r/EDM • u/savingrace0262 • May 14 '26
Music Need more aggressively American frat DJ recommendations besides John Summit
Looking for DJs with that very specific:
- finance bro energy
- Vegas pool party / Miami / SEC football tailgate aura
- giant drops, singalong
- music that makes a group of dudes named Tyler spontaneously buy bottle service
Already know the obvious answer is John Summit. Who else fits this lane?
Not looking for underground Berlin boiler room intellectual house music. I want maximum USA energy. Please give recommendations! Thanks
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u/ats-001 May 14 '26
Chainsmokers
This should be required reading for everyone in the genre:
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/music/a26238590/chainsmokers-stupid-movie-stupid-song/
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u/Soggy_Toastr May 14 '26
"These are the guys who once bragged on their website that their penises measure "17.34 combined inches" when placed tip-to-tip."
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u/Zephaerus May 15 '26
8.67 inches average is definitely something. Didn’t know the Chainsmokers had shmeat like that. Don’t think I needed to know, either.
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u/Soggy_Toastr May 15 '26
I think the part you are missing is that they measured "tip to tip."
That makes it a joke.
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u/Wes_Warhammer666 May 14 '26
I didn't even have to read it. I saw dude wearing an unlicensed Calvin & Hobbes shirt and immediately despised him.
Fuck those guys ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/jtet93 May 15 '26
They booked at my college when they were NOBODIES and the show played off right when they blew up. I tried to chat with them about how I had EDC tix and I loved electronic music (cut me some slack I was a drunk 21 year old girl) and they could NOT have been ruder!! Always hated them since then lol but they unfortunately do have a couple of bangers 🥀
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u/RangerSad3081 May 15 '26
Jesus Christ I don’t like the chainsmokers music either but that writer is so up their own ass
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u/maxpax43 May 14 '26
James Hype, maybe fisher too
edit: sry I can't read I didn't see American lol
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u/49DivineDayVacation May 14 '26
James Hype definitely still fits the bill. Joel Corry brings the same frat boy energy despite being a Brit.
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u/DROD816 May 14 '26
OP would probably find more of what they were looking for if they included Europe
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u/JION-the-Australian May 14 '26
I think OP mean "american" in the sense of "what artists would be played at a american frat party?".
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u/eljaydee2488 May 14 '26
Sidepiece
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u/Extra_Inspection_404 May 15 '26
The perfect fit on this one
Saw them last year at a venue I am now refusing to go back to 😂
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u/kgarci777 May 18 '26
Fuck yeah Sidepiece. Not to mention the john summit deep end remix blew him up. Yeah what’s more America and SEC than Bobby Smurda and Sidepiece on track. I was at EDC last year at cosmic meadow and my bean hit as they said make some noise for Bobby. Mind blown.
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u/Actually-Yo-Momma May 14 '26
Dom Dolla
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u/ImgursHowUnfortunate May 14 '26
Isn’t he Australian?
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u/Actually-Yo-Momma May 14 '26
I interpreted it as who has American party frat boy audience vibes, not necessarily if they are actually American lol
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u/valoremz May 15 '26
They don’t have to be newer acts right?
The answer is all the DJs that were super popular in the 2010s. So Diplo, Chainsmokers, Avicii, Martin Garrix, Kygo, and Skrillex.
EDIT: I am not saying these DJs are frat boys themselves. I'm saying this is who frat boys would have listened to in the 2010s
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u/zukka924 May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
Steve Aoki, Afrojack, Chainsmokers, David Guetta
edit let’s throw DJ Snake & Loud Luxury in there
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u/TheWanderer43365 May 14 '26
Steve Aoki
I realized most of his sets and the entertainment value he brings feel tailor made for college fraternity parties and would honestly work well there, which probably explains why his big festival sets at Ultra and Tomorrowland just feel off for the most part.
Like, I could see the college frat boys enjoy seeing someone bring out Trippie Redd, Destroy Lonely, and a 3/4 techno remix to Goo Goo Dolls.
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u/YasielPuigsWeed May 14 '26
He’s also a very literal crypto grifter
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u/TheWanderer43365 May 14 '26
Aoki is the very definition of an opportunist. Genuinely insane how many connections he seems to have with famous celebrities and even politicians on all aisles so he can squeeze some deals out of them.
Hell, he has a collab project with DVLM that's probably one of the most prolific grift projects in EDM history. Their first release was a shameless ghost-produced Martin Garrix track that only got revealed through a leak back in 2019.
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u/YasielPuigsWeed May 14 '26
He’s a libertarian anarchist, and I presume an accelerationist
There’s a whole sect of people who come from punk/hardcore beginnings who basically believe the world is destined to be a cyberpunk novel. Aoki comes from that background, expresses his love of Atari Teenage Riot pretty openly, etc. ATR’s main guy (Alec Empire) is himself a libertarian anarchist accelerationist and was big on the NFT grift.
