y'all ready?

Donnie and Pasquale,

they kinda had to
legitimize their business.

Like the UK came away
from riskier spaces

and started to look to
re-invent themselves

in a dedicated legal space.

In 2008,

Electric Daisy Carnival
got 30,000 people.

It was an amazing moment.

I was like, "Finally,
we're here." You know?

This is gonna go somewhere.

In Miami, I realized

that I didn't wanna
just continue

doing warehouse parties,

I kind of have
reached the ceiling.

So, I wanted to go
to the next step

and do a festival.

We started coming up with ideas

of what we can do that
would be special,

something unique,
something different.

Let's go talk to the
main stage there,

and we'll go up to,
uh, Carl's station.

First year of Ultra Music
Festival on the beach,

we started with 10,000 people.

And then, it just
grew from there.

The attendance just kept
rising and rising and rising.

One year, it really exploded.

It went up over 100,000.

♪ Around the world
Around the world ♪

♪ Around the world... ♪

The scene just kept
growing and growing.

I knew that we were
on to something.

I knew that, eventually,
it would filter around

to the rest of the country.

♪ 'Cause I gotta feeling ♪

♪ Whoo-hoo ♪

♪ That tonight's gonna
be A good night ♪

♪ That tonight's gonna
be A good night ♪

I think the guy that got
us to where we are today

was actually David Guetta.

David Guetta collaboration
with, uh, The Black Eyed Peas.

That record really
opened the door.

♪ And then we'll do it
again Let's do it... ♪

People were interviewing me

about me bringing electronic
concert to the US.

And I'm like, "What? It's
coming from the US."

♪ Here we go We gotta
rock, rock, rock ♪

A lot of people,
even in America,

didn't know this.

♪ Now we on top Top,
top, top, top ♪

♪ Feel the shot, body rock ♪

David Guetta was making music

that was acceptable
to Top 40 Radio,

and actually really
catchy and fun.

♪ Monday, Tuesday ♪

He's been, by far,
the reason that EDM

has had such an amazing
cultural success.

That song introduced
so many people

to another form of music.

They started looking in.

♪ Party every day ♪

♪ And I'm feeling ♪

♪ Whoo-hoo ♪

♪ That tonight's gonna be... ♪

We're now in a global scene.

We're in a
billion-dollar industry.

You hear electronic
music everywhere.

It has become pop music.

So, those crowds,
the people who...

who do listen to pop music,

are now listening to
electronic music.

All of us are reaping
the benefits of that.

When you go to one
of these events,

you escape from whatever
you're involved in life.

Because a lot

of electronic music
is instrumental,

it's universal,

there's no language
attached to it.

Everybody can understand it.

Music is the language itself.

You can't really do dance
music on your own.

It's participatory.

It's a tribal experience
you have together.

Right? It's meant to
be enjoyed in a group.

It is crazy at how
many festivals

around the world there are.

Most electronic festivals
came from raves.

What we started,

from where it was to
where it is now, today,

we've made it as a
whole, for the scene.

These artists right
now are averaging...

a half a million dollara night.

Now, there's like a
commercial appeal to them.

You can hear... Like, that's
the only thing you hear

on pop radio now is EDM music.

Every urban artist, pop star,

anybody whose anybody wants a
dance record on their album.

Are you happy with the
shorts like this?

How about this? How about this?

How about this? The
first break is just,

doo-doot, doo-doot.

And then the second break
is both of 'em together.

It's like if... What I think,

if we are gonna use
the first break,

is that when the drop
comes with the melody,

It's way too random.
It's out of nothing.

The reason I initially
wanted to work with Martin

is because of "Animals".

I heard it, I was like,
"This is fucking weird."

I like it. It's...
it's different.

We're gonna record,
like right now,

the guitar parts.

Do you want it like that?

Or...

- Yeah, that. Better.
- Or that?

You know what? I'll do it.

And then you can
chop it and use it.

