Nobody talks about the silence right before the drop.
That moment when the crowd freezes…and everyone knows something massive is coming.
That’s why I do this.
Not for attention. For THAT feeling.
History making: For the first time Toronto's best on-location LIVE show showcases Toronto's best event stage at one of Toronto's best celebrations of the summer. Watch this space. 06.28.2026
Rob at @p6live is a wizard. He rolled into @wiggleroomtoronto with about an hour to work with, and set up a varied version of his full rig. He captured most of the night at the venue. Thanks to him, we all can re-live an incredible evening together.
Took a sec for me to register the news about Dan. I woke up after DJing the night before and my phone was lit from messages and VMs about what happened.
Processing loss is never simple.
I stared at my ceiling for a long time.
I loved his mixes and live sets, productions like “Loose Caboose” and his remix of “Blue Monday”, “Cetch Da’ Monkey” lived in my record box… but genuine power and inspiration was seeded to me, and dance floors around the planet, with his collab alongside Dave Audé on “Needle Damage”.
We all got lightning struck when this song dropped in record stores.
I cannot reference ‘Needle Damage’ enough. I won’t stop either as the legacy of its power is going to be felt long after we lay our headphones down. When the song was released there was nothing like it. Today, that’s still true. It just hits differently, and the song became the mightiest nod to the genre of US Hard House.
Dan knew I felt this way and when he asked me to remix “Loose Caboose”, retitled as “Illectrolingus”, I glowed at the opportunity. “Go for it” he said to me.
I think everyone would take a different perspective to what DJ Dan is as a performer. For some it was acid breaks, to others it was US Hard House, some would say Disco House … but besides those differences all would agree on this - he is an amazing DJ.
Dan lit floors up for decades around earth and inspired DJs, Producers, and people everywhere he went. I’m on that list of those that felt his energies.
If there was, or is, a DJs DJ, then Dan sits comfortably and forever on that roster.
Through the years I toured with Dan, shared line ups with him, and got to know him as a lover of electronic music, and music in general, and I laughed with him til’ sunrise.
We became friends, like so many others he touched base with. He was that type of person.
To say he’s made a mark on the rave scene in North America would be an understatement.
Saying he’ll be missed barely begins to cover it.
My condolences to his family, and to all that called him friend, and their DJ.
RIP DJ Dan.
