Despite his role in helping electronic music reach the masses in the late aughts, David Guetta‘s name carries an unsavory connotation in contemporary electronic music circles. He appears to have meant to redeem himself to some degree by teaming up with Showtek on “The Death of EDM” featuring Beardyman, but the song has only succeeded in damaging his reputation further.
I, for one, am more disappointed in Beardyman for agreeing to participate in something like this. The otherwise talented performer contributed a cringeworthy spoken word top line for the track that comes across as a misguided attempt to make it more relevant by inciting controversy.
As far as production elements are concerned, “The Death of EDM” has been compared to Gesaffelstein’s “Pursuit” – claims that come right after Diplo called out David Guetta for copycatting “Lean On” with “This One’s For You.” Even if the similarities are pure coincidence, it’s not like Showtek is known for dark hybrid techno either. As such, the whole project comes across as a disingenuous attempt for both acts to distance themselves from a musical movement to which they’re both deeply ingrained in.
After watching the video for David Guetta and Showtek’s “The Death of EDM” in the YouTube player above, watch the one for Gesaffelstein’s “Pursuit” in the one below and tell us whether you consider the former track to be as blatant a ripoff as others have suggested.
