Anthony Naples Scanners (2025)
“I find myself playing gigs and there’s a bottle service-y thing, and I remember the reason I’m doing it. I’m like, this is the wrong place. I have to stop again and course-correct.” Anthony Naples made this statement to the Substack newsletter Futurism Restated. The presence of bottle service—once a practical innovation—has become a symbol of the gentrification of DJ and club culture.
What is now considered a status marker had far more utilitarian beginnings. In 16th-century Russia, Tsar Ivan IV (the Terrible) introduced the kabak system: state-run taverns where vodka was sold in bulk, first by the bucket, then by the bottle. The system was a key source of state revenue.
In postwar Japan, the “bottle keep” system emerged in the 1940s and 50s as whiskey became a staple of nightlife. Patrons could bring their own bottles, which were labeled and stored by the bar for future visits. This offered a mix of convenience, personalization and loyalty—qualities still seen in today’s izakayas, where the practice continues with shochu, sake and other spirits.
By contrast, modern bottle service emerged in European cities during the 1980s as an exclusive perk for the wealthy. It gained traction in the U.S. throughout the 1990s and, by the 2000s, had become a staple of nightlife, aligning with the rise of DJ-driven club culture. Its popularity signaled a shift from celebrating music and shared experience to spotlighting status, self-celebration and conspicuous spending. A shift that Naples and a growing number of DJs and culture activists reject.
Dig Deeper
Today’s track is steeped in the sounds of Balearic trance, a genre born from the sun-drenched, free-spirited dance music culture of 1980s Ibiza. The island has long been a global epicenter for disco and house music, home to some of the world’s most iconic clubs. But as a BBC Stories short documentary reveals, the “White Island” is grappling with growing pressures: overtourism, unchecked development and creeping commercialization—forces that threaten to erode the very spirit that once made Ibiza a sanctuary for music lovers.
Watch here
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