A busy rep of Burning Man tribe’s The GlamCocks, Matt Denton is on the lineup for one of NYC’s biggest Halloween Month parties this weekend. [Cover photo: Brian McCormick]
Thotyssey: Matt, hello! Thanks for chatting today! Do you have your Halloween looks ready?
Matt Denton: Funny enough… I spend a lot of time every year thinking about and working on Halloween — DJ sets, meetings, email threads, and spreadsheets for parties that I’m a part of. But for myself, I usually just throw together a look at the last possible minute. Luckily I have a few good pieces that can be recycled in a lot of different ways.
I really love seeing how creative people get for Halloween. Halloween gives people permission to really go all-out on their creative visions and hilarious and silly sides, and that can be refreshing because it disarms and frees everyone from taking themselves or their night out too seriously.
I feel like Kidz Theez Dayz don’t really value Halloween anthems anymore! I guess you can make a case for “The Dead Dance.” Do you sneak in some gothy / industrial / spooky / campy stuff in your sets this time of year?
There is a time and a place for every song! For sure, Halloween is the time when DJs should lean into the dramatic, spooky and darker vibes than the rest of the year. If it has a gothic church organ and mysterious spoken vocals in it, then I’ll throw it in my set.
In general, how might you describe your sound in the DJ booth today?
It varies depending on the set and setting, but my go-to answer when people ask is “cunty, big energy house music.” I tweeted once, “If the crowd isn’t going ape-shit, woo-wooing, hands in the air, kissing strangers, and taking off their clothes while you’re DJing, honestly what are you even doing up there?” A joke, but to some degree my honest philosophy on the whole thing.
Love that! Where’s your original hometown, and was music always a part of your life?
My love of dance music traces back to my childhood in small town Tennessee. I grew up with NASCAR in my front yard and Dollywood in my backyard. My NASCAR / country aesthetic as a DJ is equal parts a shtick, and who I am deeply at my core. Even as a kid, I was growing up surrounded by country music. And when TRL and the Billboard Top 10 were all pop and hip hop, I used to love blasting Madonna and Jock Jams albums, and later Ministry of Sound UK compilations on my bedroom speakers. That was one of the only ways to get new dance music in the U.S. back then. Fast forward years later, I’m still that country boy who loves dance music at heart.
How did you become a DJ, and a New Yorker?
After college, the energy and excitement of NYC was too much to resist. I moved here in 2009, during the blogosphere era when dance music started gaining serious traction in the US – Justice, Boys Noize, La Roux,and Simian Mobile Disco were blowing up, and David Guetta and Calvin Harris were transforming pop into dance bangers.
Once I was here I was dancing at every party imaginable, still passionate about the music. It never occurred to me to DJ until I showed my library to my friend Yogen, and he encouraged me to share it with others. He was the first person I knew who DJ’ed, and the first person I met that had been to Burning Man. Talk about a portal… his encouragement and my curiosity led me down that rabbit hole, and a few months later I was nervously DJing my first set at a crazy and strange party at this wild event in the Nevada desert. I had no idea what I was doing but I was hooked!
I’m guessing that your association with The GlamCocks, the DJ party collective best known for their Burning Man presence, had its origins then! What can you tell us about the formation and mission of The GlamCocks?
My first burn was circa 2013. I went out there to see what all the fuss was about, and my mind was fully blown by what I encountered. It was more than just a fun time, it was the biggest, most extreme experience I’d ever been to. And most importantly, it reconnected me with my inner child in a really personal way and ignited my where, when, and why I pursued DJing and throwing parties.
I camped with GlamCocks, and at the time it was a small but growing group of friends and friends of friends from Seattle and San Francisco and New York. They were known for their casual sunset parties, a tall wooden tower called the Roost, and still figuring things out. It’s truly become a passion project for all involved, and an opportunity to escape the mundane routine of our daily lives, build a fun family and a community around solid principles, and do silly things like set up circus tents in windstorms and offer a full nightclub in the middle of a desert!
None of us really expected what has happened since then to happen, as we’ve grown from a scrappy silly Burning Man camp to producers of some of the big parties year round in NYC, Fire Island Pines, LA, SF and DC. But I think that is big part of the GlamCocks recipe – fun escapism that doesn’t take itself, or nightlife, too seriously. Just good music, fun themes, a place for everyone. No VIP – just good vibes required.
As someone who DJs for queer, straight and mixed crowds, do you notice a difference with folks’ tastes and dancefloor behaviors, or is everyone basically into the same stuff?
It’s well documented that queer clubs and queer audiences have always had their finger on the pulse of what is hot and fun to dance to since the beginning. I don’t think that will ever change. But as dance music’s culture and influence has swept over the country, I find more and more that everyone knows genres, DJs and festivals, and it really matters to them and is a common topic of conversation. To be able to witness dance music move from the edges to the mainstream of entertainment personally makes me really happy. Everyone is into solid grooves, the classics, and to thump, grind and swirl.
I wanted to ask what it was like doing a set at the Purple Disco Machine show in DC this past summer!
Incredible! I had the opportunity to both open the room for Dombresky and close the room for Purple Disco Machine at the iconic Echostage in DC during World Pride. Which sounds crazy to say – it’s a dream. Sometimes when you push at something long enough, luck allows crazy opportunities come your way. I recognize I’ve been lucky, and don’t take it lightly.
I had actually closed for Purple Disco Machjne once before way back at Dreamland New Years 2022 in Miami, and the promoter Jake Resnicow trusts me enough to put me on some crazy lineups. I never imagined some of the places where DJing and partying would take me; my goal was to have a good time with my friends. But I take it very seriously, and always try to meet the moment and make my mark when these great opportunities come up.
Another epic night will be this Friday at Industry City in Brooklyn, where you will be on the lineup for Night One of the “City of Gods Halloween Festival!” What can we expect?
Expect NYC’s biggest and most fantastical Halloween party and adventure. It is mind-boggling to me every year how massive and special “City of Gods” is, and I feel so lucky to be a part of it. If I am ever in your kitchen at 5am, you may hear my TED Talk about “Halloween Parties” vs “Parties on Halloween,” lol – there is a difference! “City of Gods” is a true “Halloween Party” from the ground up. It’s a love letter to Halloween produced by House of Yes, Zero, and nearly a dozen Burning Man camps and crews. These people don’t mess around – expect six warehouses each with their own vibe and sound, immaculate decor, speakeasies, hidden rooms to discover, and a really fun crowd. We have a really solid lineup, and some surprises this year.
What else is coming up for you?
After the busy summer season, I like to focus all my energy on producing or spinning Halloween and New Years Eve, with a just few parties and gigs in between in the works. In the spring I am part of the Utopia Festival lineup in Mexico, which is a unique and fun weekend. And for next summer, I am already plotting and planning some surprises around Fire Island – my second DJ home behind Burning Man.
Let’s end with: what’s your best advice to a new baby DJ on the scene who want to make it big in NYC?
After thirteen years doing this, I find myself doling out “dad wisdom” pretty often. But if someone has the spark, the drive and the love of music to be crazy enough to want to entertain a crowd, I am happy to share what I know and have learned to help them out. My biggest advice is, don’t take it or yourself too seriously. Dance to your own music. Find your frequency and love what you do… that will draw in your crowd. Avoid the ego traps of comparison. Collaborate, don’t compete. And always bring multiple backup USB sticks!
Thanks, Matt!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for Matt Denton’s upcoming appearances, and follow him on Instagram, LinkTree, YouTube and SoundCloud. Also, visit his website.
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