Ethanplus Redefines Rave Culture with New EP ‘DAYCLUB’ – A Bold, Playful Vision for the Future of Dance Music

Producer and electronic innovator ethanplus has officially dropped his long-awaited EP, ‘DAYCLUB’, out today. A vibrant fusion of speed house, UK garage, eurodance, and pure creative chaos, DAYCLUB sees ethanplus reimagining what club culture can be — turning late-night raves into bright, communal celebrations of sound and self-expression. Built around the concept of a fictional organisation called ‘DAYCLUB,’ the record transforms the idea of a nightclub into something more open, inclusive, and joyfully unpretentious. With singles like ‘Bonkers’, ‘Skillz’, and ‘Missing’ already making waves, DAYCLUB cements ethanplus as one of Australia’s most forward-thinking electronic artists, blending humour, high-energy production, and sharp artistic vision into a project that’s as thought-provoking as it is danceable. We had a chat with ethanplus to dig deeper into the EP and the concept of DAYCLUB.

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Congrats on the release of DAYCLUB! How does it feel to finally have it out in the world?

Thank you! It feels great, it’s been a while since I’ve put out a multi-track project so a lot of time and effort went into this, which makes the feeling of it being all out in the open so much better.

DAYCLUB feels like more than just a collection of tracks — it’s a whole world you’ve built around the idea of daytime raves and suburban club culture. What inspired the concept behind this project, and how did the idea of “daytime raving” take shape?

Definitely – I really wanted to build a lot of context around this one. I guess it came about from me thinking about my love/hate relationship with club culture and nightlife as it stands currently. I’ve always loved electronic dance music but felt really disconnected with certain aspects of the culture, namely the fact that I have to go to a sketchy part of town way past my bedtime in order to find the spaces where this music can be enjoyed – and even then, the experience is defined by a lot of factors such as the people you’re with, the crowd, the venue etc.

At the same time I didn’t want to disrespect the fact that it’s these sorts of events that were the core foundation of what allowed dance music to turn into what it has today, and underground club culture continues to serve an important part in its future development.

So my solution was to speculate what club culture might look, sound, and feel like if I could create it in my image and pivot from tradition rather than just rebel against it. What’s a pivot from a nightclub? A DAYCLUB – and there you have the fictitious organisation that is the main character of this story!

Each single — Bonkers, Skillz, and Missing — explores a different corner of the electronic spectrum. How did you approach blending genres like speed house, UK garage, and eurodance while keeping that signature ethanplus sense of playfulness and chaos?

I think coming from doing a few years of predominantly hip-hop inspired electronic and hyperpop music made me feel like a kid in a candy store when I decided to do a club-style project – I had so many options and I wanted to try them all. It was a lot of fun getting to try different things and create new takes on timeless genres through my lens. Sometimes the result is obvious and comes naturally, other times it’s a little more challenging because the genre is traditionally at odds with my normal sound – but that ends up being the most fun for me because it’s the most daring.

I also feel like a lot of ‘club’ type electronic music subgenres such as the ones you mentioned have such big overlaps, and it can be hard to place some music in any single one. I feel like that’s the case with many of the DAYCLUB tracks – they exist in the overlapping parts of genre venn diagrams. 

There’s a really unique tone running through DAYCLUB — it’s fun, theatrical, and a little bit goofy, but still deeply musical and cohesive. How do you strike that balance between humor and serious production craft in your work?

It makes me so happy that people still pick up on that with this release! I was worried that it might not shine through as much given the slightly new direction. It’s a core tenet of my work – I want to challenge the world’s thinking and blur the lines about what makes something worthy of being taken seriously versus something that is dismissed as a joke. I draw a lot of inspiration from the kitschy/campy work of the likes of SOPHIE, Andy Warhol, Ari Aster, Harmony Korine and many others who I think also challenge this notion. The balance, as you rightfully call it, is definitely a difficult but important thing to manage correctly, as I don’t want to be seen as favouring one side over the other too much. It’s a work forever in progress and I’m always striving to perfect it further!

You’ve mentioned DAYCLUB as a “fictitious organisation” that redefines rave culture. If DAYCLUB actually existed in real life, what would it look and feel like for someone walking through the doors?

Think of the feeling you get when you walk into a bowling alley, arcade, or (in the past) a video store. Everything is almost overwhelmingly exciting by design. It feels nostalgic, but at the same time not linked to any one time period. DAYCLUB is non-profit and communally managed, so the staff are genuinely just as excited to be there as you are. It’s still an 18+ affair, but the experience is bright, colourful and inviting rather than dingy and drab. But don’t be discouraged by this squeaky-clean appearance, DAYCLUB encourages attendees to go as hard (or as soft) as they please, so long as they remain respectful and responsible!

Looking beyond DAYCLUB, how do you see your sound evolving? Do you think this playful, hypercharged direction will continue, or is DAYCLUB closing a chapter before a new one begins?

Definitely not closing a chapter – I would actually say DAYCLUB is the beginning step in the new phase of the ethanplus project, though I expect to build and develop off of it rather than repeat it. That goes for both the music and the aesthetic side of things. While it might not be the main character of the story, definitely expect to see DAYCLUB again in the future – that’s all I’ll say!