An alleged former employee of a Paris-based booking agency released a series of screenshots and text messages involving DJs and accused them of sexual misconduct, causing broader backlash. In the meantime, many performances by artists involved were cancelled while some reject the allegations.
Several prominent techno DJs were pulled from festival lineups and had concert dates cancelled after a series of screenshots and text messages released last week accused them of sexual misconduct, Flemish public broadcaster VRT reported.
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The accusations concern several artists, including French DJs Shlømo and Basswell, the US-French DJ Fantasm, the Belgian techno DJ Odymel and German DJ CARV, most of whom are tied to Paris-based management and booking agency STEER.
"When allegations multiply and concern artists on our roster, inaction is not an option," the agency wrote in a statement, announcing it would suspend its collaboration with the artists involved.
The series of screenshots and text message conversations has been dubbed the "techno-files" in reference to the Epstein files.
The allegations were posted on the Instagram account under the handle "BradNoLimit", which claims to be a former STEER employee, stating that he released the documents as revenge.
Several of the artists involved have since rejected the accusations made against them. Kenzo Meservey, known by the artist name Fantasm, denied the allegations and accused the person who released the documents of defamation.
The masked DJ CARV admitted to sending intimate images of himself to several women, but said that "there was no non-consensual behaviour and no criminal wrongdoing," acknowledging that "that doesn't make it right".
Brussels techno DJ Antoine Lauffer, known as Odymel, wrote a lengthy post on his social media, stating he may have engaged in inappropriate behaviour with a partner, but said he has no recollection due to a rare sleep disorder known as sexsomnia.
"What happened has also been medically described as consistent with a somnambulism episode of a sexual nature (commonly called sexsomnia). I still have no memory whatsoever of it," Lauffer said.
"I can therefore only rely on (the partner's) own version of events to tell you what happened," Lauffer wrote on Instagram, adding that he's "fully cooperating with ongoing preliminary investigation," including medical examinations.
"I am well aware that the total absence of my memory does not change the significance of what has been reported," he added.
Techno-files stir up wider misconduct conversation
Some have questioned the authenticity of the screenshots and text messages shared by BradNoLimit, arguing that they lack concrete evidence.
However, the incident sparked a broader discussion about abusive behaviour within the industry.
World-renowned Belgian techno DJ Amelie Lens wrote in a statement on Wednesday: "We are tired. The dancefloor is our home and the backstage is our workplace, but neither feels safe for us," adding that "safety has ben treated as a 'women's problem' for far too long".
"Let me be clear: this conversation is not an attack on men as a whole. It is about accountability for harmful behavior and about the culture that allows it to continue," Lens said.
"What sustains the problem is silence, minimisation and protecting reputations before protecting people."
Lens pointed out that, according to the WHO, one in three women experience physical or sexual violence during their lifetime.
"I am not ready to share my personal experiences and I shouldn't have to. I shouldn't have to relive my trauma ... The truth isn't defamation, it is a reckoning," she concluded.
Other women have also spoken out. While there is currently no active investigation, an initiative named "METOODJS" on Instagram is collecting testimonies from the electronic music scene in an effort to build a case.