First, let me say that I heard some AMAZING music this weekend. More of it came from Dennis Ferrer than his understudies, but the kids still impressed the hell out of me with their skills. Funny how things work… I never would have made it to Nikki Beach to hear Dennis if it wasn’t for Spain’s dramatic victory over Italy in the Eurocup Quarter-Finals. But I was so ecstatic from their victory that I decided to go celebrate… and I’m SO HAPPY I did!
Now shifting focus to this weekend’s highlight… My My (playhouse, cocoon. berlin) will be performing live at Laundry Bar this Saturday night, June 28th. These guys are absolutely not to be missed! Little White Earbuds recently wrote about My My and said: “My My approach house and techno with artisians’ flair, crafting aural mosaics from hundreds of little sounds glued atop engaging melodies. You can listen closely and admire all the details slipped into every crevice or step back into the crowd to enjoy their work from the dance floor… And now they’re ready to shift their sound in new, more floor-oriented directions.”
Here’s a small taste of what to expect…
It gives me great pleasure to be part of the reason these guys will be playing their first ever show in Miami! The other 2 parts to the equation are Theevanhood and Laundry Bar.
As if the dance music stars have become magically aligned over Miami this weekend… 2 of dance music’s brightest stars and their mentor bring their energy to South Beach today and tomorrow. The Martinez Brothers have been getting a ton of praise since their ‘07 WMC appearance at Aquabooty’s Opium Garden bash. And it’s a well-known fact that they owe a lot of their success to the nurturing spirit of Dennis Ferrer.
Well the powers that be, Aquabooty and Nikki Beach, have brought these forces to the sunlit shores of Miami Beach. Whether it was by divine coincidence or concerted effort (there’s no indication either way)… The Martinez Brothers will be playing today at The Raleigh Hotel, first poolside around sunset, followed by a nightime soiree in the hotel’s panoramic penthouse. I simply can’t wait to hear what comes out of these kids.
The closing chapter to this musical story comes tomorrow at Nikki Beach, where Dennis Ferrer will shower the sandy dancefloor with his deep deep grooves. How will Ferrer’s magic mix with Nikki’s bright warm environment? I don’t know yet. But I will be right in the middle of it… creating memories.
Coming up in the next few days (and I mean it)…
* Anticipating MyMy’s performance next weekend!
* A recap of this weekend, WITH photos and video.
* A look back at artists and events I missed.
* A look at what’s to come…
What a great weekend! So much great music and so many cool people.
Friday night brought me to the Miami Art Space for another Theevanhood production, this one with superstar skinny-dipping celebrity DJ Seth Troxler. The party hosts definitely learned from their last shindig at MAS and greatly improved the sound. They gave Seth a sound system worthy of his musical genius. I only wish I had more energy left in me from the long Friday workday to enjoy Seth’s bumpy beats. Luckily I was able to enjoy the music from the sidelines despite the dancefloor being packed all night (still packed when I left at 5am). Here’s a few pics.
Saturday fetched us Brett Johnson from the Pacific Northwest. I had only dealt with Brett over brief moments the last few times I booked him for my conference warehouse parties, the last of which was in ‘06. So I never really got to experience how down-to-earth, intelligent, and quirky (in a good way) he is. So this turned out to be a really cool experience for me and my girl to host Brett in our home and show him our stomping grounds. The party was tons of fun. Brett got down on the dancefloor waiting for his turn while DJs Sebastian and DJ Way rocked the room with their funky flavors. Then Brett took over and made us all dance some more. It was nice to see everybody dancing. Whether it was right in front of the booth, or sitting at the bar, everybody seemed to be dancing or bobbing.
The experience took a turn for the better when Seth Troxler showed up at Laundry Bar and introduced himself to Brett. The party stepped up a notch from there. Our three-person family had just grown to four and we were off to an after-hangout… with the 2 little kids in the back seat. Seriously, watching Brett and Seth geek out like two little girls who just met on the playground was a trip. A few of my favorite Troxler soundbytes I heard several times throughout the night were, “Brett… your music is timeless” and “Techno has been good to me”. Brett, well I really can’t recall any specific soundbytes other than his timely comment to me in the car “So David, tell me again how Islam is the best religion in the world” as he sat between two Jews. That was Brett, just tryin to rile things up a little. We finally managed to pry the kids away from Rock Band to go home, but not before the kids jumped in the ocean… skinny style.
Well let me leave you with one of Brett’s most significant artistic contributions to Miami this weekend…
… a penny sculpture on our kitchen counter (started by Roa but enthusiastically finished by Brett). You’re right Brett, penny sculptures are a new form of Mandala.
Stay tuned, BIG news coming up in the next 24 hours…
(FYI, I sadly left my camera’s battery in the charger at home so I didn’t get any pics of the Brett party. Sux.)
I am very excited about hearing what Seth Troxler brings to Miami this Friday night. I have never heard him play but I have heard great things… not just about his music, but also about his ability to entertain.
I just read a very cool interview with Seth on Resident Advisor that exposes how creative this 22-year-old kid from Kalamazoo, Michigan, really is. From the looks of it, this Seth Troxler character could be just what the often-time serious world of dance music needs. He has a very forward-looking creative approach to making dance music fun and engaging. I really look forward to hearing and feeling what he has to share with Miami and I hope you make it too. The venue still has not been announced, but I will post it here as soon as Theevanhood releases it (Wednesday night most likely).
Here are a few text bytes I enjoyed from the interview:
“I really think dance music is in a stale spot right now,” says an impassioned Seth. “When record shopping was a feeling, you got home you laid on your bed and the music meant something… we as artists need to be more vigilant of our role in an historical sense and to make this music art again—art and culture.”
“Of course I still play a lot of house today. I’m still a house DJ more than anything.”
“Those days are gone, but if we reassess the situation and make records that feel good to have, like a lot of those classic rock records or records that people collect, then the record industry would be more than okay.”
“I’ve got another character called Blaxel Rose coming up pretty soon, too. And of course I’m sticking with my regular name. I think taking chances and developing conceptual ideas is really important for dance music now.”
Where do I start? I never intended for this blog to be about my personal adventures, so I’m not going to go into my trip to Egypt. But I will say that riding a camel up to the foot of the Great Pyramids is a pretty cool experience.
I’m going to highlight one right here, because he’s one of the first artists to hook my mental senses when I got into electronic music. I first met Brett Johnson back when I lived in Dallas. He was instrumental in the proliferation of house music there. Dallas has produced some serious electronic music talent. Off the top of my head… JT Donaldson, Lance Desardi, Brett Johnson, Maetrik, and Granite & Phunk come to mind.
Brett’s style encompasses deep techy house and creative vocal productions. I always loved the variety of tunes he covered. Check out some of his sets on the music section of his website, robot-karate.com.
Brett will be playing at Laundry Bar next Saturday, June 14th, along with DJ Way and Sebastian. I’m excited to have him down and would love for you to come check him out. You’ll hear what I heard back when I got hooked… it still rings through.
