10 of the most iconic marathon DJ sets ever

If you’ve got nothing to do for, say, the next 10+ days, you could take your shot at trying to break DJ Obi’s world record for longest DJ set. That’s right, the Nigerian DJ completed a 240-hour marathon at Lagos Cafe in 2016, playing a set that extended across 10 full sleepless days.

In order to fully qualify for the title, Obi had to follow strict Guinness World Record guidelines: he was allowed one five minute break every hour, allowed one hour break every 12 hours, had to have at least one person dancing at all times and could not repeat a song within four hours of playing it. He was afforded medical check-ins and was also allowed to take vitamins throughout the week long event, and explained that he survived it by taking “disco naps” (closing his eyes for five seconds) but could not actually fall asleep otherwise he’d be disqualified.

He probably wouldn’t recommend trying to beat his record, though, as he explained afterwards that around the fourth or fifth day, he thought about giving up as he began hallucinating… but somehow, he pulled through.

Though many soloists have championed the art of the marathon set, we couldn't go on without giving a bonus shout out to tINI and Bill Patrick, who have helped solidify Sunwaves Festival in Romania as the go to marathon destination for underground artists with a 31-hour b2b session.

Funny enough, after Marco Carola stole the spotlight in 2015 with his own extended set, tINI (who was originally meant to play the festival too) was cancelled for "unforeseen circumstances". Many speculated that it was because Carola's unplanned marathon rolled over her scheduled set time, so perhaps the massive b2b slot was Sunwaves way of saying sorry and letting her shine, along with fellow talent Bill Patrick. Either way, we're happy that it happened.