How It Was.... The FLYpaper Archives | Back to the Present
200509OCT05 Instead of whatever I might have been tempted to write about my brief but very fine visit to Maine in mid-September, I've decided to devote this posting to something else ... recently a downtempo.com list member asked the group (many of whom DJ for a complete or partial living) for advice about her dream of becoming a downtempo DJ earning between 80-100K per year JUST FROM DJing. Everyone who answered gave a thoughtful response but the overall trend was defintely in the "don't give up your day job" category. Among the exchanges I found especially interesting were those about what the paying venues expect in the way of music and how downtempo so often doesn’t cut it except to drop the occasional tune … it made me think of the early, heady days on TDB and finding the downtempo crowd and feeling like that was the most cutting edge music around and sure to take over the world. Ahhh … no. ‘Fraid not. Here's a little sampling of the advice (just so you'll understand what a thankless task she was suggesting for herself):
Yeah, I knew you knew we did it for the love ... that hasn't changed. 23JUL05 Music news updates are pretty much being handled on the main page, leaving FLYpaper for more of the intimate news ... and therefore making it the appropriate place to quietly celebrate that I've passed my "probationary period" at the new job and am now a permanent employee, entitled to vacation days and all that good stuff. It's easy to laugh at or complain about our jobs, but I'll tell you that -- for now, anyway -- I'm happy with this one and glad to have it locked down. As you know if you've kept up with this page (or if you scroll down for a quick catch-up) last year's news turned out to be all about the storms that hit FLA -- but the aftermath went largely unreported by me here ... it was just too dreary for words. However, I can summarize and say that, having escaped the worst of what was dished out by Charley, Ivan and the rest of them last year, I got very very serious about not stretching my luck, and I've spent all spring and right up until the present "hardening the shell" (as we've learned to say) ... making the house as storm-resistant as possible ... because it's either that or move. There's been a roof replacement, a new pool enclosure, storm shutters for the windows and sliding doors ... and the last bit will be the new garage door to be installed this coming week. All of these elements reflect the hyped-up building code requirements that were instituted after Hurricane Andrew struck the east coast of FLA in 1992 ... meaning they take into account the very real possibility of a structure having to withstand winds of 150mph. Will it all keep a tornado from blasting the house to bits? Probably not ... but anything short of that and I have a strong possibility of still being able to live in my home once the storm is past. Leastways, that's what I'm counting on. And the time to be finding out is just about here: Last year's first wild weather hit us on Friday the 13th of August. Can't leave the page without acknowledging the recent terrorist bombings in London and in Egypt ... I don't actually know anyone in Egypt, but have friends in the UK and in London whose safety is on my mind. It's hard to imagine how it will ever be done with.... 12JUN05 Whoa! Long time with no FLYpaper update ... fortunately for me, no one depends on this page for any kind of vital news ;-) Most of what I have to say just gets plugged into the main page, as you may have noticed ... and, as mentioned there in the latest update, here is the low-down on this year's tag-team activity so far: The TagTeam From Hell - 2: I can't tell you how long ago this one actually started up, but with 8-9 participants, the logistics of keeping it going despite everyone's RL commitments frequently became unruly ... and, man, did we take some heat for that among certain folks in the MixMeister community. But, not to be dissuaded, we reformed early this year (or was it back before Christmas?) and soldiered on. The results are playing now on the All Mixxed Up show on mmRadio AND! thanks to the skills and dedication of Omlette Brothers, there is also a video showing the complexity of the contributions to this madcap mix adventure ... you really need to see this one! Absolute Concorde -- A Transatlantic Musical Trip: On a more manageable scale, B-Crazy from Belgium joined me last fall in starting mostly house/downtempo mix which we wrapped up in early March. We don't inject a lot of tricks into the mix, but look for an entertaining set of tracks and good flow. We enjoyed the results of that tag team so much, we are currently working on our second one. "Concorde" is playing now on the BeatConscious show in mmRadio and will also make it onto the Live365 show this month. Cappuccino on the Rocks: This is the one that has me excited right now ... this has been in the works since March and involves just myself and NeoFlava from Sri Lanka / Singapore working across the time zones, the age zones and the music zones to bring this tag team to completion. We ended up doing a mad amount of overlays and mashups within the mix, which means a huge amount of post-production duties have been required ... but well worth the effort, really: this one gives me chills in a couple of spots. Look for the debut on mmRadio during June. As noted, B-Crazy and I have one in the works, and there's another cooking involving FLA, NY and UK mixers, dubbed 3-Squared, coming later this summer. Add to this, another venture with The A.o.E., hailing from Brighton, UK ... a kindred spirit music-wise, and I have great expectations for that one, though no doubt it will take some time to produce, given the real life demands on us both. But so anyhow, when you don't see much in the way of updates to the pages here, at least you'll have some idea what I'm doing with my time ...
2004
02OCT04 Well, I began a mix in August that was rudely interrupted by Hurricane Charley and the resultant lock-down of the primary computers for safekkeeping ... you can read more below about the steady stream of storms that followed Charley: four major hits in FLA in just six weeks, a historical record. Since we've been having a breather for the past week or so -- if not yet the actual end of storm season for the year -- I finally got a chance to return to that interrupted Indie music mix and it looks / sounds good to be uploaded to the BeatConscious stream on mmRadio this weekend. I'll also add it to the Stream page on this site for a short time ... you'll find it here. This is the first of some planned sets devoted to independent artists who have sent me links to their music or who I have found while online ... brief reviews and links to their sites are available on the Reviews page. If you know of music that might be available (your own or one of your friends or favorite musicians), drop me a line and help me add to the world's increasing awareness of the huge amount of musical talent working hard to make their way in the world without the assistance of a major label contract ... let's do some good!
