Gary Smith @ Dance Music 101

Gary Smith, day-time programme co-curator from the ADE / Amsterdam Dance Event.

- Life: when was the moment you figured out that Dance Music was meant for you?

When I first heard Chic in a club in Sheffield as a teenager. The sound was so full and funky, and the bass was so sexy I just had to get on the dance floor and shake my booty, and I've been doing it ever since.

- Laugh: when was the last time you had real fun?

At Club 00 in Rio. I love the place for its atmosphere and crowd. It also tends to host some great DJs as well so for me it's the perfect combination. Roland Leesker of Get Physical played an absolutely brilliant set the other week, and Thomas Schumacher had the unenviable task of following him, but he also turned in a cracking mix.

- Love: name the one thing you love more than anything – and why is that?

In terms of records it has to be Hamilton Bohannon's “Let's Start The Dance”, because it has the best bass line in the whole history of dance music and vocally it's witty, playful, soulful and fun.

- Past: name a significant moment in your career in Dance Music – and why is that?

Starting to work for the Amsterdam Dance Event back in 1996 marked the beginning of my career as it is today, and also led to other amazing jobs such as working with the RMC crew. I had no idea that I'd end up curating these wonderful events and working for ADE and RMC are simply the best jobs I've ever had.

- Present: what do you think is trending today in music, clubs and festivals?

There's a counter reaction to EDM which is growing in pace and leading kids who were happy with the commercial end of electronic music into the more underground sounds. On top of that we are seeing the European and US events markets becoming increasingly saturated, so I expect there will be some market forces at play over the coming summer and possibly a few promoters deciding to put their time and money elsewhere. Running contrary to that, I see the South American events market growing and maturing and likely to explode this year.

- Future: where is the industry heading in the years to come?

Dance music has become part of the mainstream in a much bigger way than it did in the last 'dance boom' between 1996-2002, so I don't expect to see it disappear, in much the same way that rock or blues will never go away. But there is a re-ordering going on right now, and the bottom line is that music is simply not as important to kids today compared with my generation because it has to compete with video games, the internet, the best period in TV history ever and all the other myriad distractions of the modern world. I believe that over the next 2-3 years we will see the end of music sales as streaming becomes the norm, and hopefully we'll see the end of the era of manufactured pop music, replaced by something with more humanity and fewer vocoders.