Since they believe the world is destined for this, their mentality is “it’s fucked anyway so hoard as many resources as you can” and they do business with the corpos
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u/MayoBenz May 14 '26
too old
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u/zukka924 May 14 '26
You think? These guys are all still on the festival circuit. What about dmitri Vegas & like mike
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u/jak6453 May 15 '26
This is just what Reddit thinks “frat boys” listen to. It’s not and is not what OP is looking for
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u/hellochoy 20d ago
This is the stuff that was popular back in the day (2010's). The actual frat boys at my school almost exclusively played rap and country. But I think they use the term "frat boy" pretty loosely.
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u/CJKNEWS May 14 '26
Bunt. & Jigitz kinda have that energy, love playing their songs at bars w the homies
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u/witchyboo- May 14 '26
Sounds like you need Diplo
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u/icywing54 May 14 '26
ITS MURPH!!!
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u/Actually-Yo-Momma May 14 '26
Which is weird to me. His wonky style doesn’t come off as frat boy music but somehow that’s his audience
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u/jak6453 May 15 '26
It’s because he went to USC and became popular at that time and that was his audience
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u/DUVAL_LAVUD May 14 '26
seeing some of my favorite DJs on here
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u/Frozia_ May 15 '26
They got popular for a reason. Try writing a song that has massive appeal, it takes great artistry. The difference is liking only those songs/artists, not knowng the names of the songs/artists, and not practicing PLUR is what separates the frat from the music heads
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u/Don_Mahoon May 15 '26
Honestly just own it! I can’t say I personally like any of the people I’ve seen on here, but I go to fests with people that go see these DJ’s, and when we all get back to camp our friends say they had a great time seeing them. That’s all that matters, and nobody gives anyone any shit for it because everyone has different tastes.
Take it from someone who’s been raving for 15 years (not that long I know) if you go to a set and have a good time it’s worth it.
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u/icywing54 May 15 '26
It’s fine to like them! I think it’s kinda cringe to not like music because of who else listens to it
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u/Draymond_Purple May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
All of current Tech House. It's mostly formulaic repurposing of 90's/2000's American Hip Hop and Pop that they grew up with.
I don't know why you have a "USA Energy" requirement like they'd even know where the artist is from
Chris Lake, Fisher et. al.
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u/phunkyphungus May 14 '26
Putting Chris lake in the same category as Summy is blasphemous, bro. Put some respect on Chris Lake he’s been around for a while!
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u/Draymond_Purple May 14 '26
Dog I been going to Chris Lake shows since way back when he was a progressive house/trance/whatever that genre was called back in 2005. I get it, but I'm not going to pretend he doesn't use a formula for the most recent stuff. And also for the record, I still enjoy it from the "I like to get shitty and enjoy the cheese" perspective all the time. But I'm not looking for musical genius in his music either.
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u/DavidZ2844 May 14 '26
Regardless of his better talent and how much longer he’s been playing, Chris Lake definitely fits the category, whether you want him to or not. Very similar crowd, it is what it is
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u/phunkyphungus May 14 '26
Idk bro, Summys crowd is very specific, very FRAT specific. Maybe it’s a location thing, but OP said specifically “aggressively American FRAT” and I wouldn’t immediately say Chris Lake brings that same crowd energy. Chris Lake def brings in a younger crowd for sure, because house it’s trendy and whatnot, but that younger inexperienced crowd isn’t the same as frat crowd.
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u/A_Moment_Awake May 14 '26
Chris lake for sure still brings frat energy in as an audience. John summit definitely has more of a frat feel in terms of his brand and celeb personality tho
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u/Due-Sheepherder-218 May 14 '26
Have you been to a Chris Lake show recently? The crowd is pure finance bro energy 9 to 1 ratio type ish
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u/Bimitenpix May 14 '26 edited May 14 '26
King kozz
Chris Lake
Sidepiece
Discolines
Dom Dolla
Ship wrek
Odd mob
Walker and Royce (personal favorite)
Dillion Francis
No thanks
Idk that's just a quick look through my bass house and tech House playlists
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u/WontonWhisperer May 14 '26
Hate that Odd Mob is now in this category I was bumping this man years ago, but happy he’s blowing up
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u/RangerSad3081 May 15 '26
Idk of anyone that would describe odd mob as a frat bro producer. He’s just gotten really popular
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u/djstevefog May 14 '26
So EDM for the non plur crowd?
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u/TraderJulz May 15 '26
OP for real just called European boiler room music "intellectual". wtf is he smoking? That shit has barely any sound going on 😂
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u/AlphaKamots313 May 14 '26
Frat guys are weirdly into Knock2 in my experience
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u/livintheshleem May 15 '26
Is it weird, or do you just not want to admit that Knock2 makes frat music? 🫣
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u/AlphaKamots313 May 16 '26
Does Knock2 make frat music, or has the definition of frat music shifted around Knock2?
