Hierbij een uitgebreid party review van de week Miami, van een Canadees vriendinnetje van mij (Lisa) die voor Bringthebeats schrijft. Enjoy
Every year around January we ask the same question “are you going to Miami?” It was a hard question to answer at first being that my entire Toronto crew from years past were skipping out. But when I really thought about it I had to go. Not only would it be a reunion with my brother who I hadn’t seen since Miami the year before but I would also be reunited with so many other friends from around the world, many of whom I only see during WMC. As we all know it’s not the just the destination but the people that make the experience worth it so that is what motivated my traveling twenty long hours to get to Miami from Dubai.
For many people the decision not to go to Miami was based on financial woes, which I totally understand. Attendance was down from years past but in my opinion that wasn’t a negative thing. Every party I went to was full to a comfortable capacity. There was room to dance, it didn’t take forever to get drinks and the bathroom queues were manageable for the most part. I think it brought the people who did come closer together with their friends and the DJ’s that they came to see.
So let’s take a trip back through the week so those of you who were there can remember those amazing moments and for those of you who weren’t can remember why you have to be there next year!
I landed in sunny Miami on Tuesday, pretty tired from my crazy long flight but very excited to get the week going. I got a cab and checked into my hotel, and after a much needed shower I was ready to get the week under way. So I called my one and only Hungarian friend Andrew, who you will all be meeting on May 8th when he brings his funky fresh Add2Basket house to Toika. It was his first time to Miami so I took the honours of showing him around South Beach, strolling through the art deco district and along the beach taking a lot of pictures along the way. I remember last year at the same time there were already day parties going on and a lot of people on the streets but this year it was pretty quiet. I enjoyed the moment of quietness because I knew that it wouldn’t last long.
That night is when everything got started with SOS at BED. We walked in around 11pm after a lot of ‘welcome to Miami’ drinks at my hotel. Feeling pretty good we strolled into the dark club that was surrounded by beds. Of course I never made use of them, I hardly ever sit down let alone lie down but I know they came in useful for some come the end of the week. Individually the SOS collective are amazing and put together they are fun to watch. Not only do I love the music they make but their personalities are so contagious they always make me smile. After seeing them play Womb in Tokyo the bar was set pretty high, to be fair I don’t expect them to always be as good as they were that night. They played some great tracks but they weren’t in threesome harmony like they were in Tokyo the year before, they were just warming up their week as were the rest of us so given that I still had a great night. The best was yet to come from them.
Wednesday things really kicked off. Most people had landed and were ready to get the party going. After a much needed sleep my brother and I made it over to the Shelbourne for the DJ Mag party. We got there at about 4pm and I was amazed by the queue that was an entire block long. I couldn’t believe that people would actually wait in that. Of course I wasn’t going to wait so after some battling with the guest list girl, who put up a fight with even David Guetta’s manager, he was nice enough to let us come in with him. This was the one and only big pool party I went to. It was definitely a spectacle to be seen. I have never seen so many trashy chicks with fake boobs in my life. It’s really interesting to see what the perception of beauty is in different parts of the world. I can recognize a hot girl when I see one and they were hard to spot that day. What about the music? Well if you are into the commercial side of things I’m sure you loved it, Dubfire, David Guetta, Lawler and others had the crowd going but I just couldn’t get into it. I missed WOW while battling at the door; Nick and Jody were the only ones I was really there for. I still had fun though because everyone showed up and it was so great to make that first contact with friends I hadn’t seen in so long.
So after a long day of sweaty muscles, plastic boobs and mediocre beats I was ready for a real party. It was back to BED for a 7 hour set from Danny Howells. This was a party I had really been anticipating. I hadn’t seen Danny since Womb in Tokyo the year before. He blew me away then and I knew he would do the same this time. He started off with a deep groove that had our heads in a continuous bob which gently moved into techy beats that had our feet itchy for the dance floor. By the mid mark of his set we were on the dance floor eating up the crazy build ups he was giving us. I could have listened to him all night but he eventually had to close out the set, with two incredible encores. I remember Al Galleli saying “Danny is the DJ’s DJ” and I totally agree. His audience was made up of Digweed, Zabiela, SOS and I’m sure many more. It was the best set I had heard so far but the week was still young, there was much more to come.
I had heard a rumour during my WMC planning that the party of parties, the Sasha and Digweed yacht wasn’t going to happen. So when I found out this wasn’t true I knew I had to get on. So on Thursday there was nothing else on my mind except getting on that boat. I knew we would get on but that uncertainty always eats at me until I finally have that bracelet on my wrist. I knew if I got on that boat that I would walk off feeling so satisfied, that if everything else went wrong in the week my trip would have still been well worth it. After a lot of patient waiting Sasha’s manager was the one to help us out, thank you! Walking onto that boat I was smiling from ear to ear. I walked onto be greeted by my Amsterdam boys, who always make that boat such a great ride. One thing different this year was that Nick Warren was doing the opener and what a great warm up it was. By the time Sasha and Digweed took over we were all in a groove, enjoying the sunset as we watched millionaires row as the perfect backdrop to our indulgent day. Sasha and Digweed played an incredible set, unifying the whole boat to the same beat. Each year their set has been different to that of the year past. This year they kept it upbeat and fresh, including new tracks from Sting and Depeche Mode in a way that only they could. It’s a party that you never want to end and when it does you think about how you will get on it again next year!