19SEP04 Well, buddy, it's been an ugly couple of weeks here ... assuming you haven't been denied internet, TV or newspapers, then you know about the series of catastrophic hurricanes that hit Florida, beginning on Friday the 13th of August. Whatever you may think about the "entertainment value" of the Weather channel (or if you believe that the constant tracking of storms is all a bunch of hype to make people watch more of the Weather channel) the fact is that the advance notice we got on each storm did a lot to save the lives of those who paid attention. There were many who decided to tough it out despite the warnings, and those who made it through may not know (or care) whether they have their good luck or the good Lord to thank ... a lot of them only know one thing: they won't stick around for the next one. When I thought Ivan was going to follow the same track as Charley, right up into Charlotte Harbor, which is basically where I live, I did consider catching a plane to anywhere until it was all over ... it would have been a very difficult decision to make, walking away from everything I own and biting my nails until I knew what the outcome was ... in the event, I wasn't forced to make the choice, because there were no flights available.... And then the storm passed us by and hit the Pensacola area instead ... hit 'em hard. I understand only too well the job they have ahead of them, putting things back together again. During my time huddled in my house, waiting to see how it would all play out, I wasn't able to update the BeatConscious radio streams or this web site, but hope to have at least a short run of clear days and computer up-time to bring things up-to-date. I have uploaded a new Asian Fusion set to the BeatConscious stream on mmRadio and have a few more of those in production; also check out the Reviews page for news of independent music that will be featured in the next mix I plan to air. Damn, it feels good to feel normal for a change ... here's hoping it lasts. 31JUL04 Practically August, hotter than hot here in FLA, and perfect for staying inside, listening and mixing up new moods for the BeatConscious streams on MixMeister Radio and on Live365. Since I last logged some notes here in June, I have reworked some early Dub mixes, and all of them are posted to both streams. And the House stream on mmRadio (Jack2It, as it is called) has added my Halfway House - Last Call set, although -- as the title suggests -- it strays from house into other areas more than once during the mix. Speaking of the Live365 stream, it finally occurred to me that listeners might appreciate a schedule of the broadcast there, since that's not something that Live365 provides as part of its hosting duties. You can see what's currently streaming by visiting the BeatConscious on Live365 page. I will do my level best to keep this current with every change in the schedule. (Oh my, what am I getting myself into?) Stay cool......
Well, I've managed to turn that unproductive streak from early this spring right around ... the days are finally becoming more agreeable for listening and for creating new mixes for the BeatConscious stream on mmRadio. And you will find track-lists on the usual page, and some new CD covers posted as well. The first project of the late spring was to revisit the TripHop archives and rework a couple of those early mixes-on-tape using MixMeister. The two sets currently available online (R U Out There? and La Vie en Noir) turned out exceptionally well ... I may visit this fertile ground again during the summer. TripHop went well, so the next retrospective urge focused on the Ambient collection. In fact, I had been promising my friend Afternoons in Stereo that I would work on updated versions of those ambient mixtapes ever since I heard his John Serrie set ... well, a mere two years later and there you have it. Tranceported: Space - 2004 Rework and The Stars My Destination (Remix of Tranceported: Spaced) are both currently streaming on mmRadio and will soon be uploaded to the BeatConscious show on L365. And then it was time for something new, which became Don't Imagine, the latest addition to the stream. Two tracks by Afternoons in Stereo are part of the prize on this funky downtempo / nu-jazz set ... and a fantastic new release from Hird which I learned about thanks to the Lime Sorbet mix sets recently posted on Citrona.net ... what a world of great music! If you enjoy all this, please say so ... feedback makes it better.
So, you'll be delighted to know MmeFLY is once again gainfully employed ... I was getting perilously close to using BeatConscious to drum up a little short-term loan action. But seriously, I think I've found a fun job and a consuming one. Like everyone else, I'm feeling the pinch of higher gas prices; unlike lots of people, I commute nearly 100 miles a day, and wonder if I can possibly make enough (in time) to make that kind of expense worthwhile ... well, we shall see. On a more immediate subject, the long commute and distractions of learning a new routine have (predictably) cut down on mixing time ... and so regular listeners of the BeatConscious stream on MixMeister Radio will have starved for fresh sounds lately. Someday I'll balance this better, I expect, but for now your hunger for the new will go largely unabated ... however, do spend some time with the freshest of the lot "Remember the Thrill (when you close your eyes)" because it has much to recommend it in the way of music from independent artists, including my favorite, Afternoons in Stereo. Two of his recent creations (headed for release on a CD to be entitled "Aural Pleasure") have made it onto this mix and the set is considerably the better for it. Don't miss this, really. 04JAN04 So ... the new year ticked over without major mishap -- I suppose I mean "without a terrorist attack in the USA" since there certainly were tragedies of various kinds in the usual abundance ... some estimates place the number of dead in the Bam (Iran) earthquake at close to 50,000 people, a huge figure by any reckoning. But here at home things were generally quiet and pleasant, as holidays spent with good friends usually are. If I have a concern, it's that I don't feel I'm using my time between jobs in the most constructive or creative way, but that's something only I can change. Since it reflects the generally unsettled state of my present situation, I've decided to flow with it for now ... I've turned my attention to appreciating the creative efforts of others for a change, in particular by catching up on my reading. And, yes, I have recommendations. Two, in fact: Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson, another huge novel by the author of The Cryptonomicon, this one is also equal parts good read and brain-stretching collection of facts, history and general knowledge. I can't imagine not loving this book and I'm delighted to know it's the first volume in a trilogy ... bring it on! The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen -- Not new this year, but an incredibly rich, complex and inventive take on family relations and the human condition (OK, so what great novel ISN'T about the human condition?) Although I enjoyed Franzen's debut novel, The 27th City, it ultimately struck me as being cold and needlessly complicated -- really reaching, in the twists of its plot, to be greater than itself. In marvelous contrast, The Corrections rarely loses touch with the mundane matters of everyday life, and yet the vision and the language are so intense, so completely right, that the thing absolutely glows with spirit and meaning. No need to stretch to find these truths. Movies ... well, of course, The Return of the King, final installment of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, was the event of the winter. And as for music, it's been a bountiful
year, but that hasn't kept me from going back to the treasures of years
past, either to remix sets that I felt could have been done better, or to plunder
some of the ideas I found there as the basis for new mixes.
Another of this year's pleasures came while working on a series of
atmospheric Drum'n'Bass sets, and then a DnB tag team effort with DJ
Doigt of Belgium. I keep
learning, and hopefully, improving. You can be the judge of this
for yourself, just by checking out the BeatConscious stream on
mmRadio.
