Jarred Beeler, the electronic music producer widely known as DJ Plead, has spent the better part of a decade shaping the sound of modern club music. Born in New Jersey and raised in Sydney, the Berlin-based artist has built a reputation for high-energy, percussive tracks that draw deeply from his Levantine heritage. However, with his latest album, Please, Beeler is stepping away from the functional, club-ready tools that defined his early career to explore something far more intimate.
A Shift Toward Vulnerability
For Beeler, the transition to the sound found on Please was not entirely voluntary. “I almost feel embarrassed, sometimes, by people listening to it,” he admits. “I feel quite nude.” While his previous work, including the 2020 LP Relentless Trills, masterfully blended ambient dub and traditional rhythms, this new collection feels like a photonegative of his typical DJ sets. It is a collage of zero-BPM melodies and atmospheric textures that trade peak-time energy for a sense of purgatorial reflection.
The producer notes that he is accustomed to creating “tools” for the dancefloor—music designed to function within a specific environment. “There was an element of somebody having to draw this out of me and force me into this spot,” he explains, crediting label founder Joakim Haugland for encouraging him to release these more vulnerable demos. “I’m happy to be there, but it is uncomfortable.”
Identity and the Emotional Landscape
Beeler’s work has long been a vehicle for exploring his identity as a half-Lebanese artist. In earlier years, he described his music as a way to prove his connection to his culture. Today, that motivation has evolved into something more complex, particularly as he processes the ongoing crises in the Middle East. “The record I’m about to put out is filled with sadness and anger that I can’t really articulate in words,” he says. “A lot of that emotion is the sorrow I feel for Palestinian and Lebanese victims… it does come out in the melodies that I am making.”
This emotional depth is what many listeners describe as “sexy and sad.” Beeler draws a parallel to the dual nature of Lebanese wedding music, which he describes as both celebratory and deeply melancholic. It is a reflection of life’s profound transitions—the joy of union coupled with the sorrow of leaving one’s family home. By embracing this complexity, DJ Plead has moved beyond the constraints of genre, creating a body of work that is as much about the human condition as it is about rhythm.