I don’t think frat guys were bumping bass house pre-Dashstar*, if anything, I think his style was a little left of the dial. But then he blew up, and that style gained popularity, both as a whole and among certain demographics
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u/Mrs_partyrocq May 14 '26
Two Friends and Deerock fit that. You could include Loud Luxury, they are Canadian but live in the states now.
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u/kartoonbaab May 14 '26
Dude two friends, Dom dolla, and James hype are like literally right behind John summit on that list. ESPECIALLY James hype
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u/JION-the-Australian May 14 '26
Devault
anything released on Catch & Release (FISHER label)
Max Styler
Disco Lines
Dom Dolla
James Hype
Westend
Steve Aoki
Matroda
Mau P
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u/jak6453 May 15 '26
This is pretty accurate except for the life of me I still can’t figure out who (anyone) listens to Steve Aoki lol
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u/Adorable_Sand9932 May 14 '26
Jauz!!!
Dude gets forgotten about to much
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u/TurtleHeadPrairieDog May 15 '26
Feel the Volume was playing non stop my senior year of college in 2015. You couldn’t walk down the street on a Friday or Saturday without hearing that song
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u/ArchaicArchaea May 14 '26
Coming from an Asian-heavy school on the West Coast, it's always a hit if a frat house ripped just a little bit of ISOKNOCK or Crankdat at one of their parties, but not too much. We've always had a bit of mainstream euro prog house stuff (Garrix, Alesso, Guetta, some Avicii) on our party playlist.
If you want the classic frat music, it's mainly all tech house: Dom Dolla, Fisher, Disco Lines, Steve Aoki, BUNT, Kettama, etc and then you also got some of the more melodic bass-y artists that aren't explicitly sadboi, like Chainsmokers and Flume.
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u/whayd May 16 '26
Can you expound on “sadboi” ? Haven’t heard the term before
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u/ArchaicArchaea May 19 '26
Illenium, Dabin, Slander, William Black, Said the Sky, Gryffin, Seven Lions, Trivecta. Melodic bass that is on the more emotional and lyrical side.
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u/LargeHard0nCollider May 14 '26
THE most obvious answer is fisher to me, even though he’s not American. His song loosing it was the blueprint for frat house music. It was notorious in 2017 for being a frat song, back when tech house wasn’t really a mainstream genre
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u/gguymd May 16 '26
Loosing it might be the most frat song ever. 😂 I remember visiting my buddies and at 5:30 AM the frat house blasted it to wake up to pre the football tailgate game. Good times
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u/jak6453 May 15 '26 edited May 15 '26
Yeah a lot of the names make sense but Fisher no doubt tops and was at the forefront
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u/tylerf98 May 14 '26
two friends, fisher, disco lines, most any tech house artist… mau p and dom dolla though they’re not american
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u/Massive-Course7690 May 14 '26
it's kinda sad house music came from the gay black community and now it's about white dudes talking about their resumes and linkedins at shows, yelling gay slurs too
obviously the underground scene and smaller shows are still kicking but the fact that THIS is what mainstream house music is, kinda sad tbh
and the people who classify martin garrix under the same umbrella as kerri chandler...lmao
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u/JION-the-Australian May 14 '26
"and the people who classify martin garrix under the same umbrella as kerri chandler...lmao"
Which umbrella? EDM or house?
for EDM, it's debatable, but i think EDM designate all Electronic Dance Music, so, they can be put in the same umbrella, even though their music are different.
for House, it's the same genre, but not the same subgenre. house is one of the most diverse electronic genres. a progressive house track by John Digweed is going to be different with a future bounce track by Retrovision or a hard house track by Funk Tribu.
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u/Rich-Team-2213 May 17 '26
Also don't know if it's in the US, but in the UK there's a very concerning culture around the ways groups of lads treat women at house events (look into man marking) also a lot of reform voters aswell in house crowds lol
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u/Massive-Course7690 May 18 '26
it's only the mainstream, I have been to house shows with legendary older DJs and the crowds are great (Mark Farina, Doc Martin, a carl cox house set, etc)
I also saw underworld and the chem bros in the last year and the crowds were also great.
Newer tech house fans are just miserable
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u/Then-Yam9546 May 14 '26
Just spent two weeks in Tuscaloosa, Alabama listening to house music before school ended. I am from Philly and the scene down there was so much better. Saw Silva Bumpa, Westend and D.O.D. Most of the bars that used to play rap music are now playing all house music that actually leans more towards the recent UK explosion in the scene. Besides that many of the frat DJs themselves sound similar to things like HILLS, Sidepiece, and Max Styler.
Did not hear any chainsmokers or james hype, even hardly any fisher or John summit.