The tag-end of 2003.... 25NOV03 It seems quiet in here, but that's just because I'm outside having fun ... there's still plenty to see, so feel free to investigate in my absence ... mi casa es su casa. 25OCT03 My, how things change ... since last time, I've joined the ranks of the unemployed, bought a new car, and churned out an impressively large (for me) series of mixes for mmRadio -- which, in turn, has evolved to offer separate streams for the various music genres: BeatConscious (all things downtempo), Translucent (trance, of course), The Underground (house music all day and all night), and All Mixxed Up (where the masters of mixology strut their stuff.) There's even a stream for Guest Mix Picks, so if you are a MixMeister user ready to unleash your skills on the world and get a little feedback from your peers, check out www.mixmeister.com for details on how to get aired on the station. In response to the breakout of the various streams on MixMeister radio, I thought it time to revisit older mixes and buff them up a bit for the show. In a number of cases, that meant seriously expanding or otherwise changing the track line-up, and where I did so, I've posted the RMX track-list on the mmRadio set-lists page. This is really just a "ready reference", since the broadcast displays the artist and track title for whatever you are hearing. Oh, and have I mentioned that both lo-fi and hi-fi alternatives are available for each stream? If you haven't done it yet, now's the time to check out our shows and find the sounds that suit your day and enhance your evening....go to http://radio.beatmixing.com/beatconscious/ and see what I'm talkin' about. And to the folks who have dropped me an email as the result of visiting the site -- "Hey" back atcha! It's good to hear from those who have taken a moment to experience my nightlife. 200325NOV03It seems quiet in here, but that's just because I'm outside having fun ... there's still plenty to see, so feel free to investigate in my absence ... mi casa es su casa. 25OCT03 My, how things change ... since last time, I've joined the ranks of the unemployed, bought a new car, and churned out an impressively large (for me) series of mixes for mmRadio -- which, in turn, has evolved to offer separate streams for the various music genres: BeatConscious (all things downtempo), Translucent (trance, of course), The Underground (house music all day and all night), and All Mixxed Up (where the masters of mixology strut their stuff.) There's even a stream for Guest Mix Picks, so if you are a MixMeister user ready to unleash your skills on the world and get a little feedback from your peers, check out www.mixmeister.com for details on how to get aired on the station. In response to the breakout of the various streams on MixMeister radio, I thought it time to revisit older mixes and buff them up a bit for the show. In a number of cases, that meant seriously expanding or otherwise changing the track line-up, and where I did so, I've posted the RMX track-list on the mmRadio set-lists page. This is really just a "ready reference", since the broadcast displays the artist and track title for whatever you are hearing. Oh, and have I mentioned that both lo-fi and hi-fi alternatives are available for each stream? If you haven't done it yet, now's the time to check out our shows and find the sounds that suit your day and enhance your evening....go to http://radio.beatmixing.com/beatconscious/ and see what I'm talkin' about. And to the folks who have dropped me an email as the result of visiting the site -- "Hey" back atcha! It's good to hear from those who have taken a moment to experience my nightlife. 12JUL03 Whoa, long time without comments from me ... well, you wouldn't have wanted to hear it (pity my pals over on the MixMeister boards, I haven't given them the same consideration) because it's all been about crashing PCs and seriously boring, costly fix-it maneuvers. Anyhow, a little light is starting to leak into the room, so maybe I'm set again for the rest of this year ... or maybe the rest of this week, who knows? In the meantime, I had a short vacation ... I got there, I relaxed, I came home. And it seemed about that short to me, too. Hmmm, perhaps I don't do this kind of thing in the best possible way. Well, so, anyway, I'm back at the
console now, back at work, and hoping to get a little of that
much-touted "productivity" stuff goin' on around here.
If I do, you'll be the first to know about it -- because you'll see
something new in the set-lists for mmRadio. As it is, the latest
addition is just this little
gem from June. But there's good things in the pipeline, so
your patience will surely be rewarded. Speaking of which, it's
time for me to get to work ...
17MAY03
I have to say, I enjoyed my Saturday ... hope yours was good, too.
21APR03 So, it was back to South Beach for me, to see the Thievery Corporation show at BillboardLive -- my first chance at seeing this avatar of downtempo and well worth the separate trip and expense. Read the review here. As noted on the home page, I have a new
series streaming on mmRadio currently: The Money Groove (Parts 1
and 2 are up now, Part 3 is on the way.) Unusually for my mixes,
there's a story to this one: I have a friend in the financial services sector who has turned into a downtempo head over the past couple of years ... I've given him the nickname DJ Money G, though he doesn't mix (yet) but makes compilations.
Every time he and his wife come to FLA for a visit, we catch up on one another's crates and give the gift of music. Last visit, he left me with four CDs of his latest favorites, and I gave him a couple of my recent mmRadio sets.
5APR03 Made it home from South Beach in fairly good shape ... only a mild sore throat to show for it despite my concern about the risk of SARS ... but hey, I have a second chance at the brass ring coming up ... I'm returning this month for the Thievery Corporation show. Although these guys are my homies, the fact is, that scene didn't really catch fire until after I left in 1990 ... so this will be my first opportunity to catch them live, and I'm thrilled. As for health concerns, well I'm not above wearing a surgical mask ... I hear the Japanese have started sportin' masks imprinted with Manga characters ... where do I get mine? (Check the WMC report if you haven't gotten caught up yet.) There's about to be a sea-change for the Live365 stream ... a recent listener commented on the "muffled" quality of the sound, and of course, how good can it be, encoded at 33kbps? At the time I started the station, I was on a 56k modem and so was the rest of the world, as far as I knew. But now it's 2003 and we're moving on to broadband ... yes, I know that doesn't include EVERYBODY ... and it's knowing that fact that's kept me from upgrading the stream all this time. But it's time, I think: anyone who is having any kind of enjoyable experience streaming audio (or video) online is doing it over a broadband connection ... maybe at work, maybe at home. But the fact is, if you're on 56K modem, it's just not all that great sounding, and the buffering is enough to make a strong man weep. So, I'm going to suggest that either you get broadband, if that's an option for you, or you email me and bug me for a CD (oh man, I'm really asking for it now...) because otherwise, I can't imagine you enjoying the mixes all that much. Look for the upgrade to happen during this summer.... Thanks to everyone who has stopped by recently and actually used the Contact form to let me know they were here ... it really IS cool to hear from y'all, you know.....
20MAR03 America has gone to war, I've gone to South Beach ... uh, something about that just doesn't seem right, and it's not the part about South Beach, OK? For quite some time, it didn't look as though this year's WMC was going to profit from my presence, but a couple of friends chimed in and here I am ... and just in time to be doing something other than sitting at home in front of a TV fretting about the future. So, thanks Christina, thanks Ken, thanks Aaron, and even you, Chad -- though in the end you didn't make it here yourself, the thought that you MIGHT come helped propel me to make my own plans. Previous years, the weather in late March has been pretty sweet, but today it's way damn hotter than it needs to be ... I suppose that means it'll be great out after sundown, and since that's when the fun begins, I'll take it. I came w/ a camera this year, so look for at least a few shots that'll give you the flavor of the place and the parties I get into to ... all of that will be available on the WMC page. Enjoy! And now, I suppose, I can't put off any longer checking the TV news reports on Iraq. Man, I hate this.....