So what was next on the agenda? Finally a party with DJ’s I have never seen before. Of course I have to see my favorites but it is nice to be introduced to some new talent. Well the Buzzin Fly party didn’t exactly have new talent with Ben Watt being a long time legend, but I had never seen him live so it was new for me. The party was at the Shore Club which I had never been to. In my opinion it wasn’t the greatest for a night party because the sound got lost in the outdoor area that was mostly a huge pool. But once I was past that and found the place where the music sounded the best I keenly listened to the very sexy grooves of Mr. Watt. He was followed by Solomun and H.O.S.H from Hamburg Germany, who I was introduced to that night. Both of these guys looked like they were having a lot of fun behind the decks, which is always great to see. I definitely recommend looking up these guys along with the rest of the Diynamic crew including Stimming who has had some excellent work released lately including the massive track “Loneliness “ which will be included on his new Reflections CD.
After a much needed sleep I was ready for Friday, the day of the Tikki. The last two years this party happened on the same day as the S&D yacht but luckily this year they were on different days so I could enjoy both. When we finally made it to the boat it was apparent that the week was creeping up on a lot of people, who were taking any possible minute they could to get some shut eye. One good thing about staying with just one other person is that I could actually sleep, so I was energetic and ready for a wild ride. Naveen G warmed us up with his retro future disco beats as people chilled on the beds and had a few drinks to get that much needed energy back. Slowly the life flooded into the boat and the shenanigans began. What I really liked about this boat is that there were only 150 people on it, which gave it a much more intimate feel. There were no half hour waits for the toilet like on the S&D boat and there was no wait at all for drinks. So we consumed a lot, danced a lot and the people got wilder then any other party that week. SOS was in top form spinning a fantastic set, from what I can remember! I think the highlight for me was the gradual undressing of Demi. First I took his Chinese gold coat, then came off the Hawaiian print shirt, then nothing was left but the blue boxer briefs! That is what Miami is all about!
The night did not finish there though. After getting somewhat refreshed I made my way to Shine for the Hope Recordings party. Last year it was one of my favorites so I had to do it again. This time I wasn’t going to miss Jody Wisternoff’s set. Over the years I have come to personally know a lot of my favorite DJ’s, not just because I love their music but because they are great guys. There are so many DJ’s out there I feel like I only have the time to truly support the ones that I also like because of who they are. Jody is one of these guys. I hadn’t heard him play live since he was at 360 in Dubai this past November so I had almost forgotten why I loved him so much. Even though he was fighting off the tequila shots he played an incredible set that really made me remember why I had to be there to see it. Once his set was done I was satisfied so I made my way home and was in bed by 4am. I had to pace myself because I knew there was still a lot to come.
Saturday was a gorgeous day, really hot and sunny, perfect for Rooftop Ruckus. I got there early to make sure I heard Alex play. The sun was shining and the Holobeats were just what we needed. Slowly the rooftop filled up and by the time Desyn came on for the finale it as a full house. The party ended downstairs with another hour of Holosound. Alex played what he does best, sexy vocals and tech house beats that had our feet ready for the night to come.
Then it was back to Shine for a very anticipated solo set by Sasha. I haven’t heard Sasha alone in a very long time, and after listening to Invol2ver about a hundred times I was super excited. Kos opened up the night with a decent set but it was mostly boring minimal in my opinion. I just couldn’t wait for Sasha to come on. After hearing that Sasha was so messed the night before that he was walking around with one eye opened I just hoped he would show up! So once he did arrive at about 3am I was relieved. In my opinion Sasha is in a league of his own. His mastering of Ableton has made his productions and mixing so flawless, mind you that night I think he was having a little too much fun talking to his entourage behind the DJ booth to be fully focused. Everything else aside it was a fantastic set full of tracks that I had never heard before, in the dark style that I only love from Sasha.
Finally it was the last day of the week. Usually I don’t make to Sunday but this year I was pretty proud of how I paced myself so I could get there. I spent the day relaxing and walking around the city with the Discoteca boys passing out flyers, hoping that there would be some people still standing that could make it to the party. Energy was low and a lot of people had already left but by midnight there was a nice crowd of true Discoteca fans that made it out to see the only gig Luke Fair was to play that week. The night was opened up by Emilio Bustillo, who sorted out getting Heathrow as the venue. It was a much better choice then last year by far. The sound system wasn’t that great but compared to last year it was a big improvement. Following Emilio was BalErik who played in true Discoteca fashion, great tracks that kept the energy going for Luke to build on. At this point I think I’m a little bias when it comes to Luke but his set was great, he has a sound that I can always expect and I always love. Closing out the night was Tom Morgan, another of my favorites. Being able to have almost the entire Discoteca crew in the same room, Gabriel Sordo, BalErik, Tom and Luke gave the night a very unifying feeling. Although most of the guest list did not show up it was nice that even Desyn came by. I think I was at almost every single party with him this conference, no complaining there!
The night wasn’t over yet, there was still one more party to come. I didn’t plan on it but when Desyn asked us if we wanted to go to Space to hear him play on the terrace I knew it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. So at 4am we headed over to Space for what would be an amazing end to an already incredible week. I had never been to Space so I didn’t know what to expect. When we finally arrived on the terrace I was amazed! It was packed full of hard core partiers that just couldn’t get enough. We chilled out with Desyn just before he went on, until he said “in the centre on that dance floor is where you want to be”. We made our way down and as I took in my surroundings I new that was exactly where I wanted to be. Surrounded by four huge speakers on each corner of the room the sound was so crisp and clean. As Desyn took over the decks my excitement was taking over. What was to come for the next two hours was some of the best house I had heard all week. I knew a few of the tracks that Desyn played but the way he looped in and out of the tracks made them sound very unique. Although I had already heard Desyn play a few times that week I hadn’t heard him play alone like he did that night. It was an incredible finale and the end to one unforgettable week!
The conference wouldn’t have been the same with all the lovely people I got to share it with. Thank you the crews from Amsterdam, Global Frequencies, Discoteca, Listed, the SOS collective, peeps from Dubai, Toronto, my bro, Andrew, and all the new people I met who I look forward to seeing again next year!
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