Pleased to welcome veteran journalist Shawn Reynaldo, in a launch event for his new book First Floor Volume 1 - Reflections on Electronic Music Culture, on Velocity Press. Moderating the conversation will be artist, musician and cultural researcher, Damien Roach (a.k.a. patten/555-5555).

First Floor is a weekly newsletter that focuses on electronic music, along with the culture and industry that surround it. Over the course of just a few years, it’s become one of electronic music’s most influential platforms, routinely putting many of the genre’s thorniest issues under the microscope while reckoning with changes in the culture during a time of profound transformation.

A collection of Reynaldo’s most thought-provoking essays, First Floor Volume 1 provides a nuanced, wide-ranging look at contemporary electronic music culture, with a particular focus on systemic issues that often go undiscussed.

Topics covered included the evolving nature of electronic music fandom and artistry, value shifts brought on by the current changing of the generational guard, the shortcomings of the modern music press and the growing gap between electronic music’s foundational rhetoric and the genre’s present-day norms.

Shawn Reynaldo is a Barcelona-based writer and editor who specialises in electronic music. A Bay area native who first found his way into the rave scene during the late 90s, he’s spent decades immersed in independent music culture, logging countless hours running labels, throwing parties and hosting radio shows. However, his work as a music journalist has made him one of electronic music’s most prominent voices.

Author of the First Floor newsletter, Shawn was formerly an editor at Red Bull Music Academy and XLR8R and has also contributed to such publications as Pitchfork, NPR, SPIN, Resident Advisor, DJ Mag, Bandcamp Daily and Beatportal.