The Shortlist: Seth Troxler | whynow
Published by whynow.co.uk, May 2022
Seth Troxler is a changed man. The one-time poster boy of dance music, formerly as famous for his barbed tongue as his dexterity in the booth, has hung up his boxing gloves in favour of peace and love. Criticism doesn’t tumble from his lips in the way it once did, and these days you’re more likely to hear him celebrating the wins of others than publicly calling them out.
On the phone from New York, where he’s hunkered down in the studio making reams of new music, he sounds relaxed and almost breezy, a far cry from the antagonistic figure many would recognise from the past.
The root of these newfound high spirits is pretty easy to unearth. During the pandemic, Troxler met his now wife and they’ve recently welcomed the birth of their first child. His Instagram feed is plastered with gushing tributes to his new family.
It turns out that despite years of castigating the status quo, Troxler isn’t actually so different to the rest of us. Having calmed with age and taken a step back from his old hedonistic lifestyle, he’s fully embracing this new chapter and priorities that stretch beyond the dance floor.
“Being a parent really puts a lot of things into perspective,” he says. “It gives you a reason for why you do things, which in some ways, after doing what I do for so many years, becomes more and more difficult.” Troxler has been in the limelight for more than half his life, having shot to fame after playing Panorama Bar at the age of 19.
But now, as he enters his late 30s, he needs more than just the relentless cycle of the party circuit. “When you add a child into your life, it gives you a new drive,” he adds. “Your job is to rock clubs and to do it well, but you still have to go home on Monday and be a dad.”
Aside from a bucketful of new responsibilities, becoming a father has also put more of an onus on his creative output and how he leaves a lasting mark on the world. “The fact that you don’t have time to waste and want to use your time more constructively makes you think a lot about legacy,” he explains.
“You only want to use your time to do things that are beneficial to your life or your art. I’ve always made music but I think right now I’m creating a lot of new things. I’ve really honed into what exactly I’ve been trying to do for so many years.”
Troxler admits he’s a workaholic but right now he’s more clear-headed and driven than ever. There’s a remix of Soul Clap coming on 15th April, ‘Talking Walls’, a hook-up with Jaden Thompson out on Crosstown Rebels, and a collaboration with Diplo released back in March. ‘Waiting For You’ featuring Desire came as a result of the pair’s somewhat surprising friendship, especially given Troxler’s unabashed critique of EDM in the past. He’s aware of the cries of hypocrisy but brushes it off. This is the new easygoing Seth Troxler, remember – and he doesn’t have beef with anyone.
“I had a great realisation about the idea of being so combative,” he ponders. “Everyone’s got a story and everyone’s doing the best they can.” For some, this turnabout might be hard to believe but his new laid-back demeanour does seem to support the idea that he doesn’t have time for needless conflict anymore.
“I hate exclusivity,” he adds. “Things become so divided and tribal, and really, who cares? It doesn’t add anything. Some DJs claim to be underground and they’re doing fashion editorials in Vogue. Once you get to the stage of headlining festivals, you too are a pop artist. Just enjoy it a little bit.”
Being so outspoken means it’s not surprising that Troxler gets flak for past rants and is forced to bat away accusations of affectation. But the other side to this is that when someone grows up publicly, over a period of more than two decades, everything is recorded and used as ammunition — in both support and condemnation.
Fame allows little room for error and the perils of notoriety state that changing opinions and outlooks is strictly forbidden. As far as the general public is concerned, you are only permitted one character, and there’s zero room for personal growth.
Perhaps this explains why Troxler has decided to stop fighting so hard and instead accept the preposterousness of life. “Everyone’s on this search for meaning but you have to accept the fact that everything is somewhat pointless,” he laughs.
“There are so many things that don’t make sense but still within that, you have to keep going. It’s like the tale of Sisyphus, constantly pushing the boulder up the hill only for it to roll back down again. But he still continued every day. I think that has a lot of resonance.”
This admission of the strangeness of our existence forms the basis for his new concept, Absurdism, kicking off at Stereo Bar in Montreal this month and featuring guest slots from Tiga, Kenny Glasgow and Hiroko Yamamura. “Absurdism is a philosophical theory that falls somewhere in the middle between nihilism and existentialism,” he explains.
“We’re just seeing where [the party] takes us because I guess having a plan would go against the principle of being absurd! If you’re a passenger and you have a destination but the route isn’t your choice, it kind of all just works out a little bit easier.”
It’s a laissez-faire approach that seems a little at odds with having just brought a new life into the world but it’s one he gave a lot of thought to prior his son’s birth. “It’s funny, when we were thinking about having a baby, we looked at the future of the world and how messed up it is,” he says. “But even in dystopias, like 1984, there’s always a love story. Even if in the end it all goes to shit!”
“You have to laugh instead of getting bogged down by how completely draining and fucked up it is. I still believe there are reasons to be alive. Even in a world where we’re potentially facing World War Three and climate disaster, there are a lot of beautiful moments worth living for.”