Yeah, just, uh, just
turn the track down low,

if that's all right.

You forget how young Martin is,

because he's so,
like, well-traveled.

It's like you feel like

he's like Tësto or something.

The quality of production is
really out there, everywhere,

so many good producers.

You know?

What's the problem for me
is a lot of anti-music.

How are we gonna make music
that touch people's heart,

but in a new, fresh
and exciting way?

- Like that.
- Okay.

I really feel like a
creative musical chemist.

You know, I mean, when
the fusion of music

comes together,

whatever you may call
it, pop, R&B, and EDM,

and it works, and it opened
an entire new conversation.

♪ You got me way up
A thousand miles ♪

♪ Can we stay right here... ♪

Because those greats before
us who created that fusion.

Like Michael Jackson when
disco was on its way out,

and rock was on its way in,

Michael was able to
create something

that satisfy both parties.

♪ We're gonna reach it now ♪

♪ Do you feel the lightning
Inside of you? ♪

♪ Will you follow through
If I fall for you? ♪

♪ Don't look down ♪

♪ Up this high We'll
never hit the ground ♪

I feel like once the world

was able to hear
EDM in that way,

and me experiment
with David Guetta

and now, Martin Garrix.

To me, that creates an
entire new movement.

It's created an
authenticity within a style

that everybody's
kind of enjoying.

What the big challenge
is, for me,

is to keep evolving, evolving
and to stay relevant.

My career has spanned
over 38 years,

doing what I love to do.

Hey, hi! Hey, hey, hey.

To be honest with you, you know,

my father would not
really get behind me.

It was quite damning
in some ways

and he didn't respect
the fact that,

that I had this
drive and energy,

uh, to be able to become
the person I am today.

When I said to him

that I didn't really
wanna do anything

as apart from DJ'ing, he...
just basically laughed.

He didn't give me the respect
to find my own path.

I think he had made
Carl stronger.

That he wanted, you know,
when my dad said no,

I think it was a yes to Carl

that, "I'm gonna
follow my dreams."

I'm so proud to say that
he's my big brother.

Um, right now, I really wish
that he could say those words.

At the moment, my dad
is not very well.

He has dementia.

It would have been nice for
him to say those words.

I don't think Carl
will ever hear them

from his father now,

because he doesn't remember.

Hello.

What's up, Miami?

Imagine that you're
standing there,

and you're seeing your son,

and he's standing
before 40,000 people.

It's incredible.

♪ Virus ♪

Party with me all of you!
Scream right now!

One, two, three, let's go!

Martin Garrix, you put
him on any festival,

and he can't do no wrong.

See, it's something
which is wondrous.

You know, you got someone
that's this young,

who's connected
with 18-year-olds.

He's connecting directly to
the people he is inspirin'.

It'd be difficult
for me to be there.

And have 18-years-olds go,
"Oh, my god, he's amazing!"

They'd be like, "Oh, my
god, my dad's amazing."

You know? It doesn't work.

I don't see myself as a big act.

It doesn't count how
many tickets you sell.

It also counts
about what you did

for the industry,

what you are still doing,

and what your abilities
are, what you can do.

You're gonna be
right over there.

Hey, there he is.

- How you doing?
- Hey.

So, you've played
already, right?

- You've been at it.
- I just came off stage,

- and we rushed here.
- You just came off. Really?

- Oh, thank god.
- No worries, it's all good.

I respect Carl as a
producer and a DJ.

His DJ sets are...

I can't play eight
hours in a row,

and not lose attention
from the crowd.

The longest set I've
done is 12, is 10 hours.

- It's like...
- How did you, like...

You didn't play one
track two times?

- No, no, I did not.
- That's nuts.

Yeah.

Are you solo or did you do
back to back with others?

No, no, no. Just me on my own.

Yeah. Went to the toilet once.

- Yeah, yeah.
- Uh, took two slices of pizza.

And, uh, I think four beers.
And that was me.

- But that's something I respect.
- Yeah.