16FEB03 Yes, the camping out thing was getting a little old, and the warmer weather (for a day? for a week?) is most welcome. Most of time recently has been troubleshooting my computers, trying to get organized and crafting the occasional mix... Cabin fever activities. Once the lovely days arrive in force, I believe I'll have to step outside and bask in it. You may wonder how I could pay any less attention to the FLYport but trust me when I say, it IS possible.... I just count on the fact that you don't depend on FLYpaper for all your news.... If you are looking for something meaningful in your life, you should be demonstrating against a war in Iraq, and thinking about what you would do to protect yourself from the inevitable resumption of terrorist strikes on American soil (and I don't mean duct tape and plastic sheeting....) Drop by MixMeister sometime ... we are about to have another makeover, and you may want to get a peep at our "old" look the better to appreciate (or criticise) our new look. Oh, and there's a contest currently for a new logo -- enter and you may possibly win a license of MixMeister which I believe would certainly be worth the effort (check the forum for complete details.) I will be freshening up the Live365 stream ... I note a few more listeners have been tuned in recently and I'd like to celebrate that by posting another mix that's been retired from the mmRadio stream ... of course, something must be deleted to make way for the new ... but it's time.
14JAN2003 OK, it's a cold winter in Florida this year ... but I'm thinking of it like it was camping out: I've got the equipment (all those sweaters and coats that I lugged with me when I moved south) which helps make it more of an adventure than a total inconvenience. Cooking lots of comforting soups and stews ... enjoying indoors stuff like movies and reading ... get to see that beautiful comforter on the bed, the one that's way too heavy to use in normal times. And now the heat generated by a couple of computers running night and day makes the FLYport the coziest room in the house. The worst part is covering up the tenderest plants on the intermittent freezing nights ... it's either that, or be prepared to lose them to a hard frost. Hey, next August, I'll be remembering these days fondly and waiting for the heat relief to come around again....
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Pick your preferred musical genre (I think I've got you covered on the choices, but if your favorite is missing, let me know what style of electronica you'd like to see added.) |
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Email me with the artist and title (and mix version) of the track you think makes for the best flow.... |
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Send me a clip of the track (30 seconds or more is good.) If possible, make it an MP3 attachment. There are plenty of encoders out there -- today, I'm recommending MusicMatch Jukebox -- they offer a free download of a fairly full-featured version of their latest software for ripping from CDs and encoding to MP3 format -- try it out! |
One critique of the HarmonyResources website is bound to be: where's the calendar, where's the event listing, where's the community doo-wah? Sadly, my dears, the physical manifestation of HarmonyResources doesn't find itself in a musically active setting ... which is one reason we're a website rather than, say, a nightclub. However, if you are a musician or DJ or music lover in the SW Florida region and you would like your activities publicized on the web, then submit your event information and together we'll create a community resource.
Well, let me hear from you ... I know what they say: everyone's so busy building their own website, they don't have time to look at anyone else's ... is it true? Prove 'em wrong: surf my site (it's small, honest!) and let me know you've dropped by.
WMC ARCHIVE - ALL YEARS
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No problem drive across Florida, meaning no wrong turns (whatta pro...) It took me an hour or so to haul my luggage in, get set up and establish my web access and call all the cellies to let ppl know I made it. A walk down to the beach, and further down Ocean Drive for some early people watching made me really feel arrived. Once I get caught up with a fresh posting to BeatConscious, it'll be time for dinner and then a disco nap. Plans tonight include meeting up w/ pps at Goddess for the OM party, and then on to a (I hope) smaller calmer venue for Kyoto Jazz Massive and a few others. If all goes well, this year's report will include pics, as I have a digital camera at long last. Stay tuned... In the event, Goddess got all my business on this first night. I caught up with Christina Long (Citrona Records) and DRM (Bastard Jazz) and friends outside the venue, and later that evening Chauncey Canfield (Aubergine3) found me based on a clothing description I hollered into the cellphone after I was deep in the din.... Goddess in those early, less-crowded moments, gave us some good dance moments ... the OM performers weren't scheduled to begin until midnight. At midnight, the body count inside doubled (easily) and the scene turned from dancing to people watching. I lasted through the Afro-Mystik set that ended about 2AM -- not bad for a day that began at 5AM -- and then needed an oxygen break. Although there was still the possibility of walking up to Touch for Kyoto Jazz Massive, in the end I decided to save a little energy for the Friday activities. Here are a few of the people/scenes captured inside Goddess (click to enlarge):
Friday, 21MAR03 The plan for Friday was to have lunch with Aaron and chat about MixMeister and in the late afternoon, then wander down to the southern end of Ocean Drive to Nikki Beach Club for the Astralwerks/Naked event. And so it was.... In some respects, Nikki Beach is a hard place to want to spend an entire afternoon/evening, but it has the advantage of being open-air, meaning very little ill effects from smoke. once I had committed the time to a couple of fairly lamentable sets, I was determined to stay and hear at least some of the acts I knew I would appreciate: Miguel Migs and Lisa Shaw, Jimpster, Sven van Hees, Royksopp. I arrived for the DJ Harvey set -- this has been described as retro-house (for the high point he dropped Led Zep's Whole Lotta Love, which left me thinking: Isn't this where I came in?) and then suffered through the downright terrible, but appropriately named Audio Bullys Sound System: boring beats backing a hectoring MC (my man, if the crowd doesn't respond to your demand to "make some noise" the first five times, you really need to let go of it....) Finally, a chaise opened up and I got a chance at a comfortable perch for the hour of ... Sven van Hees, I believe (though no one could confirm that for me....) Eventually, I heard a female vocalist, and moved up to the stage. Migs, playing mostly from his latest release, opened with vocals by Aya (Sweet Love) whose voice seemed not to be equal to the venue. After a suitable build-up, Lisa Shaw took the stage. Beautiful woman, beautiful voice ... she has the fan club she deserves and they welcomed her loudly, singing along to Always. Despite the notice posted at the entrance to Nikki Beach forbidding filming or recording, Lisa was captured on a dozen digi-cams throughout the audience. (Oh, and special mention to the predictable moron in the crowd, shouting into his cell phone during her entire set ....) At the conclusion of the set, Mr. Naked (the label honcho) took the stage and though he was barely audible despite the microphone in his hand, everyone got his point when he introduced his girlfriend and then dropped to one knee in the traditional "will you marry me?" posture. She said yes, the crowd roared its congratulations ... and then we all turned our attention to Royksopp. They turned in a noteworthy set, including the addition of a bass player, but were nearly invisible in the fog machines....
