Any underground dance music in ATX? (Austin, West: cliquey, house, organic)

[Fight_for_Freedom]

I'm a 20's something male DJ looking to relocate from Chicago. Despite Chicago's great music scene, I've found the nepotism, cliqueyness, and intense competition among DJs to be a huge turn off.

Austin has been on my radar for a while. Do they have a decent underground dance music scene? Is there any demand for DJ's (deep house, techno, etc.)? I'm not talking about EDM or trap, which I find insufferable.

[TXEX06]

Not really. You're coming from a city that was one of the pioneers of your genre.

[Eastcoasting]

Nope.

No basements.

Therefore...

[another_hot-day]

Originally Posted by Eastcoasting

Nope.

No basements.

Therefore...

Indeed.

[petro]

Not much in the way of "underground" but I know several working DJs. For your music genre, check out Kingdom and Plush.

[SmartGXL]

I am from Chicago as well, and was really into the dance scene (warehouse raves, and places like Shelter and SmartBar) going back to the late 80's/early 90's.

There really isnt an "underground" scene anywhere in the West, anymore. The only reason that this form of music was "underground" at all, was because there was no mass distribution yet at that time (major record labels werent tuned in yet as to whether or not they could make money off house music) and therefore, most people were not aware that this music or scene existed. Raves/parties had to remain secretive, because oftentimes the warehouse parties were either trespassing and/or operating in violation of local ordinances for those types of events. And since most people were not on the internet at that time, the only way to find out that this scene existed was to know someone who knew someone etc. It wasnt until the mid-late 90's that "clubbing" really became a thing in most of North America.

Nowadays, most "dance" music gets uploaded straight to the internet as soon as it gets produced, and the days of secretive underground parties (raves etc) are long, long gone. Most people go to clubs which are safer and legal, and easier to find. The dance scene/culture worldwide has changed. The barrier of entry for DJ work is so low, that anyone can get involved, and this creates huge competition. The scene was taken over by the music industry and now operates as a business, as opposed to an organic "scene".

These days, true DJ's produce their own tracks and showcase them on the internet. House DJ's are literally a dime-a-dozen. My advice would be to come up with something so unique and amazing, that it is almost its own sound, its own genre. That's the only way you will stand out from the crowd of wanna-be's.

[CptnRn]

Austin is all about live music. Live Music Capital... etc., etc... Too many bands competing for too few jobs, results in live music available cheap everywhere. Not much market for DJ's playing canned music here, from what I see. Intense competition, you want to see intense competition, come to Austin.

[AuburnAL]

Yes, but it is a secret so I can't tell you otherwise it wouldn't really underground. Get some street cred, and if you're deserving it will find you.

[bgrn198]

I'd check this website out

http://electricavenueatx.com