Remembering DJ Dan: Pioneer of the West Coast House Sound

Remembering DJ Dan: Pioneer of the West Coast House Sound begins with confirmation that Daniel Lee Wherrett, known professionally as DJ Dan, has died; his death was confirmed by a friend and reported by 5mag. He had been scheduled to appear at the 5th annual spring ball in Reno, Nevada, and Up Till Dawn Records posted that Dan could not make the event with the caption ‘Our hearts are heavy this morning.’

Apt Entertainment released a statement titled ‘The Beat Goes On: In Loving Memory of DJ Dan, Pioneer of the West Coast House Sound.’ Born Daniel Lee Wherrett in Lacey, Washington, Dan lived in Seattle and Southern California and co-founded the Bay Area’s Funky Tekno Tribe, described in the reporting as a ‘neo-mythical clan’ of promoters, artists and performers that helped build the West Coast and U.S. electronic music scene.

Daniel Lee Wherrett, known professionally as DJ Dan, has died; his death was confirmed by a friend and the news spread over the weekend. He was scheduled to appear at the 5th annual spring ball in Reno, Nevada but did not attend the event. Up Till Dawn Records posted that Dan could not make the event, using the caption “Our hearts are heavy this morning.” The reporting identifies the announcement by Up Till Dawn Records as a public communication about his absence and subsequent death.

Apt Entertainment released a memorial statement titled “The Beat Goes On: In Loving Memory of DJ Dan, Pioneer of the West Coast House Sound.” The memorial statement is described in the reporting as expressing sorrow, admiration, gratitude and love. The coverage also notes that Dan co-founded the Bay Area’s Funky Tekno Tribe, which is described as a “neo-mythical clan” of promoters, artists and performers and is credited in the reporting with helping to build the West Coast and U.S. electronic music scene. The reporting further records that Dan lived in Seattle and Southern California and uploaded a substantial number of mixtapes to the Internet Archive.

Daniel Lee Wherrett was born in Lacey, Washington and was known professionally as DJ Dan. He lived in Seattle and Southern California during his career. He co-founded the Bay Area’s Funky Tekno Tribe, which the reporting describes as a ‘neo-mythical clan’ of promoters, artists and performers.

Apt Entertainment’s memorial statement used the phrase ‘Pioneer of the West Coast House Sound’ in its title, linking Dan to the West Coast house music scene. Funky Tekno Tribe is credited in the coverage with helping to build the West Coast and U.S. electronic music scene and the original parties began in San Francisco with tribal, organic decor and high-quality sound systems. Dan was a frequent DJ at U.S. rave events and his sets were bootlegged on many mixtapes, and he reportedly uploaded about 50 mixtapes to the Internet Archive.

DJ Dan co-founded the Bay Area’s Funky Tekno Tribe. The reporting characterizes the collective as a “neo-mythical clan” of promoters, artists and performers. The coverage states that Funky Tekno Tribe helped build the West Coast and U.S. electronic music scene and records that Dan discussed the group in a 2012 interview about his label Guesthouse and the Tribe. The reporting identifies the co-founding role and the Tribe’s place in the regional electronic music landscape.

The original parties began in San Francisco and are described in the reporting as having elaborate, tribal and organic decor and high-quality sound systems. One quoted passage in the coverage states: “The original parties started in San Francisco and were very elaborate in decor and always had the best sound systems. The decor was very tribal and organic… like you were in the middle of the jungle somewhere with really fucked up, funky music that you did not hear at any other parties.”

The original parties started in San Francisco and were very elaborate in decor and always had the best sound systems. The decor was very tribal and organic… like you were in the middle of the jungle somewhere with really fucked up, funky music that you did not hear at any other parties.

The reporting also records Dan’s description of the Tribe’s mission in his own words: “Funky Tekno Tribe was run by two friends of mine (which I introduced) and our concept was to bring the most funky psychedelic music to the Bay Area rave scene.”

Funky Tekno Tribe was run by two friends of mine (which I introduced) and our concept was to bring the most funky psychedelic music to the Bay Area rave scene.

Another quoted passage in the coverage states, “We chose our DJs well and everyone understood that we were bringing the most underground, even experimental music to our parties. This was our baby and we wanted it to be 100% our vision.”

We chose our DJs well and everyone understood that we were bringing the most underground, even experimental music to our parties. This was our baby and we wanted it to be 100% our vision.

DJ Dan worked as a DJ in the U.S. rave scene and was a frequent DJ at U.S. rave events, as recorded in the reporting. The coverage states that many of his live sets were bootlegged on mixtapes. The reporting records bootlegged captures of his performances among circulated mixtapes and live recordings. The coverage does not provide a complete discography of those bootlegs.

The reporting states that Dan reportedly uploaded about 50 mixtapes to the Internet Archive. He was interviewed in 2012 about his label Guesthouse and Funky Tekno Tribe, as recorded in the coverage. The reporting places these mixtape uploads and interviews within the account of his activity in the U.S. electronic music scene. The coverage does not list the individual mixtape titles or detailed release information.

Daniel Lee Wherrett, known professionally as DJ Dan, has died; his death was confirmed by a friend and reported by 5mag. Apt Entertainment released a memorial statement titled ‘The Beat Goes On: In Loving Memory of DJ Dan, Pioneer of the West Coast House Sound,’ which the reporting says expresses sorrow, admiration, gratitude and love.

Up Till Dawn Records posted that Dan could not make the 5th annual spring ball in Reno, Nevada, with the caption ‘Our hearts are heavy this morning.’

The reporting records that Dan co-founded the Bay Area’s Funky Tekno Tribe and links the group to building the West Coast and U.S. electronic music scene, noting that the Tribe’s original San Francisco parties featured tribal, organic decor and high-quality sound systems.

The reporting also records that Dan was a frequent DJ at U.S. rave events and that he reportedly uploaded about 50 mixtapes to the Internet Archive.