State of FOF 2020

Four on Four Annual Report: 2020 Reflection & 2021 Vision

Each year, Four on Four takes a moment to reflect on the progress we’ve made and to share a forward-looking view of what lies ahead. While 2020 posed unprecedented global challenges, it also provided the opportunity to invest in meaningful development and prepare for what promises to be a transformative year.

2020 in Review

2020 was a year unlike any other. As the world navigated the impact of a global pandemic, concepts such as social distancing and stay-at-home orders became a new reality. With music venues shuttered and live performances paused, creative inspiration proved more difficult to harness. Nonetheless, the Four on Four team remained focused on foundational improvements to the platform.

Several significant enhancements were introduced to the Four on Four Music Portal, setting the stage for future capabilities:

• Introduced role- and permission-based access controls (v4.12), enabling granular feature visibility based on user level

• Added revision history and page visit tracking (v4.13) for greater editorial transparency

• Launched a custom CSS theming framework (v4.14), decoupling the site from Bootstrap defaults to better align with Four on Four’s design language

• Implemented sub-menus to streamline site navigation across both music and administrative sections

• Refactored news articles with contextual icons and deeper integration with linked albums, bands, and tracks

• Rebuilt the news categorization system to support robust filtering

• Enhanced the post editor with new tools and a preview pane for real-time formatting

• Introduced music track listen tracking, laying the groundwork for future charting features

Despite a reduction in new content compared to prior years, music continued to grow. The site moved closer to its next milestone of 5,000 hosted tracks. Two new mixes were released: a fresh EDM set and the debut Four on Four trance mix, Are You Still There?. Additionally, a teaser for Radio Edition #41 was published, with more on the way.

Looking Ahead to 2021

Four on Four enters 2021 with ambitious plans for platform innovation, content growth, and creative expansion. One of the most exciting developments is the return of a classic sound: Logical Progression (LP).

Logical Progression will operate as a parallel identity to Four on Four, focusing on progressive house and progressive trance—in contrast to the future house and EDM roots of Four on Four. This new channel will introduce fresh mixes and may include remasters of older LP-branded sets. A new visual identity for Logical Progression is in development, and LP mixes will be filterable within the Portal.

Beyond LP, the goal is to significantly increase mix production in 2021, targeting monthly releases of Four on Four Radio editions and exclusive mixes to keep the sound moving forward.

On the technical front, 2021 will bring the introduction of interactive charts. Leveraging the listen-tracking framework implemented in 2020, Four on Four will be able to surface top-performing labels, bands, albums, and tracks. Another exploratory feature in development is a “mix bot”, which will analyze inventory and suggest preliminary tracklists for upcoming mixes—offering a creative foundation for human refinement.

A stronger content rhythm will also be established: all new posts will be tagged by month to promote consistent, fresh updates. This ensures a living site with regularly updated essentials, featured mixes, and curated collections.

Several behind-the-scenes efforts are also underway:

• Automated testing frameworks are being architected to standardize and improve quality assurance for future releases

• Version control with Git is being implemented to streamline code management, facilitate rollback when needed, and reduce breakage after deployments

• A new logo has been released to mark a visual refresh for 2021—already featured on the latest news articles and set to appear across upcoming content

In Conclusion

Four on Four remains committed to delivering high-quality mixes, thoughtful features, and a curated platform for fans of electronic music. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the community for your continued support through a challenging year.

As always, stay safe, stay inspired, and stay tuned—new mixes and major updates are just around the corner.

— DJ Alexander & the Four on Four Team