Saturday, 22MAR03 The last day already? Damn. But, in reality, it's getting to be time.... I've just about lost my voice (by Sunday morning, it will be completely gone) and my hotel accommodations have long since lost their charm .... My plans had been sketched out before I was in contact with Chauncey Canfield (Aubergine3) and his wife Laura. Once we got in contact, I learned that they had received a late-afternoon email giving a heads-up on a Rhythm & Culture party at the Chesterfield Hotel. Another chance to mingle with my hometown people sounded inviting, so we agreed to meet there. I was delighted to see Christine Moritz again (of the Christina and Christine pic from Goddess, above.) The four of us constituted the party unit for the early part of the night. Music for the evening was provided by Desmond Williams (whose Delights of the Garden had delighted me last year) and label-mate Nicodemus, who offered a delicious blend of reggae-funk-asian flavored tracks, truly a world mix. During a break, we taxied up the beach to Rumi, for the Slip and Slide party to see Q-Burns deliver his Abstract Message ... he and Chauncey had a chance to chat and exchange discs, and then he scooted ... we lingered for a while longer while JJ dropped deep house all around us (sparking a conversation about the charms of the big big bottom end during which I quoted to Laura the Tom Middleton comments from his Red Bull essay page, on the beauty that occurs when the resonance of the body's cells vibrate to the resonance of music ... hmmmm, yummy.) Then back to the Chesterfield to catch Desmond's set ... and find that Christina Long, DRM and other familiar faces had arrived in the meantime. Desmond demurred at a compliment from Christina, saying that he wasn't playing his usual style because he hadn't come equipped with vinyl, just some CDs ... ah but Desmond, you rocked the house ... just look at the happy party people in the shot below. You do damn good work for a guy who didn't bring his records.
Chauncey and Laura had a possible in at BED to see Richie Hawtin, so they took off close to midnight ... I stayed and soaked up the Browntempo vibe as Desmond finished out his set and Nicodemus took over the decks again. When it finally became impossible to speak, I headed back to the hotel and the joys of packing for tomorrow's departure. Another fine WMC party, even acknowledging the scaled-down attendance schedule ... I believe there was quality this year instead of quantity, and I'm happy with that ... hope the images have helped make it more real for all y'all that couldn't attend. Meet me there next year, OK?
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Here is the news from WMC2002 ... conscious party: Saturday, March 23rd: Painless trip to
Miami, except for once again missing my exit to Florida’s Turnpike.
Fortunately, America is the land of the second chance and I
blundered my way into an alternate route and made it to South Beach
earlier than check-in time. Watched
the streetlife freak show for a while and, once settled in to the room,
went out for a brief reconnoiter and a look at the ocean.
Friends are staying at the Clay, so I wandered over there to take
a look and found myself at the Espanola Way street market … checked
out the various vendors, bought myself some trinkets (support the
artists, y'all!), saw an independent gallery with some intriguing
paintings and took up a position on one of the building’s balconies
to, once again, check out the streetlife milling below.
You might think I’d be a tad wistful in this land of
20-somethings, but I gotta tell ya, I’m really relieved not to be
caught up in the fashion victim competition I see going on around me.
Some of these outfits look downright painful or at the very
least, quite chilly on such a brisk evening.
I’m content just where I am. Around midnight, the first of the TDB crowd rang the cell phone, and we met for some dinner and then spent a couple of sweaty hours dancing at RAIN, where Miguel Migs was supplying the house beats. Rain was GrooveJET the last time I was in town … it’s had quite a facelift, though the general layout remains the same. It will also be the site for Sunday evening’s Compost party, where we expect to see Kruder & Dorfmeister, Koop, Jazzanova and several others. More about that later. Right now, I’m off for a little wander about in the sunshine, fueled by 3.5 hours of fitful sleep (gotta change rooms before this A/C unit drives me mad w/ it’s rattle and hum….)
Sunday, March 24th: So the trip becomes
what it was meant to be, in part: making the cyber-acquaintances flesh.
Tho’ I didn’t yet connect with Leo (who is a coordinator for
the Conference), and had fits w/ my ISP hook-up (for publishing these
updates), these things did happen as planned: Lunch with Chad, Mike, Kevin and Bonnie, and Aaron
from MixMeister … we didn’t connect w/ Christina of Soft Arts
/ Citrona Recordings until later, at Rain.
Lunch was at the Pelican Hotel and was excellent (speaking
for my own Fresh Tuna Salad.) We
disbanded for the preparations and journey over to Rain … Aaron to
settle on a room, me to change clothes, and likewise for Chad … and
Mike to the beach. @ Rain: Fauna
Flash
and Jazzanova sets were both real fine, the
Jazzanova,
to me, notable for the more muscular selections, not exclusively the
sort of stuff on their new album, which had not won universal praise.
It was during these two sets that the club began to seriously
fill up. I love this place
because part of it is unroofed, allowing fresh air in and smoke out …
a nice change from most of the places we will be. Peter Kruder &
Richard Dorfmeister
turned in a stand-out set.… Earlier, people
were dismayed to find out they would have to choose between K&D and Koop,
playing in a secondary room at the same time. The smart money was on Koop, perhaps just because of the
rarity of hearing this guy live…. but I went in the room where he was
spinning twice during the evening, and left before too long each time
… was it just me, or had his Brazil-sound selections cleared out the
room? Of course, that gave it the charm of being uncrowded, cool
and relatively non-smoky…. In the larger room
when K&D played, it was jammed tight, a dance floor in name
only … certainly, if you moved your feet, you were bound to tread on
someone else. Richard
played first, dropping plenty of dub bombs to the delight of the swaying
mass on the dance floor … it's a shame that he had to all but beg a
film-terrorist to stop shining lights directly in his face (folks,
remember: he
needs to be able to see the decks to mix.)
But Peter’s set was really gratifying for me, since I expected
him to bring the samba sound as he did last year at Goddess …
instead, it was more like tech house with
plenty of rare groove dropped in to splendid effect … No one that I
asked could identify any of those tracks….
