Magical Dancefloors roadmap 2026
Here's the roadmap for MagicalDancefloors.com for the next lil bit
Fifteen months ago, my brain still fizzing and sparking from a mind-expanding DVS1 Wall of Sound experience, I decided to expand my obsession with one particular dancefloor (Despacio) to all dancefloors that achieved a certain level of excellence, or magic.
A couple days ago, to my surprise and delight, this blog hit 1,000 subscribers. That milestone makes now a good time to take stock and share plans for where this will go next and to talk about a promise I’ve been making since day one.
The book promise. If you’ve subscribed for a year or have purchased an annual subscription, you’ll get a free digital copy of Magical Dancefloors Book #1 (title TBD), self-published. There will be a print option as well. This first book will include the complete and re-edited Berghain series and some subscriber-exclusive goodies as well (foreword, appendices, maybe even an author-narrated audiobook). I believe I’ll be able to ship the digital book by the end of June.
Future books. For the second book that I’ve begun writing on the topic of dancefloors, I’m looking for a publisher. If you’re an agent or publisher or just know your way around book publishing, I’d love to chat. This is the one about dancefloors in general, full of stories sourced from visits to some of the best dance parties the world’s got to offer.
Community. Some folks are able to make community work on Substack, but honestly I’m not confident that Substack will avoid platform enshittification. Long run, I’m worried about Substack, and I believe we’re already seeing the future with the algorithmically mediated feed predicated on the “follow” function that competes with the classic, email-based subscription function. So I’m focused on building community in a few other places, and you’re invited to join me there. I started and moderate r/dancefloors on reddit, as well as discord.gg/despacio. (I also mod for r/StereoMontreal.) I serve as a volunteer for Dance Music Initiative, a registered not-for-profit based in Southern California. Even closer to home, I’ve founded a small dance party in Southern California, and if you’re reading this, you’re welcome to join the mailing list to keep up with that effort at badcat.fm. It’s not yet magical, but it aspires to be.
Entertainment services. Beyond books and community, I’m growing a small business that provides production services to events throughout Southern California. I DJ, run sound, lights, and advise event organizers on how to build their dancefloors. We’ve done a dozen events since our launch last fall, and have a couple dozen more events booked through the end of this year.
Travel. I’m mapping out my travel schedule for the remainder of the year. I’ll be at Portola Festival in San Francisco because they’ve just confirmed that they’re bringing Despacio to that festival. I’ll be at Head Trip Festival (to check out Floating Points’ Sunflower Soundsystem), as well as Moon Tribe gatherings throughout the year. If things go according to plan, I’ll also be attending one of The Loft Parties in NYC later this year, but just as a dancer, not as a journalist. Wuppertal, RSO, Berghain, Sisyphos, and Stereo Montreal will round out the year, if luck continues to smile on me.
That’s all for now — thank you for being part of the first 1,000 believers. I am grateful for your readership and support. I hope we’ll be able to meet and dance together sometime soon.