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Here's The Music Your Favorite Celebrities Partied To At Sundance Film Festival

This article is more than 5 years old.

Dan Steinberg/Invision for Chase Sapphire/AP Images

There's often a celebration after every movie premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Considering most of the cast and crew members are in town, why wouldn't everyone come together for a great night out? Besides a solid venue, the right set of songs is the only other thing you need for the ultimate party and Oliver Nathan — also known as DJ Spider — is the musical mastermind behind many of Park City's star studded gatherings.

This year alone, he had six DJ sets that included nights with Julianne Moore, Mindy Kaling, Adam Driver and more around the time of their latest premieres. Even though he freestyles once he gets going, there's a ton of preparation that goes into each event and his strategy is to always get in touch with someone from the film who can confirm what people want to hear. It's no secret that curating music for a crowd is no easy feat, but DJ Spider has been part of Sundance since 2006 and knows exactly how to keep everyone dancing all night long.

Shortly after the festival, he reminisced with Forbes about what the vibes were like this year. He let us in on what your favorite celebs partied to and some of the song selections might surprise you. Either way, there's no doubt you'll make room on your Spotify for his picks. Read through the talented musician's interview below to get a deeper understanding of his thought process along with details of other projects he has in the works.

Isis Briones: How did the movies play a role in the music you played at Sundance?

DJ Spider: "I had six totally different DJ sets at Sundance and I also spoke on one panel. I played premiere parties for After the WeddingLate NightThe ReportLuce and Fighting With My Family. Then I played a party for Chase Sapphire card holders where the energy was off the roof. I usually talk to someone from the movie before the premiere to get an idea of what type of music they want. Sometimes it's the producer, director, music supervisor or occasionally some of the actors who reach out. Next, I take their input, riff off it and play music that flows well with the stuff they requested.

For example, After the Wedding wanted Leon Bridges and Stevie Wonder type of music, so I played those artists along with Anderson Paak, Raphael Saadiq, Marvin Gaye, Janelle Monae, Sharon Jones and other things I thought were appropriate as I watched the crowd's reactions during my set. Mindy Kaling's movie Late Night wanted more of an upbeat eclectic party vibe with old school hip hop like A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul mixed with rock like The Rolling Stones, Talking Heads and White Stripes. The Report wanted me to stay very on theme of the movie with songs about America and corruption like Gil Scott-Heron's 'The Revolution Will Not Be Televised' along with Pink Floyd, Green Day, Rage Against The Machine, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye and more. Luce had an electronic direction with Gessafelstein, Jamie XX, Avicii, Major Lazer and Kaytranada. Fighting With My Family didn't pick any specific artists or songs and trusted my vision for the party's music, but they did give me an unreleased song by Ellie Goulding to play that was composed for the movie. When it came time for the card holder party, there was a pure open format. I just played all kinds of genres from the newest hip hop like Travis Scott and Drake to Outkast, The Police, Blink 182, Prince, which I mixed with my signature quick mix and scratching style of DJing."

IB: Can you take us through how you prepare for a big gig like Sundance? 

DS: "I prepare for each party in depth ahead of time, but I also freestyle everything once I'm playing. I've been doing Sundance every year since 2006, so I have a lot of pre-planned mixes and routines I've developed over time that I can incorporate in my sets. I also just make things up depending on the crowd reaction and what is needed at the party at any given moment."

DJ Spider at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Courtesy of Instagram/@djspider

Courtesy of Instagram/@djspider

IB: When you weren't spinning music, what was your most memorable moment at the festival? 

DS: "One of my favorite moments of Sundance was being able to attend the afterparty for Wu-Tang Clan's Of Mics And Men. I grew up listening to them and own everything they have ever released, so to see them in person was amazing. I also enjoyed being able to speak on a panel with some other great guests about DJing and music in film."

IB: Of all the cast parties you played in Park City this time around, which stood out to you most and why? 

DS: "Every year I get to do so many amazing parties up there, so it's hard to choose. I love Vince Vaughn, Stephen Merchant and Dwayne Johnson so DJing the Fighting With My Family premiere was pretty cool, but this year I think Late Night had the best afterparty for their film. It was such a great cast, the party was upbeat and had great vibes from the beginning. Plus, they ended up selling the film for $13 million dollars to Amazon — which was 100% because of my DJ set, right? Alright, maybe it wasn't my set that sold the movie, but the party was great."

IB: You also have a great stage name, what's the story behind calling yourself DJ Spider? 

DS: "It all started when I was playing basketball in high school and I must have looked like a tall skinny spider because everyone would yell, 'pass it to the spider.' Fast forward to having a college radio show based around underground hip hop and drum and bass music called The Bassment. It was then that DJ Spider was solidified as my stage name. A few years later, I won a DJ mix contest where I was chosen to go on a US tour with Mark Ronson and there was no going back with the name after that."

IB: Amazing, so what should we expect from you now that the festival has come to an end? 

DS: "I've got a ton of projects in the works from animated DJ stories to a podcast for dads called A Tribe Called Dad. I'm also producing music and remixes, and endlessly touring the globe playing special events and nightclubs. In the very near future I will be DJing Oscar parties, doing other award shows, movie premieres and anything else that fits into my schedule or style of gigs. Moreover, I have my club residencies in Las Vegas and other major US cities."