Once Peter started playing, I found Richard was sitting at the dj
booth door and since I was walking past, I offered my handshake and
thanked him for the very fine set he’d played … I love having the
chance to express some gratitude for the music directly to the people
who provide it. One of our group had
to leave mid-show to try and rescue a friend who had left to feed the parking
meter couldn’t get back in … the crowd had swelled beyond capacity,
making us seem wise to have come so early in the day.… this meant one
less person on hand to document the K&D set … so that one passes out of
our lives forever. I’d
have been glad to have a transcription of it, so to speak, but will love
it thru memory instead. Afterward, Aaron & I went for food (back to Samba Sushi which was deafening, waaay too loud for recorded restaurant music … I feel like I’m losing my voice just from having tried to have a normal dinner conversation.) Then he peeled of to see a trance show, and I contemplated, and ultimately passed on, the very conveniently located Sony rooftop party … although I was missing the Afronaught and Dego (of 4hero) appearances, I had to recognize that I’d hit the wall at high speed, and that getting some rest would be the only hope to make all the WMC events I wanted to see on Monday … two or three shows seem really important to me, and it will take more energy than I’m worth right now to do them all.
Monday, 032502 Just musing here: I think I can identify an element of genre-assigning that isn’t likeable … by the time a style is ripe enough to invite a genre designation, what that means is that its elements have been identified, quantified, and may therefore be reproduced at will rather than as the result of (creative) passion … so part of what any genre-izing means is that a given style is subject to being plundered to ride a buzz. Don’t know if this is what puts Soul-Fly off it, but while I sometimes see genre-assigning as an aid to the novice, who wants to be able to “find more like this” – and an aid to the retailer that needs to organize his store – I now see it also as the tip-off to the imminent demise of a style’s freshness and authenticity…. But what about the
day, you might ask with greater interest.
OK, after a bit of the beach in the morning (how could I not?
Haven’t put a toe in the Atlantic in more than a year….)
walked down to the Kent Hotel for what may turn out to have been the
best party of the event. The
Kent has an utterly inviting setting, shaded for most of its area by a
grove of potted palms and other trees, with a sunlit performance space
closest to the street … and only the hardy ventured there on this
exceptionally clear hot Monday afternoon.
The Kent also boasted a hip line up, including the only scheduled
appearance at the Conference parties of Zero 7, whose Simple Things
release, if you didn’t know it, has been named Babymaker of the Year
…. I can think of worse distinctions.
Also on deck(s) were Funky Lowlives, Boozoo Bajou (spinning
45’s, yes indeed) and a couple of names unfamiliar to me, but you may
know them: DJ DeLuca and Gerry
Lyseight. And what a sweet,
small crowd … truly, this was one of the rare “intimate” parties
of the week … you could hear one another speak if you were back in the
grove, or you could dance up front. Perrier was serving up free bottled water, which seemed like
hitting the jackpot after days in an environment (like Rain) where you’d been paying $5 (including tip) for 6oz. of
Evian from the bar. I
don’t care what anybody else says, Perrier: I love you guys. I met Melodic and
some of his Rastafarian brothers, who have tracks online (at MP3.com) that I’ll
listen to when I’m back home … if they are worthy of your interest,
I’ll post the URL. Additionally
I traded biz cards and enthusiasm w/ a couple of warm and friendly New
Yorkers, Darren DeGeorge and Dan Rese. After we established a commonality of taste in PFM’s style
of atmospheric drum and bass, these guys gave me their own CDs.
Although I told them I thought it would be a couple of weeks
before I could sort thru all the music from the events, the fact is that
when I came back to the hotel for my evening’s disco nap, Dan’s
atmospheric DnB was the first thing to hit the CD player, and I gotta
tell you, I am liking it very much.
It offers just about every trick that makes me like this genre –
which I realize I don’t hear nearly often enough, because there
isn’t that much out there … too many people are put off of making this stuff,
perhaps because it’s not tough enough.
But Dan’s gathered together some lush-minimalism stuff with no
hesitation and I find I share his taste.
I hope to be able to hear their newer tracks online as they make
‘em available… From the Kent
(leaving actually before it officially shut down) we went to the other
premier event, Naked on the Beach … what a contrast.
Large, anonymous, a bit uptight … I didn’t find out until
later, but they prevented Chad from bringing thedownbeat.org flyers in,
saying they weren’t allowing promotion (!? What the hell else is this
week about, I might ask.) They
were also keeping out food and drink, to encourage sales from the
captive audience (tho, strangely enough, I was permitted to bring my
water in … my disguise was very effective and, no, I’m not going to
publish my method – I want to keep working this strategy as long as I
can.) I will give high
marks to the venue which is everything a visitor could want from a
Florida beach club. But for
music that demands a group packed tight together, working out on the
dance floor for it’s high moments, Nikki Beach may not have been the
best choice … there was plenty of room to wander, and once away from
the speakers/dance area, you lost all but the 4/4 thump of the music.
On the other hand, it was maxxing out peoplewise pretty early, so
I guess they needed all that space.
