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🎛️ How DJs Are Blowing Up on Instagram

🎛️ How DJs Are Blowing Up on Instagram

Plus Best sets from Coachella & more...

The Hidden Frequency
April 23, 2025

Welcome to the Hidden Frequency — your go-to source for the latest news on synths, industry trends, production techniques, and new music. Whether you’re a seasoned producer or just starting out, we provide the best tools to help you level up your music. If you were forwarded this email, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss a thing!

What’s included this week

🔦 SPOTLIGHT: How DJs Are Blowing Up on Instagram
🎛️ WHAT'S MOVING THE NEEDLE: Top DJ sets from Coachella
🎚️ SHAPING THE SOUND: How to structure your track for DJ’s
🎵 NEW MUSIC: 5 standout tracks from KLMC, SWYFTR, & more…
🔥 WHAT'S BUZZING THIS WEEK: Coachella, Dom Dolla X Kid Cudi, and more
🧰 THE ESSENTIALS: Must-have tools

NEW MUSIC

Every week, we bring you gems from indie labels and unsigned artists that deserve to be heard.

🔊 KLMC - Believe (Original Mix) [MUSTACHE CREW RECORDS]

🔊 SWYFTR - Paradise (VIP) [High Five Music]

🔊 CLLN & Jaxx Noveira - One Thing [Zeff Records]

🔊 Denali & Gracie Van Brunt & Kaz Gamble - Distant Memory [Ensis Records]

🔊 Mood 5 - Keep On Running [Big Mamas House Records]

Got a track that you want shared with the community?

Email us at [email protected] with the title “SUBMISSION” and include a link to your track!

How DJs Are Blowing Up on Instagram in 2025

Inside the strategies that underground and breakout DJs are using to turn Instagram into their top discovery engine.

For years, TikTok was the undisputed king of music discovery — but in 2025, we're seeing a major shift. While TikTok remains essential, Instagram has quietly become a powerhouse for electronic artists and DJs especially those with a community-first mindset and a bit of savvy algorithm game.

Here are five key tactics they're using.

🎥 1. Perform First, Promote Later

A common trend among rising DJs is to post-performance-first content. DJs are prioritizing real, visceral clips of them performing — whether it's a 2am warehouse set or a daytime rooftop session with friends.

The goal is authenticity. These clips stand out because they:

Humanize the artist
Show real crowd reactions
Highlight transitions and technique
Give people a reason to hit "follow" before they even know your name

Film from behind the decks, using a stable phone mount or GoPro. Focus on crowd movement, drops, and energy. Add your track ID in the caption or with text overlay.

🎥 2. Carousels Are King

Instagram's algorithm loves content that keeps people engaged — and carousels do exactly that. Producers are using them to:

Show off gear setups or DAW walkthroughs
Post step-by-step breakdowns of sound design
Tell visual stories with 3-5 slides
Showcase multiple moments from a single show

A 5–8 slide carousel can outperform a reel if the content is engaging and well-paced.

Use your aesthetic visuals on slide one (cover image), then stack each slide with clear value: tips, commentary, behind-the-scenes, track IDs, or artwork evolution.

🧠 3. Producer Wisdom = Authority + Engagement

When you teach, you build trust.

One of the fastest ways producers are building followings in 2025 is by posting quick educational content — short tips, synth breakdowns, or "here's how I made this bass" videos. These position the artist as both a creator and educator, which builds long-term loyalty.

Even basic insights like "why I layered two snares" or "my go-to reverb plugin" can go viral if presented cleanly.

Don't worry about looking like a teacher — just document your process. Hit screen record in Ableton or FL Studio while you tweak, and narrate.

🌐 4. Geo Tags + Tag Web = Discovery Boost

Smart artists aren't just tagging other accounts — they're building a web of connections every time they post.

This includes:

Tagging venues, festivals, and locations (even city name = discovery)
Tagging plugin developers and brands in studio content
Collaborators, visual artists, sound designers

These posts are often picked up by brand feeds, fan pages, or show up on Explore pages for people in the same city.

Use a combo of hashtags + location tags + brand tags. Even if you're unknown, this gets you algorithmic reach through interest-based overlaps.

🤩5. Visual Identity = Instant Recognition

In a feed full of saturated, chaotic content, what stands out? Consistency. Story. Aesthetic.

This is where your brand shines — artists with a strong visual style get noticed before people even hear the music.

We've seen DJs build followings purely through unique visual storytelling - try using:

Narrative-driven visuals where album covers and posts tell an evolving story
Signature color schemes

Pick 2–3 consistent visual cues (ex: green-toned palettes, retro-future gear, glitch overlays) and carry them across every single post, story, and highlight.

🎧 Final Thoughts:

Instagram has become a high-level discovery tool for artists who treat it like part of their creative output.

If you're consistent, intentional, and unafraid to experiment — Instagram will not only grow your following, but convert casual viewers into fans who stay.

WHAT’S MOVING THE NEEDLE

Top 5 DJ sets from Coachella

Alok

Brazilian powerhouse Alok brought more than just heat to the desert — he delivered a cinematic experience that was a spectacle. With an expertly curated set that weaved melodic house, Afro-tech, and progressive influences, Alok moved seamlessly between festival anthems and deeper grooves, keeping the crowd locked in with incredible human choreography and visuals that shunned the AI trend.

Tracks like his rework of "Deep Down" and unreleased collaborations with emerging Brazilian producers made the set a feel fresh. This was truly an immersive performance.

