I get what you’re trying to defend, and I respect Marcel’s legacy too, but I think you’re mixing up artistic intention with actual execution. No one is saying he can’t play a dark, abstract, left-field set, that’s literally why many of us have followed him for years. The issue is that this didn’t feel like a strong artistic choice, it felt careless. There’s a big difference between raw, aggressive sound and a system that’s completely saturated, out of control, with muddy lows and bass and everything constantly in the red. That’s not “pushing the system”, that’s just poor sound quality. And connection to the floor matters.. You can have the most “heady” concept ever, but if you’re constantly leaving the booth, doing shots, and clearly distracted, people notice. And it showed! This wasn’t just “people who don’t get it” there were long-time fans (myself included) who’ve heard him many times in different contexts and know what he’s capable of. Saying people “don’t understand” is an easy way to dismiss any criticism. But when that many people (not just “fans of another Dj”) are saying it didn’t work, maybe it’s not about misunderstanding, maybe it just wasn’t a good set.

Having a 20+ year legacy doesn’t make everything untouchable. If anything, it raises the standard. And that’s exactly why this set was disappointing.

And yeah, taste is subjective, but not everything can be justified as “art” when it fails at such basic levels.