Whatever. The fact
was, our group wanted to eat and rest, and we didn’t feel the love enough
at this event to want to stay. I
would like to have seen Ben Watt but wasn’t prepared to sacrifice much
for the opportunity …. As
it happened, I traded what would have been a fairly empty experience (as
someone observed, most of the audience there would have been equally
pumped no matter who was playing…) and had a good dinner and the
opportunity to talk more with Bonnie, who has lived many years in and
around my hometown, DC. It
turns out that in addition to DC, we have many other points of common
interest, including having read tons of science fiction …. We were talking
just about non-stop (sorry, guys … it was a unique opportunity.) And as for additional
entertainment later? Still
to be decided. Tuesday 032602 Well, I sat that one out … when Chad called about 1130 about heading up to Rain, I was fairly deep into my nap … I lay there for about a half-hour wondering whether or not to pull it together and head out (I would have stayed in the neighborhood and gone to Jazzid) but in the end decided to save myself a little energy for tonight. Hoping to catch a couple of hours of Charles Webster, Jori Hulkonnen and Migs at the Albion Hotel tonight early, and then head over to Goddess for the main event ... the OM Records party. If I’ve managed to get enough rest so that I can make it til dawn tomorrow, I will be a happy camper indeed. This morning I got up about 630 and headed over to the beach for a sunrise. There was a monumental cloudbank which created a screen for the sun, producing sunrays beaming down into the water and up into heaven … so distinct and bright, very painterly and quite thrilling. As the sun hit it, the cloudbank continued to swell and expand, so sunrise was extended for an hour…. Now, after a bit of coffee and breakfast, I believe I’ll devote this morning to shopping for some new music … despite the non-discounted prices, this will be the place to find some gems and I shouldn’t miss the opportunity. Right now, I'm listening to the second CD from the New York guys, this one mixed by Darren DeGeorge also gets very high marks -- how could it not, as he's sampling in a bit of the vocal track from James Hardway's Sleep Tonight, and other favorites. I'm really glad I met these guys, Darren and Dan -- they're doing good stuff.Evening: The Albion Hotel party is poolside, so the fact that it's raining, on and off, adds a little bit of "real Florida" to the experience. DJ Deep turned in a very respectable extended house set to warm up the crowd trickling in. Charles Webster brought good track selections (I particularly paid attention to one with the line about Strong Man Getting Stronger) but it was not a dance-friendly set … he let stuff play out and left people standing. The surprise was Mauricio Aviles – excellent tracks, mixing and vibe -- I would make it a point to see him again. I spoke to Jori Hulkonnen (another chance to say "thanks" to someone who made last year such a great year for music) but decided not wait for his set after someone mentioned that his DJing is not nearly as good as his original stuff … anyhow, there was a sense of urgency about getting to the OM party at Goddess and meeting up with the TDB crew, so off we went. Goddess: It’s great to finally see everyone in one place, including Cyhl who has joined us, fresh from Paris … now this is a party! Playing when I arrived: Funky Lowlives … I have now heard them in a couple of venues and I have to say they have provided consistently the best sets I’ve heard this year. They played in the main room downstairs, while it was still relatively uncrowded. I visited the upstairs (small) room briefly – too much smoke and really terrible sound – Soul-Fly made the observation that this room clearly didn’t have live DJing on a regular basis and neither the sound system which had been set up, nor the acoustics, were any good for serious listening. I didn’t go back to this room even though it was another chance to hear Boozoo Bajou – I was just thankful I heard him at the Kent. Back in the main space were Ming & FS – they were getting mocked a little because DJ Craze, whose superior skills make them look somewhat second-rate, was in the audience. Their track selection was possibly good for that genre – the crowd was responding well -- but I don’t go out at night to hear Donald Duck sing … and that seems to be a feature of some of the favored vocals in their set. In the end, I really couldn't get too enthusiastic about the vibe even tho’ I bounced around a little to the beats. I was glad when they turned over the stage to Solstice. Gina Rene, beautiful as always, performing her best while trying to communicate with an unresponsive soundman, with Mei-Lwun Yee doing the turntable duties. This was one of the few sets I saw that had a live performance element, and was a nice counter-balance to all the DJing that predominated in my choice of shows. I moved upstairs to the balcony area of Goddess, looking for a bit more room to stand …. I couldn’t see the stage from where I was, but I could hear and that’s what counts…. I thought (from Gina's announcement and the posted set list) that I was listening to King Britt … it was a mighty fine set, and I heard, yet again, the 4Hero track, Hold It Down – making it, to these ears, the most played track of the conference. Next up, Afro-Mystik … only their "hit" Infinite Rhythm is really irresistible to me. It seemed to me that their emphasis on drumming was not especially suited to the volume or the acoustics at Goddess, seeming somehow chaotic … or maybe I was just getting tired by then. In truth, I was waiting for the opportunity to hear Mark Farina. At the end of the Afro-Mystik set, the breakdown of drum kits took over an hour, while recorded music played … before too long, people had climbed up and started dancing on the stage. I couldn’t figure out how it would be possible to set up for the next act, and it didn’t seem there would be time to play anything significant before the close of the show at 5AM – when I mentioned this to Soul-Fly, he told me Mark Farina had already played. I was floored, and I'm still trying to puzzle that one out – could it be that I’d heard him and didn’t know it (i.e., between King Britt and Afro-Mystik, in which case the published set list was incorrect – which wouldn’t be a real surprise, I guess.) Anyhow, it was after 4AM by then, and time to run … check out at the hotel is 11AM ... blehhh. So that was my Winter Music Conference experience for 2002 -- it's still the maddest event I can get to in any given year, and will always rate as a great vacation: the best food, music, beaches and fun within a thousand miles of my home. Being able to meet friends there this year improved it just when I thought it couldn't get any better. Much thanks to everyone who contributed to the vibe.
Here is the news from WMC2001 ... delicious madness: THE 2ND ANNUAL MIAMI MEETS DETROIT BBQ PARTY – this only runs until 9pm leaving time for more – features Juan Atkins among many others. Later that same night, Crobar is hosting THE CREATIVE BALANCE SESSIONS featuring Sasha & Digweed, Scott Hardkiss, Julius Papp, Marques Wyatt, etc, Club Space, which is back across the bridge in Miami, has the YOSHITOSHI / RENAISSANCE party with Deep Dish, Eddie Amador, Miguel Migs, etc. I’ve been listening to house lately, and would love to see my hometown’s own Deep Dish … maybe I can hook a ride. I’ve got ‘til 11PM to figure it out.
