quote:

Originally posted by Trance-M When you look at making of video's of his shows you can see that's something he really loves to do (and is good at). Not only doing the shows but also everything to get there. Only with huge crowds he will be able to achieve that. Possibly or likely commercial crap music is a part of that. I get the feeling the only way to make some money in Trance is to be in ASOT, so I'm not happy with that. It's not good for the scene, but now even JOOF and Airwave are in that direction so the feeling gets stronger although JOOF is convinced some things are going to change for the better (at least for progressive, which could be true). Negative thing is that Armin probably will get the credits. I totally agree, there's always something in the back of my head telling that something is not right when listening to Armin. Why can he be so happy about something which obviously is far from Trance and the music he claims to love? And at the same time he remains holding on to that Trance tag. Money is the most obvious explanation.

Joof acts like a superstar DJ himself.

He doesn't, but if we'd be violently forced to pick one who'd actually deserve to be the star of the show it'd probably have to be him for not just being a quality guy in his field of work but also being absolutely decent and sincere. Regardless of whether you like the records he plays, produces and releases on his label or not.

I'm not sure J00F is particularly "sincere". So much of what he says is exaggerated self-aggrandisement prefixed with proclamations that he's one of the most humble people in the industry. He's done very well for himself by marketing himself as the face of "deep" trance music, when in reality I've seen him at least ten times in a club and never heard him do anything but bang it out. It's only the naivety and musical ignorance of modern trance crowds that allows him to sell himself as "deep".

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Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24

Like these sets? Come see me play live at Kibosh in Manchester: https://www.instagram.com/kibosh.mcr/

I was under the impression that mostly everyone here holds J00F in pretty high regard, and with some form of respect. What happened? I haven't heard too much of his stuff, but some of it is pretty good. Did he fall off or go overboard on something recently?

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Originally posted by Dj Pluviose he seems to be hiding a little bit of his truest inner feelings. He seems a bit dodgy about more touchy subjects regarding EDM. but whatever. what do you guys think?

I think he's been clenching his teeth for the past 15 years. As everyone else has said, he's lawyer-educated, smart, diplomatic and personable, and thus the basis of his appeal to a lot of people.

I think he enjoys what he does, but I don't believe he truly enjoys most of the stuff he plays. I guess he forced to play a lot of it by his management / labels etc. I cringe at most of his studio guests. You can almost hear him faking his enthusiasm for a lot of it.

I believe he has a lot talent, knows what's what in the music-tech field and wants to go in a new direction with it, but hasn't been able to pull it off quite as some of his peers have. A very confused / conflicted artist in my opinion.

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quote:

Originally posted by DJ Mikey Mike Social outcasts are often of the opinion that they must have a drink before being able to loosen up with their inhibitions, thus being able to have a good time. There's a word that sums up this sort of behaviour, and that word is 'reject.'

quote:

Originally posted by Dj Pluviose I was under the impression that mostly everyone here holds J00F in pretty high regard, and with some form of respect. What happened? I haven't heard too much of his stuff, but some of it is pretty good. Did he fall off or go overboard on something recently?

I don't think that changed for most here.
At Luminosity he, and to some degree also Airwave, played a lot of Spy.
That Airwave often plays a lot of Bonzai classics isn't a surprise, but the Spy at least did surprise me a bit. And then JOOF's set had even more. Let's see what they both play a ASOT, although it's a dedicated Progressive stage.

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Longest (classic) Trance playlist on YouTube (5000 tracks released up to and including 1997), click here

Last edited by Trance-M on Feb-12-2018 at 12:15

quote:

Originally posted by Dj Pluviose I was under the impression that mostly everyone here holds J00F in pretty high regard, and with some form of respect. What happened? I haven't heard too much of his stuff, but some of it is pretty good. Did he fall off or go overboard on something recently?

