DJ Dan, one of the West Coast’s pioneering DJ/producers, died this past March 28. Born Daniel Lee Wherrett, Dan was a major contributor to California’s vibrant ’90s electronic-music scene, which included massive raves, influential club events, and memorable tracks.
His passing was announced by his booking agency, APT Entertainment. His sister Dora King announced on her Facebook page that he’d suffered “a massive heart attack.” He was 57.
Dan’s musical journey covered the entire Pacific Coast and beyond. Growing up in the Seattle area, Dan eventually moved up and down the coast with stints in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Working with musical collectives, like the Funky Tekno Tribe, Dan helped push the “West Coast House Sound,” a singular, psychedelic amalgam of breaks, house, and techno elements. Including members Hector Cardenas and KevOn Angel, plus associates like Mark Farina, Donald Glaude and DJ Sneak, Funky Tekno Tribe and its parties became legendary.
In 1992, during the initial upswing of Cali’s rave scene, Dan began releasing mix tapes and live mixes with LA jock Ron D. Core. He then gained notice outside the West Coast for his 1995 “Loose Caboose” collab EP with Jim Hopkins (as Electroliners), whose devoutly trippy title track exhibited the best of the era’s funky acid breaks, plus a few signature hiccup effects for good measure.
But it was “That Zipper Track,” nearly seven minutes of straight madness, that made him a global name in clubland. Released in 1999 by LA’s Moonshine Music (as DJ Dan Presents Needle Damage), the chugging rave anthem came complete with whopping breakdowns, mind-scrambling backspins, and foreboding effects that tore up early-morning dancefloors. It charted across the pond, and it further opened up the world for DJ Dan.
In addition to founding his own InStereo Recordings, he recorded numerous mix-compilation full-lengths and six artist albums, including: 2010’s Future Retro (Nettwerk); 2012’s Disko Funk Odyssey (Guesthouse Music); 2014’s Nothing But A Party (InStereo); 2016’s DJ Dan & Friends (InStereo); 2019’s Full Circle (InStereo); and 2024’s TekkMeow (InStereo). He also did remixes for a variety of artists, including Lady Gaga (“Paparazzi,” “Bad Romance,” and “Telephone”), New Order (“Krafty”), A Tribe Called Quest (“Pubic Enemy”), and Depeche Mode (“Precious”).
On a personal level, our connections with Dan over the years were nothing but memorable and enjoyable. Going back to the ’90s (and during the days of DJ Times where we featured him on the cover), we worked with him at a variety of events, including two DJ Expos in San Francisco in 1999 and 2000, plus several America’s Best DJ events afterward. In 2014, he ranked No. 9 in the ABDJ fan poll and played events on the annual promotion’s tour schedule.
But moreover – and it’s been said a lot in the past few days – he was truly the nicest, warmest, most humble, full-of-love guy you’d ever meet. And his deep affinity for music was palpable. He freely discussed his chromesthesia – a neuro-phenomenon where genres of music came to him in colors – and the excitement he’d feel about new records. It’s been said that he was a DJ’s DJ – the ultimate compliment in these quarters – and there’s no doubt: If you experienced a party where he ran the show, you probably wouldn’t forget it.
In fact, DJ Dan helmed the decks on one of the great club nights I ever experienced. It came during Winter Music Conference week in 1998 at Miami Beach’s Groove Jet club – he and Carl Cox were the bill for a wild Moonshine Music showcase. A mix of L.A. & U.K., that party whirred through the era’s panoply of dancefloor genres with Dan dropping his irresistible funk-flavored bangers, all of which set up the tech-leaning Cox for a big finish. It was one of those nights where you just couldn’t leave the club, and at the 5 a.m. closing time, you saw dozens of dazed partiers stumbling out onto the 23rd Street sweat-soaked and satisfied.
With the flood of online obits and social-media testimonials, the respect is pouring in from all over the electronic-music world: DJ Dan was a dance-culture legend whose influence and name won’t soon be forgotten.