2022 was another banner year for electronic dance music history as festivals returned en masse, the scene’s biggest artists released albums and live music records were broken.
But then there were times when things got… weird.
From head-scratching revelations on social media to dance music veterans taking the genre where it hasn’t gone before, read on to discover just a handful of the stories that had us doing double-takes in 2022.
Bizarre Reddit sex confession spikes Hudson Mohawke’s “Cbat” on the charts
There’s no manual to achieving a chart topping hit—but having your music be the subject of an embarrassing sex confession may be one of the most absurd paths possible.
On the “Today I Fucked Up” subreddit, a Redditor confessed to the world that Hudson Mohawke’s track “Cbat” had been a staple of his love-making playlist for years, standing the test of time through multiple relationships. The quirky rhythm wasn’t quite a hit with his current girlfriend, however, which ultimately put a wedge in their relationship.
The confession, which went viral on Twitter and TikTok, simultaneously landed “Cbat” in the #1 spot on the U.S. iTunes Electronic chart—over a decade after its release.
Steve Aoki is heading to the moon
Steve Aoki can always be counted on to take dance music to new heights. In December, the superstar DJ was revealed as one of eight people selected by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa to join him on an upcoming commercial space flight around the moon, the world’s first-ever civilian lunar orbital mission.
The trip, dubbed “Dear Moon” and organized by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is planned for 2023.
Music producer makes drum & bass track with a dildo
When a sex toy manufacturer reached out to Vancouver-based DJ electronic music producer Koji Aiken on Instagram to promote one of their products, his request was simply that they send “the loudest vibrator” they had available.
Harnessing the mighty power of the “Bendie Power Stud Curvy Vibe,” Aiken hit the studio and recorded the dildo’s various vibration patterns. He then sampled them to produce a song, the end result of which is a hysterical drum & bass record no one saw coming.
Limewire returns as an NFT marketplace
Over 12 years after closing shop, LimeWire returned in an attempt to reckon with its controversial past—and forge a new chapter.
The go-to peer-to-peer file sharing service that dominated the early 2000s came to an unceremonious end when lawsuits initiated by major record labels and music rights-holders resulted in a staggering $105 million in fines.
This year, LimeWire’s new management saw a new vision for the brand: as an NFT marketplace. Australian entrepreneurs Paul and Julian Zehetmayr hope to use the brand’s piracy-era brand recognition to attract new users while also actually getting artists paid this time around.
Fred again.. and Four Tet take over a food truck
When Fred again.. and Four Tet came to town, there was more heat than just that of the sizzling waffle irons emitting from a nearby food truck outside New York’s Terminal 5.
Following their regularly scheduled set, Fred and Tet went outside and promptly took over the vehicle’s aux. As fans gathered ’round, the artists played one last crowd pleaser, Miley Cyrus’ “Party In The U.S.A.,” before making a speedy exit.
