The Electronic Music Conference (EMC) is Asia-Pacific's largest gathering of dance music leaders and future leaders in Sydney.

In this exclusive EMC2012 panel, Laidback Luke, Goodwill, Sam La More and Nina Las Vegas discuss what it takes to be a DJ in today's world.

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“Button pushing” DJs in the spotlight at EMC 2012
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At last week’s inaugural Electronic Music Conference in Sydney, one of the first panels to stir up debate was ‘Beyond Button-Pushing: What Makes A DJ?’ The topic has been a consistent talking point in 2012. Firstly, there’s the fracas that followed Deadmau5’s Tumblr post ‘We All Hit Play’ in June, which inspired an impassioned and considered response from Bassnectar and straight-up vitriol from scene veterans Mr C and A Guy Called Gerald. Running concurrent to that debate is the phenomenon of dance music déjà vu. “It’s got to the stage where it’s all about what we call The Playlist,” said Jono Grant of Above & Beyond’s American adventures in a recent Mixmag feature. “There are about 12 records that these DJs are playing.”

That point was raised again when inthemix spoke to Dutch star Laidback Luke ahead of his Stereosonic visit (“A lot of DJs are comfortable with what they play at various festivals and are doing the same sets over and over again,” he said), and written about by Z-Trip in an inthemix Guest Editorial and A-Trak on The Huffington Post. It seemed like worthwhile territory for an EMC discussion.

Leading the panel was Sydney DJ and host of triple j’s House Party show Nina Las Vegas, joined by Laidback Luke himself and two hard-touring Australian DJs, Goodwill and Sam La More. You can watch the full panel below, which touched on the Deadmau5 blow-up, what a residency teaches a DJ and why pre-recorded sets are dinting dance music’s credibility.

On the panel, Laidback Luke spoke about his reaction to the Deadmau5 argument. “I was very blunt with him,” he told the room. “It’s basically like saying that sex is just an up and down motion without actually naming the magic of it. Trying to explain what we do in such a way is just very basic and silly.”