Dev Lesh made us clock into our shift at the office and join his mandatory Microsoft Teams meeting about Corporate Hard Dance!
Dev Lesh is a hard dance artist based in Utah who has been turning heads in the scene lately. While the project is still new and fresh, he has already carved his niche in the hard dance space with a fresh take he calls Corporate Hard Dance. This concept has been seen in his social media and live performances as he pokes fun at corporate America.
This creative branding wasn’t always the plan, though. Like plenty of fans, Dev Lesh was introduced to the harder styles through Melbourne Shuffle compilation videos. He admits he didn’t enjoy it at first, but he couldn’t look away for some reason. Down the line, this unique interest grew into a passion as he decided to pursue an artist career in the hard dance scene.
Today, Dev Lesh continues building up his name in the scene. The past two years have been crucial to his project as he’s earned the support of established names such as PLEXØS, with whom he has collaborated on a banging four-track EP titled Vicious Cycle. In addition, his latest slammer, “Lyrical Merchant,” has just been released on CUTDWN‘s label, Carnage Merchandise.
Looking to keep the momentum going, Dev Lesh is gracing fans with the next step in his Corporate Hard Dance concept with his latest live set. Filmed on location from the depths of a corporate America office cubicle, this mix is the complete opposite of a lifeless 9-5 schedule as Dev Lesh cranks up the volume and raises the tempo for 26 minutes minutes of pure, unadulterated, energetic hard dance music.
To crack down on this behavior in the office, we clocked in, put on our best business casual clothing and set up a mandatory Microsoft Teams meeting with Dev Lesh to learn about his story, recent releases, Corporate Hard Dance, and so much more!
Check out Dev Lesh’s newest set on YouTube, come to the office, and clock in for a mandatory meeting detailing our full conversation with Dev Lesh!
You’re a relatively fresh artist in the hard dance scene. How did you get exposed to the harder styles and, in turn, begin producing and playing them live?
I was exposed to the hard dance scene at a young age. In fact, it’s what got me into raving. I was in middle school when a classmate showed me a Melbourne Shuffle compilation. I thought it was dumb, but then I couldn’t stop watching. That eventually led me into the hardstyle scene where I shuffled, jumpstyled, and watched as many sets as I could from Defqon.1 and Qlimax.
The Utah hard dance scene isn’t what it’s like in other hotspots like Southern California. Do you face any unique challenges when trying to spread your music because of this? If so, what advice can you give to other artists trying to build a project in places where hard dance isn’t as accessible?
Utah has a thriving rave scene, but hard dance is not popular here. Everyone wants dubstep, riddim, and house music. One of the challenges here is trying to convince promoters that people will love this genre. Spreading my music and love for the genre is a difficult task locally, but social media makes promoting myself much easier.
Some advice I would give to other hard dance acts is to stay consistent. Consistently post on social media, show up to local events outside of the genre to network with promoters, and if there is a hard dance event, make sure you are there! Eventually, those connections will give promoters confidence in what you do, and they may book you.
That happened to me with a promoter here, Blaq Void. They throw underground-style raves and have hosted acts like Clawz, Luca Lush, and MADGRRL. They saw that hard techno was doing well, so they tried a night of hardstyle. When the time came, my friend who works for Blaq Void hit me up, and I headlined.
One additional thing — hard dance enthusiasts are loyal. Something you can do is take a risk and throw an event yourself. That’s what I did earlier on in my career, and I built up a pretty good hard dance group in Utah.
You’ve already created a new niche with Corporate Hard Dance in a short time. Can you share more about Corporate Hard Dance and its role in your artist project on social media and live performances?
Corporate Hard Dance was something I came up with spur of the moment. When I first dedicated myself to hard dance, I had no idea what my brand would be. I could have followed suit with everyone else in the hard dance scene — the gym bro route, or wear all black. I tried it, but it didn’t feel special or different.
I eventually said, “Screw it, why don’t I do the polar opposite and make it look like I just left the office? I already work a corporate job, so might as well.” I tested it out at one of my shows, and the reaction was exactly what I hoped for. People asking, “Why are you dressed that way?” “Are you here for a business meeting?” “Did you wander into the wrong place?”
