Junior Sanchez: 'EDM is for kids'

I first met Junior Sanchez in 2008 in Miami during Winter Music Conference (the year before the confusing split with Ultra). At the time, I was living in Chicago and working and writing about the Wicker Park music scene there (Cool Kids, Flosstradamus, Zebo, etc)., and Junior was a fan of many of those artists, so we met at a party that showcased them. After finding we had much in common and because I had recently become a full-time freelancer, Junior hired me to work on publicity for his yet-to-be-launched label, BROBOT.

Now, six years later, Junior's working on Brobot with mainstream EDM jock Steve Angello under parent label SIZE. I caught up with Junior this summer over the phone for a 30-minute chat about dance music at best that can be best summarized in one quote: "EDM is for kids."

"People get threatened by what they don’t understand. They want to destroy it. We're not kids. When you're 40, you shouldn't be MAD at music 15-year-olds like," Junior told me. "What are you doing even getting pissed off about it? It really shouldn’t even be on your radar."

As someone who's spent a few years feeling disappointed at what people under 25 think is house music, Junior's truth brings a bit of relief, despite the sting of what's essentially "aging raver syndrome". When I was going to raves in 1999, did I expect my parents in their mid 40's at the time to understand trance? Hard house? Jungle? Hell no. My mom really loved Groove Armada, which I thought was kind of cute. I would have been upset if she started getting into Grooverider, though. So I get it. Give me my "dad house" any day though, especially if that means I don't have to listen to your Avicii shit.