I think his schtick just got old, J00F has been preaching the "deep trance revolution" for like what, 10 years now? At some point you just stop believing it. I think J is right when he says that J00F's success is down to the rest of the trance scene being fucking awful. Most of his more recent sets I've heard online were just a mix of bog standard whitenoise bigroom techno (that would honestly get him laughed out of any serious techno club) and what sounds like decent psy/prog-psy to me (not super into that stuff, so can't really judge the quality). Fair play to those that like that combination but it's certainly not going to revive trance. Especially when there's so many techno/house/jungle/ambient etc. producers right now making great trance-influenced music that actually stands on it's own without having to be compared to ASOT garbage.

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June 2018 mix

I cant say I ever was arsed about J00f really I cant think of many tunes i've ever liked where it turned out when searching for them he track listed.


* sidenote *
I swear though he was on some BBC Two tv show in the UK about dating or finding it hard to date with busy working life. If i dreamt that one up then it felt very real and is quite weird.

That's pretty much it. The recent resurgence of trancey techno and progressive house has left him looking pretty lightweight. Even in the early 2000s when he was doing the Progressive Euphoria and White Label Euphoria CDs, he was always “progressive for trance fans”. He could never resist throwing in some silly glowstick stuff near the end. He’s still the best trance DJ around, alongside Airwave, and is very good at smashing a club to pieces with pounding music. But it gets remarkably tiresome reading his social media essays that are extensive exercises in self-congratulation.

___________________
Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24

Like these sets? Come see me play live at Kibosh in Manchester: https://www.instagram.com/kibosh.mcr/

quote:

Originally posted by the-sixth * sidenote * I swear though he was on some BBC Two tv show in the UK about dating or finding it hard to date with busy working life. If i dreamt that one up then it felt very real and is quite weird.

He was on Place In The Sun twice. Might be what you're thinking of. He's married, so I doubt he'd be on TV complaining about dating.

___________________
Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24

Like these sets? Come see me play live at Kibosh in Manchester: https://www.instagram.com/kibosh.mcr/

When I read his FB message of today, I think, yes, that's how it used to be and that's how I liked it. I'm not even a big fan of his music, but I totally feel what he's saying.

quote:

The world of the DJ is a very different place to when I started out all those years ago. The celebrity superstar DJ culture didn’t exist back then, in the underground specialist world it was often very difficult to figure out where the DJ both actually was, in many cases hidden in the corner of the room or in clubs like the legendary Turnmills within a closed room with tiny window looking out. From my personal experience and seeing others around me, that’s the reason it attracted music geeks like me whom were able to share their love and passion for music without the intimidation of being thrown in the limelight, we could put our heads down, rummage through our vinyl collection and get on with the job of playing the music. As we well know that culture has changed today, the DJ is now on a huge stage, big lights and the star of the show. Being honest, if that was the case all those years ago when I started, I wouldn’t be a DJ today. I’m a super shy guy, extremely uncomfortable with being on the stage, but over the years been forced to adapt because I love playing so much. As many promoters and lighting teams will know, the first thing I ask for is for them to turn off any spotlights that are shining on me/the stage, make it as dark as possible. I don’t want to be the star of the show, I want to be in the musical experience with everyone else and be part of the party, and not be the celebrity that everyone stares at as I don’t do the cliche antics. I want to feel as if I’m on the dance floor with you, so that I can connect both musically and spiritually, this way I know and feel where to take the journey I’m about to unfold. When I feel the music and the emotional moments, I want to be with you as I close my eyes, shed some tears and beam with euphoria and being hidden in darkness allows me to do this. This also may explain my often quick departure from venues after playing, I still can’t comprehend that John the quiet music guy from a small seaside town in the UK is getting all this attention and become an international DJ. But It’s very much important for me to thank you all, and doing this in person is very special to me, but then the shyness kicks in and it feels surreal, even all these years later.

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Longest (classic) Trance playlist on YouTube (5000 tracks released up to and including 1997), click here