When I got on stage and started playing hard dance, they were shocked but loved it! It’s become like a counter-counterculture thing, and I’m running with it. Other ideas for my live performances are doing a pizza party to thank my fans, handing out ties to the crowd to make it business casual, and referring to all of my shows as “meetings.” Of course, this is all a jab at corporate America and shouldn’t be taken seriously.
As a part of your Corporate Hard Dance concept, you’ve just released your latest set filmed in an office. What was your creative vision for this, and what was the process like making this come to life?
After I started the Corporate Hard Dance concept, I wanted to do something that fit the brand. I tossed around the idea of doing a set in an office building for a while, but I had a hard time finding a place to do it. I talked to my friends and fellow producers to find out if they had any leads for this. Some of them did, but they were asking for a lot of money to rent out the space, which I did not have at the time.
I took a leap of faith and reached out to the CEO of the company I work for. I pitched him my idea and what it would entail, and he was all for it! He said that being an entrepreneur himself, he loved and supported the idea. I called my videographer, Ty, and my partner, Albert, and we got everything ready. This included two GoPro cameras and one videographer. I hope you all enjoy the final result!
You’ve also gained the support of some key players in the scene, like PLEXØS and the Carnage Merchandise label. What does this support mean to your project this early in your career?
PLEXØS has been a big supporter of my project! He also lives in Utah, so when he heard there was another hard dance act, he wanted to be there. Since then, we’ve become great friends outside of the hard dance scene, and he’s been a great mentor in my journey.
The biggest support came from him wanting to do a four-track EP with me, which is available on all platforms. It was at the beginning of my project, but he was patient and worked with me on producing. Carnage Merchandise and the owner, CUTDWN, have also been very supportive of my brand and vision. CUTDWN has always been there to answer my questions and help push the hard dance scene.
Speaking of Carnage Merchandise, you’ve just released your new record, “Lyrical Merchant,” on the label. What makes this record stand out from your usual productions?
This record was just a project that I didn’t give much thought to. It was one of those sound design sessions, trying my hand at hard techno. I didn’t want to finish it because I wanted to stick with hardstyle and rawstyle. Then, I watched an interview with AniMe, and she said that hard techno is still hard dance, it’s just labeled differently.
From there, I got the confidence to finish out the song. I sent it over to a couple of friends, and they gave a lot of positive feedback. Then I sent my demo to Carnage Merchandise, and they signed the song that same day. You can expect all genres of hard dance from me.
The past two years have been an integral jump-start to your project. Looking to the rest of 2025 and beyond, what professional goals would you like to accomplish?
A lot has happened within those two years, and I have all of my fans and friends who have supported me on this project to thank. My first goal was to open up for a hard dance act, which came to life when Lil Texas stopped in Utah in 2024. I then met DEAD X and Yosuf, who have been very nice and supportive of my journey.
My goal for the rest of 2025 is to focus on my production and continue releasing content. I want to make music and content that my fans and fellow producers will enjoy. One of those content ideas is to making production tips on YouTube. I have one other show lined up for 2025, but I’m not pushing super hard for shows. That’s what 2026 is going to be dedicated to.
2026 goals include playing more festivals and shows across the nation. I have a very specific goal to play an Insomniac event like EDC, Basscon Wasteland, etc. I also aim to get a track released under the Basscon Records label, which is the hard dance leader in the USA. Eventually, I would like to travel to Europe and play over there.
With the first half of the year over, what else can your listeners expect from you regarding releases and shows?
I have some more tracks being released on labels this year. One of them will be a rawstyle track at the end of May with Mechaniq Frequency, and another one is an official remix from an industrial hardstyle artist in Spain. I’ve also been working on a two-track EP that will include an uptempo track with one of my producer friends in the States. I just got booked to play direct support for one of the hardstyle pioneers in America this summer. The announcement hasn’t been made officially, so I can’t say who or where it is yet, but I’m super excited to share it with you all!
Follow Dev Lesh:
Instagram | SoundCloud | YouTube | TikTok | Spotify
