If you were anywhere near a dance floor in 2015, you remember the hype. Zac Efron in a tank top, neon lights, and the promise of a movie that finally "got" EDM culture. The movie itself, We're Your Friends, basically flopped. It had one of the worst wide-release openings in Hollywood history. But here’s the thing: the we're your friends soundtrack survived the wreckage. It actually did more than survive; it became a time capsule for a very specific, high-energy era of electronic music that was transitioning from the "big room" house of the early 2010s into something a bit more melodic and sophisticated.
Music supervisor Randall Poster had a massive task. He had to curate a tracklist that felt authentic to the San Fernando Valley DJ scene while making sure it didn't sound like a generic "Now That's What I Call EDM" compilation. He succeeded by mixing heavy hitters like Justice and Years & Years with tracks that felt like they belonged in a sweaty underground warehouse.
The Sound of 128 BPM
The movie's whole premise revolves around the "magic" of 128 beats per minute. Cole, Efron's character, gives this whole pseudo-scientific speech about how 128 BPM is the frequency that aligns with the human heartbeat. Is it scientifically accurate? Not really. It’s mostly pseudo-science designed to sound cool in a trailer. But for the we're your friends soundtrack, that tempo is the backbone.
"I Can Be Somebody" by Deorro, featuring Erin McCarley, is the emotional anchor here. It’s got that soaring, anthemic quality that defined the mid-2010s festival circuit. If you listen to it now, it feels nostalgic in a way that’s almost painful. It represents that peak EDM moment before the genre started folding into trap and future bass. It was about the "drop," sure, but it was also about that shimmering, hopeful synth work that made you feel like you could actually escape your hometown.
Then you have "Desire" by Years & Years, specifically the Gryffin remix. Honestly, this might be the most "2015" song in existence. Gryffin was the king of that "indie-dance" sound—clean guitars, chopped vocals, and a groove that worked just as well at a pool party as it did in a dark club. It bridged the gap between pop and the underground. That’s what this soundtrack does best. It doesn't just stick to one lane.
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Breaking Down the Deep Cuts
Most movie soundtracks are just a collection of licensed hits. This one felt like it was trying to teach the audience something. Look at the inclusion of "Are You With Me" (Kungs Remix) by Lost Frequencies. Before it was a global radio staple, it was a sleeper hit that found its legs through placements like this. It’s laid back. It’s melodic. It’s a far cry from the aggressive "bro-step" that many people associated with electronic music at the time.
And we have to talk about Justice. Including "D.A.N.C.E." was a veteran move. It gave the film instant credibility with the "cool kids" who thought Zac Efron was too mainstream. Justice represents the French Touch lineage, the sophisticated older brother of the modern EDM scene. By putting them on the same tracklist as Will Sparks or Carnage, the soundtrack argued that all these sounds belonged under the same umbrella.
The Under-the-Radar Gems
- Seinabo Sey - "Younger" (Kygo Remix): This was the height of the tropical house explosion. Kygo was everywhere. This track, with its steel drum-esque synths and Sey’s soulful vocals, defined the "chill" side of the era.
- The Magician - "Sunlight" (feat. Years & Years): Pure piano-house bliss. It’s bright, it’s bouncy, and it’s arguably one of the best dance tracks of the decade.
- Hayden James - "Something About You": This added a touch of Australian "future classic" soul to the mix. It slowed things down and gave the soundtrack some much-needed breathing room.
Why It Didn't Save the Movie
People love to dunk on We're Your Friends. The dialogue was often cringey—"Are we ever going to be anything more than just 'the help'?"—and the depiction of DJing was a bit melodramatic. But the music was never the problem. In fact, the music was the only thing that felt 100% authentic.
Director Max Joseph, known for Catfish, clearly cared about the culture. He didn't just want a "party movie"; he wanted a movie about the craft of making music. The we're your friends soundtrack reflects that obsession. When Cole is shown layering organic sounds—the clinking of bottles, the wind, a girl’s voice—into a track, the music we hear in the background actually matches that evolution. It wasn't just random noise; it was curated.
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The failure of the film was perhaps a sign of "EDM fatigue" in the general public. By 2015, the massive mainstage sound was starting to feel repetitive to the casual listener. But for the die-hards, the soundtrack was a celebration. It didn't care that the box office numbers were low. It just wanted to go hard.
Beyond the Mainstage: The Techno Influence
There's a gritty side to the soundtrack that people often overlook. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Tracks like "Ah Yeah So What" (feat. Wiley & Elen Levon) by Will Sparks bring that bounce-heavy, aggressive energy found in the more intense club circuits. It’s loud. It’s jarring. It’s exactly what you’d hear at 3:00 AM in a venue with zero ventilation.
The variety is actually pretty staggering. You go from the soulful "Cole's Memories" by Pyramid—which is a synth-heavy, atmospheric piece—to the heavy-hitting "911" by Dillon Francis. It mimics the flow of a real DJ set. You start with the build-up, you hit the peak-hour bangers, and then you have the hazy, emotional comedown at sunrise.
How to Listen to it Now
If you revisit the we're your friends soundtrack today, don't just put it on shuffle. Listen to it as a journey. It starts with the ambition of a kid with a laptop and ends with the reality of the industry.
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The standout remains the "We Are Your Friends" track itself—the Justice vs. Simian classic. It’s the namesake of the movie for a reason. That distorted bassline and the haunting vocal hook "Because we are your friends / You'll never be alone again" is the anthem of a generation that found community in the glow of a DJ booth. It’s timeless. It sounded good in 2006, it sounded great in the 2015 movie, and it still clears most of what’s on the radio today.
The soundtrack is a reminder that even if a movie fails to capture the zeitgeist, the music can still define it. Electronic music moves fast. Genres die and are reborn in the span of a summer. But a well-curated soundtrack like this one acts as an anchor. It keeps that specific 2015 energy alive, frozen in amber for whenever you need to feel that 128 BPM heartbeat again.
Next Steps for Music Lovers:
To get the most out of this sonic era, seek out the Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack. It contains several remixes that didn't make the theatrical cut but provide a deeper look into the "Indie-Dance" movement of the time. If you’re a producer, pay close attention to the layering in the Pyramid tracks; they offer a masterclass in using analog-style synths to create emotional depth in an electronic landscape. Finally, check out the "Behind the Scenes" featurettes on music supervision by Randall Poster to understand how they cleared these massive tracks on a relatively tight independent budget.