Toolroom Records have decided to mark their 10-year anniversary with a documentary exploring the last decade of dance music. ’10 Years of Dance Music: The Documentary’, available on Youtube, was a year in the making and saw the producers travel the world getting exclusive interviews from the likes of Armin van Buuren, Steve Angello, Seth Troxler, Loco Dice and Fatboy Slim.

The documentary starts back in 2003, a time when the dance music scene was at risk of collapse altogether, and cuts a journey through the developments, trends, changes and technology that has transformed dance music into the beast it is now. There are candid discussions with old school names like Todd Terry, Nicole Moudaber and DJ Sneak as they use their decades of experience to add context to some of the big debates that have become entangled in dance music in the last 10 years. These have included the rise of technology and the evermore disposable nature of music, artists and genres.

Narrated by Mark Knight, the video offers a glimpse behind the scenes and into the minds of some of dance music’s most influential players. There is praise for the ‘democratisation’ of dance music that has come with the shift from hardware to software, for both DJs and producers alike, but also words of caution concerning the ‘education’ of the new wave of dance acts and artists. It touches on the rise of new sub-genres like minimal, dubstep and electroclash and while some of the new incarnations of dance music may have faded, they have left a marked imprint on the contemporary and future landscape and direction of dance music.

Another interesting point it explores is how a lot of producers these days have come from different influences like drum and bass or garage or grime rather than being raised on house and techno and how that is shaping the future of dance music just like motown, hip-hop, funk and disco influenced the players around at the birth of dance music. Then of course there is a feeling from the artists featured in the video of a need to hold onto the roots of the music and try to keep dance music from being drowned by the tidal wave that is EDM. This has driven a lot of good producers underground again which in a way reinforces that ‘true’ sound and keeps the scene ready to rebuild in the wake of the mega wave that has transformed American club culture.

All-in-all it’s an insightful documentary, well worth the watch, even if for the soundtrack alone! While it may be a novel (if sneaky) way to promote their own label, Toolroom have put together something commendable; a little piece of recorded history that we can look back at in another 10 years and see how dance has fared after yet another decade at the heart of club culture.