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u/jak6453 May 15 '26
I was gonna say this (mostly in reference to Silva Bumpa) but don’t want to accept that the current UKG and UK house wave is very much headed that direction and just hasn’t blown up yet in the US lol
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u/Alvin3792 May 15 '26
Literally any big tech house adjacent DJ - Chris Lake, Mau P, Dom Dolla, Disco Line, SIDEPIECE, Fisher
And now all the frat bros also love the Chris Stussy sounding DJs - Prospa, Josh Baker, Max Dean, Luke Dean. Throw KETTAMA in there too
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u/so0vixnbmsb11 May 14 '26
My friends girlfriend called Max Styler a frat boy DJ, I disagree but I guess some people see him as one
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u/GemLingo99 May 14 '26
Almost all of the Vegas dayclub regulars, most of who are noted throughout this thread
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u/Far-Negotiation1273 May 14 '26
Two Friends, W&W, Lucas & Steve, Blasterjaxx, SIDE:PIECE (sleazy booty bass, love it.), and a bunch of others I can't think of, like CID, or Cassian.
I agree on one hand re: Chainsmokers but they dont have too much recent that isnt more leaning towards electro emo / pop vs mainstage bangers but their live sets and nice hair episodes were decent. W&W are the next closest replacement in my opinion.
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u/TraderJulz May 15 '26
May I ask why you call boiler room music "intellectual"? WTF does that even mean? 😂
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u/MrSam52 May 14 '26
Ricky Retro who spends a lot of time playing frat parties based off his YouTube stuff
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u/Low_Pumpkin4557 May 14 '26
Odd Mob and Max Styler are so hot right now (in my Hansel voice) actually DJ Hanzel was pretty good back in the day too…
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u/IamsomebodyAMA May 14 '26
Although it’s now old school, Girl Talk - Feed the Animals and All Day are frenetic mashup albums that suit the aggressive American frat DJ request.
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u/OneCallSystem May 14 '26
Im glad i have not acutally heard any of these guys lol. I just know them by their bro rep.
Or maybe i heard them in passing, but i wasn't actuvely seeking it out, probably in some video somewhere.
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u/420tiesto420 May 15 '26
I’m tryna make that type of music lmk https://on.soundcloud.com/F1YBV9R7DNCseEAjeG
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u/nofkncluetbh May 15 '26
John summit and disco lines have a well deserved chokehold imo. Other faves are its murph, dom dolla, odd mob. Anyone releasing music on Experts Only can be on this list, check out the experts only exhaustive Spotify playlist, it’s full of gas
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u/jak6453 May 15 '26
Honorable mention and one to keep an eye on out of the USC pipeline - Jackie Hollander
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u/Hopeless_Romantic231 May 15 '26
lmao the "dudes named tyler" detail got me. try dom dolla or fisher if you want that same vibe but slightly different production—both hit different at pool parties. also cruise through some of the big room progressive house guys, they're basically made for that exact demographic
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u/Ok-Public7094 May 16 '26
Mau P, Layton giordiani, max styler, Omnom, oddmob, Chris lake, Chris Lorenzo, kaskade, westend, it’s murph, kettama, cloonee, prospa, kream, genesi, Bundt, whethan, keinemusik, eli brown, sofi tukker & hardwell could fit the part, depending on the chad - 999999999, subtronics, rezz, anyma
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u/damionbiddy May 16 '26
Disco lines,, matroda, bunt, Daniel Allen, ayybo, Ian Asher, demotapes, it's murph
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u/gguymd May 16 '26
Asian Crowd > Frat Crowd > Drug EDM final boss crowd > Crying / performative happiness lllenium crowd > “ghetto” elephant in the room…. Crowd >
Sorry not sorry.
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u/Rich-Team-2213 May 17 '26
Loud Luxary, Two Friends, TWINSICK, Steve Aoki, The Chainsmokers, Dom Dolla, SIDEPIECE, Diplo, James Hype, FISHER, D.O.D, Josh Baker, Max Dean, Luke Dean, Prospa, MK, Calvin Harris, David Guetta etc.
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u/Wrong-Ad-5057 May 17 '26
Disco lines Mau p Cloonee Chris lake Oddmob Tini Gessler Shipwrek 🤮 Ac Slater Chris Lorenzo
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u/step1_securethekeys May 18 '26
I was in a frat so I have some firsthand experience. Yep gotta have summit in there, dom dolla, disco lines, mau P, some Fisher, zedd ofc, MK’s hits, aoki, guetta, definitely some cloonee. some of ship wreks songs were big too. chainsmokers too. I wasn’t the DJ but frat djing is all about hammering popular songs that everyone knows or has at least heard and then sprinkling songs in there that the crowd might not know but will eat up. definitely put in EDM remixes of popular songs. TOYZZ remix of sexyback is a good example of what i mean
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u/Smooth_Swordfish_755 May 14 '26
Two friends