I can't think about 12 hours.
That's nuts.

He can do so many things
which I am dreaming of.

And which I'm still...
trying to do.

I mean, I was actually
quite shy as a young DJ.

When I was up on the stage,
I had the curtains closed.

And I'll still play my music.

And I was like,
"Keep them closed,

keep them closed"
as long as I could.

And then, I went out, there's
the DJ, I'd be like...

- But that's cool, though.
- He'd be playing, you know.

"Say something on the
mic." I'll be like, "No."

"You say something." You know?

But that's how it was for me, I
kinda grew into all of this.

Martin's gotta believe
that he can do this.

Because the whole scene
rests on his shoulders now.

He's young, he's hungry,

and he's out to
basically set the bar

of what's happens next.

Big, deep breath.

Final night.

In all these defining moments,

Tësto's played to
billions of people,

Paul Oakenfold at
Wembly with U2.

No one's actually been in a
club for 15 years straight.

But I played gigs all over
the world, festivals, clubs,

house parties.

Everything that I've done

feels like it's gone so quickly.

Oh, yes. Oh, yes!

We have got ten hours to go.

I never really thought

in any way, shape,
or form that...

that I would have this
longevity in my career.

Thank you all, so, so, so much.
Thank you.

Great spot. Thank you to heart!

I came with Carl the very,
very first trip to Ibiza.

I loved it.

It was the start of my
journey coming to Space.

You know, I love my
brother to bits.

Um, I am his number one fan.

And I am so proud.

My journey with Carl,

um, is coming to an end.

The last half an hour,

down to the last,
actual last record,

I have never seen so
much emotion in a club.

I've been so blessed to about...
do what I do

at the level that I do it.

And when you look back,

the amount of music
you've played,

people you've met,

touched a lot of
hearts and souls

all over the world.

And people remember those
times and those moments.

In the end of the day,
it's all about music.

And if I've touched
you with my music,

then all I can say
is, "Thank you."

We're all lost souls
at one point,

and when we come together
at dance music festivals,

we're not lost anymore.

Dance music used to be my
little secret, you know.

It was my little thing.

But if you have something great,

you want to share it with these
many people as possible.

It's just a lot of thing
and it's a fun thing.

And you should never,

never be greedy about
something great.

It's not about being on the top,

it's about making
other people happy.

♪ We'll make it ♪

♪ It's just who we are ♪

♪ Say where to go ♪

It's all about the
DJ, the music.

The people you're
surrounded with.

I think that's so beautiful.

You make people happy

and make them forget
about everything else.

♪ It's just who we are ♪

♪ Yeah, we will do
anything We dream about ♪

I'm kind of happy
that it's going

towards a new
direction right now.

Because it won't make
it, like, fade away.

And that's only fear I have.

Like, because it went...
Like, same with my career,

like, because it went so fast.

I just hope, like,
I can hold on.

What I just hope is that

electronic music is
not at the limit yet.

And it can still grow
for the next ten years.

I just hope I can be,
like, a part of it.

And we'll see what happens.

We love and are tied
together by music,

created by a technology
that is always...

evolving and mutating.

That makes every day
a new possibility.

When you look back at it,

god, what we started,
to where we are now,

years later,

it was some achievement.

Whether it's underground
or commercial,

as a whole, electronic music
is thriving around the world.

I wanna protect the
scene, you know,

I want it to be
here a long time.

Way after I'm done and
retired and in the ground.

In rave heaven.

Uh, I want this
to go on forever.

Uh, Martin and I were at
a festival tour together

for Future Music in Australia.

And we had a five-hour
long flight.

- And we are next to each other.
- Yeah.

At first, we're all,
and it's like...

And then we're both
kinda like, "Oh, hey."

So, we chatted up.

And, I have to say, I was wrong
about some things, you know.

Martin is the first
person I met...

from that scene who's doing
it for the right reasons.

In my mind, "Maybe, one day",

he can break into
the dark side."