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West Coast house producer DJ Dan has died: “One of the most beloved, genre-defying, and genuinely influential pioneers in the history of American electronic music”

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West Coast house producer DJ Dan has died: “One of the most beloved, genre-defying, and genuinely influential pioneers in the history of American electronic music”

Tribues paid after the death of “beloved, genre-defying” West Coast house producer DJ Dan, age 57.

The news of his death was confirmed by one of his representatives yesterday (Sunday March 29) in a statement shared with Billboard. No cause of death has yet been disclosed.

“It is with profound sorrow, deep admiration, and an enduring sense of gratitude and love that we announce the passing of Daniel Wherrett — known professionally to the world simply as DJ Dan,” the statement read, also describing him as “one of the most beloved, genre-defying, and genuinely influential pioneers in the history of American electronic music.”

“He leaves behind not just a discography, but a culture — a way of feeling music that touched millions of souls across four decades and five continents. He often said he felt his purpose in life was ‘to heal through music.’”

He was set to play a show at the Dead Ringer club in Nevada on Saturday night (March 28), but ticket holders were told just hours before the event kicked off that they would be getting a refund as the gig had been cancelled. In a statement shared on Instagram, organisers simply stated that “unfortunately DJ Dan is unable to make it tonight”.

Wherrett’s representatives went on to describe DJ Dan as a “a man who saw music in colours”, and said that his live performances were a “vision translated into something audiences felt in their bodies long before they understood it with their minds”.

“Off the stage, he was a cook, a traveler, an obsessive record collector whose family bought him a new turntable every Christmas — not because it was tradition, but because it was the only gift he ever wanted,” they added.

“He leaves behind his music, his label, his mixes, and the countless thousands of dancers who found themselves — truly found themselves — in the middle of one of his sets.The world is quieter today. But press play on anything he touched, and you will hear exactly why we mourn him, and exactly why we are forever grateful he was here to inspire us.”

Fans have since taken to social media to pay their respects to the late dance star. “DJ Dan made some of the first mixtapes that got me into raving when I was young. So sad to hear this news,” wrote one fan on X/Twitter, while another shared: “RIP to a very formative person in how I entered into all of it.”

“House music helped define an entire era of my life. DJ Dan was someone who shaped so many of my friends into the DJs they become,” someone else wrote on X, while another fan simply wrote: “RIP DJ Dan. A superbly nice person, fortunate to have known him and call him a friend.” Find more tributes below.

Born Dan Wherrett in Washington, DJ Dan started out as a design student before moving to California in the early ‘90s to pursue a career in electronic music. He went on to co-found the Funky Tekno Tribe and became an integral part of the underground electronica scene across the West Coast.

By 1998 he was recording ‘Essential Mixes’ for the BBC, and went on to top the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart in 2004 with ‘That Phone Track’. His 1999 song ‘Needle Damage’, and 2001 tracks ‘That Zipper Track’ and ‘Put That Record Back On’ all made it onto the Official Charts.

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