The Martinez Brothers b2b Loco Dice

One of the most anticipated b2b sets of the weekend was The Martinez Brothers and Loco Dice. The trio pushed the boundaries of groove-heavy techno and Latin-infused house.

Crowd reactions peaked when Loco Dice dropped a dubplate remix of "Keep It Movin'," with the Martinez Brothers countering with a rolling, vocal-led house heater. This was underground energy at festival scale — and it worked flawlessly.

Mind Against b2b Massano

Progressive meets neo-melodic techno in this stunning b2b debut. Mind Against and Massano showcased the power of cinematic and emotional dance music.

Massano's signature synth-driven sound added edge to Mind Against's more introspective aesthetic. The result was a set full of long builds, emotional payoffs, and euphoric drops. Expect both of them to dominate the melodic techno space this year.

Sara Landry

Rising from the industrial underground with thunderous force, Sara Landry gave Coachella one of its hardest-hitting techno sets with BPMs rarely dipping below 140. Her fusion of warehouse techno, distorted basslines, and unique vocal samples gave the set a distinct identity.

This wasn't mainstream techno — it was raw, unfiltered intensity. And the crowd loved every second of it.

Zedd

Zedd's return to Coachella was a reminder of his dominance in the pop-EDM crossover world — but also his ability to evolve. While he gave fans the expected nostalgia (cue "Clarity" and "Stay the Night"), Zedd injected the set with newer sounds influenced by French house, future rave, and even cinematic trap.

His light show was one of the weekend's most elaborate, with synchronized drone lights forming shifting patterns over the crowd. He also debuted two unreleased collaborations — one with a major K-pop artist and another that hinted at a deeper, more analog-inspired sound direction. Zedd’s set nailed the balance between nostalgia and innovation.

SHAPING THE SOUND

How Popular Producers Structure Tracks for Maximum DJ Usability

Whether you're making tech house, melodic techno, future rave, or garage, one thing unites successful producers across the spectrum: they don't just produce for the listener — they produce for the DJ.

In 2025, as more producers aim to get their tracks spun live, structure is no longer just a creative choice. It's strategy.

Let's break down how some of today's most played producers — like Dom Dolla, Peggy Gou, Fred again.., and John Summit — are designing their tracks to be functional tools that slide effortlessly into DJ sets.

🎛️ 1. It All Starts With the Intro

The first 16 to 32 bars of a DJ-ready track are all about clean entry points. Most producers start with a stripped-down beat:

Solid kick
Minimal percussion
Light atmospheric FX or filtered bass

You won't hear full leads, vocals, or heavy chord stacks here — that would clutter a transition. This is "mix-in" territory.

Think like a DJ: When someone is playing your track live, they're already overlapping it with another one. Your intro is not just your track — it's your track plus theirs.

Some producers even use "loop bait" — a groovy 4-bar pattern that DJs can loop seamlessly while waiting to transition.

📐 2. Structure Built on 8s and 16s

DJ-friendly tracks live and die by predictable phrasing. This means noticeable changes happen every 8 or 16 bars:

Small fills or risers at bar 8
Snare ramps or synth teasers at bar 16
Drop hints at bar 32
Breakdown begins at 49 or 65
Drop by 65 or 81
Second drop at 129
Outro from 161 onward

Even if the track sounds complex, the grid is reliable. This keeps things intuitive for live mixing and looping.

🎚️ 3. Use Negative Space

Producers like BICEP or Four Tet are masters at using space. Why? Because two full tracks with dense frequencies don't blend well. It becomes a wall of noise.

Leave some room for the next track to breathe

Tips:

Use high-pass filters on layers in intros/outros
Keep vocal chops minimal in build-ups
Pan percussion or leave stereo width for the DJ's other track
Use sparse breakdowns to reset crowd energy

🎶 4. Build to the Hook — Then Pull Back

Many producers make the mistake of front-loading their biggest ideas. But the best ones — think Fred again.. or Vintage Culture — build to it.

Your arrangement should tease motifs early on, maybe as a filtered version or rhythmic chop, but save the full melodic statement for the drop.

Then, after 32 bars of peak energy, pull back and reintroduce the beat gradually. This mirrors the tension and release flow that DJs rely on to control energy on the floor.

📦 5. Think Modular — DJ Tools Are Back

We're seeing a return to modular thinking in production:

Loops that can be rearranged live
2-bar fills or FX bursts designed for hot cue triggering
Release both a full mix and an extended version

Make an extra version of your track with just drums + bass + intro pads — no leads or vox — and include it in your promo pack.

It increases the odds of DJs using it creatively in their sets.

🌇 6. Give Them an Outro

This one's often skipped by new producers. DJs need a clean exit — a section that's not too emotional, vocal-heavy, or rhythmically chaotic.

Give them:

16-32 bars of groove
No leads
Light FX or bass
Optional vocal echo or filtered reprise

If it sounds like something that could loop forever, you nailed it.

💬 7. What the Pros Say

Here's what some top artists have said in recent interviews and masterclasses:

Dom Dolla: "I always test my tracks at least twice before finishing them. If the intro feels awkward to bring in, I fix it. The crowd's reaction will tell you where the energy should peak."

Chris Lake: "I write with DJ decks in mind. I want it to function as a tool, not just a song."

🧠 Final Thought:

If you're producing tracks for the club, remember: you're not just creating music. You're creating moments for DJs to control time, space, and energy.

By giving them tools that are intuitive, well-structured, and flexible — you dramatically increase the chances of your music showing up in DJ sets, festivals, radio mixes, and Boiler Rooms.

Make it easy to mix, and you make it hard to ignore.