Why mental health is a dance-floor issue
Saeed Saeed reports from the world’s largest dance music event in Amsterdam, where the unlikely issue of mental health took centre stage
DJs are the new rock stars, and they work to gruelling schedules that mean backto-back gigs across the globe and back again. The ramifications of such a life on an EDM artist’s mental health is at the forefront of the industry’s mind after a challenging year, with Swedish producer Avicii taking his own life in April, and Dutch superstar DJ Hardwell recently announcing an indefinite break from DJing due to the “roller coaster life”.
Burnout and mental health were at the centre of discussion on the opening day of the Amsterdam Dance Event, which took place last Wednesday. The five-day event is held annually in the Dutch capital and is the world’s largest dance music industry gathering, with a string of in-house conferences, music launches and live shows.
But the onus to pay attention to mental health shouldn’t be on the artists alone, as Clare Scivier, a behavioural psychologist and former artist manager pointed out. “We have seen recent cases where there should have been more awareness from managers who pushed some of their artists too far. And that comes down to a lack of education,” she said. “We may now need to discuss a longer-term plan for an artist, instead of focusing on looking for whatever money is available at this moment.”
With a large number of dance music artists in their teens and early twenties, Scivier said that families need to be more involved. “Many artists and DJs that I work with are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. These are developmental conditions, and a lot of people with it are drawn to dance music,” she said. “Parents should be aware that some people’s motivation for becoming famous comes from being bullied, and that can come from the result of having that condition. So we need more involvement from the parents, particularly for these kinds of young artists.”
Scivier said artists should treat their health as an important business asset, and this was a talking point explored at the following panel session on physical well-being.
A DJ’s workplace is a highvolume environment, and so artists are being encouraged to take precautionary measures before stepping onto the decks. Dutch veteran DJ Jooris Voorn stated that he has been performing with ear protection for the best part of two decades. “That was something I was aware of quite early on,” he said.
“When I was DJing in the ’90s, the clubs only had one sound monitor on the side of stage and I would come home and one of my ears would be blocked. It was affecting me so I went to the store and bought myself a set of earplugs. I thought to myself, at least I was saving my ears.”
One of Latin America’s most successful dance music promoters, Ecuador’s Kami Tadayon, said clubs also have a duty of care to its patrons. “We did run into some trouble with some international DJs, but I let the team know that we shouldn’t expose people to a sound level that is too dangerous and if someone is getting too loud to let them know.”
But what about the issues DJs face in the relative quiet of home? That was the subject of a packed panel session on work-life balance that featured Dutch trance music star Ferry Corsten. A father to a 10-year-old girl and 2-yearold boy, Corsten paid tribute to all the wives and partners of DJs for withstanding their unstable lifestyle.
“My wife is such a trooper and I really have to say this out loud,” he said. “We have two kids going to school and building a house at the same time and she had all that on her plate. She really holds the fort, but that is a mindset that should ultimately be shared by both of you.”
Corsten said fatherhood affects the way he plans his tours. “You get to that stage when you actually spend more time flying: before, I would spend a week in South America if I was playing back to back weekends. Now, I fly in and back home after three days and fly out again the next weekend back to South America” he said. “That’s one of the sacrifices.”
Corsten said DJs often have to grin and bear it on stage. “When something like [an argument at home] happens, that’s when you really need to focus and realise you are doing a job,” he said.
“For the two hours on stage I switch my mind off. It is about trying to get the job done.
We need to discuss a longer-term plan for an artist, instead of focusing on whatever money is available at this moment CLARE SCIVIER Behavioural psychologist