Sun 10AM: And the winner was …. Crobar. The club is just a block from my hotel, and I wandered down around 1030, stood in the massive line for about half an hour and then got nodded in by the gatekeeper along with some other folks who were getting guest-listed in. I had been told that Crobar was probably the nicest club in Miami, if not in the US, and certainly the architecture and the lighting were plenty impressive … The hologram (Shiva?) that dominated the airspace above the booth was my favorite decorative touch. John Digweed played from about 130 until who knows when … he was still going when I left at 400…. I don’t know who preceded him and hope to find out from a more knowledgeable clubgoer … whoever it was played a very crushing collection of beats … the effect was like a sort of bloodless brain surgery or a full-body massage w/o the touch of hands. But no memorable amen breaks until Digweed took over. Between 130 and 400 there were numerous "can’t help but dance" moments and as required, very peak became a new plateau to peak from again … it was pretty mind-boggling to experience one rev-up after another… you think "where can the guy possibly go from here" and then he obligingly shows you. I’ll agree that Digweed is a master of his art. And the necessity of experiencing his live performance is underscored when I say nothing I’ve heard on any of his CDs comes anywhere close to the effect of this show. The sideshow included plenty of pro and amateur dancers atop the bassbins, lots of glowsticks-on-a-rope being twirled, a Cirque du Soleil performer climbing the cloth from heaven and giving a great acrobatic show. The place was totally mobbed, to the point of dancing impossibility from time to time. When I finally felt liked leaving, the front exit was not available due to the huge crush of people still on the street outside waiting to get it … and there was security confusion over which of the other exits to let people out of; it might easily have become an ugly problem in an emergency. But there was no emergency, I got out at last and walked the block to my hotel w/o incident. So far in South Beach, I have seen these things:
On Sunday, the possibilities include: Women on Wax (Detroit) at Club N, possibly the evilbase show for a while and then the main event: Club Space for a downtempo menu: Jazzanova, Rainer Truby, MJ Cole, Ian Pooly, Fauna Flash, on and on. At the Detroit Women on Wax party, I got a chance to see and hear Sister Stroke and DJ Genesis spin a duo set (and was that Charles Feelgood I saw dancing down in front? Nice moves….) of chunky, funky Detroit house … ver’ welcome. That night, Level -- OK, so maybe it’s a penance, or maybe you just have to hear music you don’t like every once in a while, to keep a sharpened focus on what it is you like about the music that you do like. In that case, no evening of music is ever really a wasted evening. At any rate, the outer room was some pretty strenuous D&B (no atmospherics for this crowd) but inner room where Rabbit in the Moon was scheduled to appear, was less crushing. Started out with local DJ/performer Kevens and his crew … a fairly tuneless do-good vibe (sorry man but there you have it.) Maybe listening to all recorded (and therefore pretty polished) music and then coming up against "live" is always going to put "live" in the least favorable light…. Well, then, a DJ comes on and gives us a passably danceable set. Ahh, but after that interlude came Heckle and Jeckle (Jackal and Hyde) tarted up in black leather gear and accompanied by assorted video images. Music was shite, and so were the videos. All in all, pretty bad. And yet, not as bad as the DJ that followed -- I thought of Prodigy in both cases, but this was, what? Six years later? I dunno, maybe it was just me, but it seemed to go nowhere. So it was up to me to go…. Cab to Club Space, where I caught Ian Pooley giving up a great dance vibe until he moved into the Latin thing that’s gaining time in lots of sets lately … that’s another sound that I’m not 100% enthusiastic about – it can be smooth, or it can bring to mind Spanish-language TV. Basically, when I hear horns, I want to hear a sax, but Latin is all about trumpets… a little goes a long way. Last up: to the basement where MJ Cole is scheduled to appear. Diesel Boy on the decks in meantime, but bo!!ring, couldn’t last it out. Shared cab back to the beach with an MTV promo girl, venting about the size of the Roni Size attitude … whoops, there goes another hero.
OK, so Monday noon to 7pm is the Directions 420 bit at the Marlin … grab a seat behind the decks, and hear the early line-up which included Barry Ashworth of The Dub Pistols and then Mike Steele traded off with Angry Mexican DJs (if I’ve got that right) who ended up by spinning a mad Prophets of Sound track on the Rulin label to close out the set, and then DJ Prince (Dave Prince) who creates the hugely helpful WMC event list each year … more thanks to you Dave. That show was still going strong when I left. BTW, a friend has asked how much of what I hear being played I can identify, and the answer is virtually nothing …. On rare occasion, someone will drop in something so mainstream that I’ve heard about it (like Modjo's Lady in the DT set) … but mostly it’s very specialized and/or custom-created vinyl that’s waaay over my head. Occasionally, I get to ask, as I did about the Prophets of Sound number. Spent an hour or so at the DKNY show which was apparently not well organized … the promised headliner was Electric Skychurch, but I didn’t last that long. Freddy B was on the decks when I got there, and that wasn’t bad, but the next up was some Southern California drum’n’bass and by then it was evident that the musical return on investment would not be worth the shortchange on rest before the bit party. So I outied. And a good thing, too: the Danny Tenaglia show took everything I had. Stepped into the line about 11PM, got admitted by midnight (Tricky and his crew got in ahead of me … well, what can I say: They rate.) Left at 445, and by then the place was packed too tight to dance … and since the governing imperative of the DT show was to dance, when that became impossible, putting up w/ the misery of being stepped on, spilled on, and menaced by waving cigarettes was just pointless. But, on the way out, I saw the computers running the program that generates the performance visuals (http://www.derivativeinc.com for details about this graphic synthesizer) and that was worth a run-in with one of the Club Space cadets and keepers of the peace. OK, so it’s a shitty job, or at any rate, a thankless task. But considering the over-capacity crowd, trying to make a stand-back zone of even 2 feet near a couch reserved for performers/crew is just not a practical proposition…. What a phenomenal set, tho—no question at all why this was rated a must-see show. Miami’s Alternative papers are full of the obligatory music stories this week, and there’s a lot of consideration of genres and who’s playing what style. Trance is big, but trance is a bad word … it’s gotten too big to be cool, and half the ppl who say that, say they never thought it was cool. Consequently, lots of performers who were originally considered to be playing trance have distanced themselves from the label … apparently DT is one of those … though the word that comes to my mind is Tribal, not trance … Tenaglia calls his style progressive house, which also seems appropriate: certainly there were plenty of soulful house vocals in his compelling blend of dance beats. Paramount, though, is his unmatched skill at navigating you through the peaks and waves of his set. Considering that it will still be going on when I wake up at 10am, I am humbled by the energy it represents. Oh, and for all those ppl that just couldn’t look hard enough – if you think a 54 year old dancing at a Danny Tenaglia party is the freakiest thing in Miami, you definitely need to get out more….
Tuesday afternoon, I had the good fortune to have my search for food bring me to the Dum Dum Project performance … Asian underground has strong appeal for me and it was excellent to hear some of what’s happening in NYC, where it’s really strong. A gent name of Russell Tyrell of Tampa was talking to them about booking dates in FL – bring it to Tampa, and I’m there, Russell. As Uncle Shredded Wheat, Russell himself is turning out the atmospheric drum’n’bass which seemed to be in such short supply at any of the WMC parties. It was a treat to hear his stuff. A scheduled Web Convergence event failed to materialize in the afternoon, so now the schedule is down to: early evening with K&D, LTJ Bukem, Julius Papp and others at a poolside event sponsored by Release and crobar, and then tonight’s main attraction, the OM records !K7 event at Goddess. Surfcomber Pool Party sponsored by Release SF and crobar: A cold front swept thru, rendering the poolside setting a bit of a challenge. Gave up a lounge chair near the pool for a bit of shelter in view of the decks. Before I made my move, Julius Papp was performing, putting out a very sweet house set. I was by the stage when LTJ Bukem and MC Conrad began their set. I think there’s a sizable population that still has a soft spot for LTJ but after about two tracks from Conrad, we’re done. Still, they did have a lot of people dancing out on the sand (decks were facing the beach, not the pool), and they looked like they were having fun themselves. Next up, Richard Dorfmeister and his set did nothing to diminish my high opinion of the K&D sound. Deeply funky, deeply dubby, madly eclectic and teasingly low-key, everything I want to hear and he didn’t just drop in – he played for nearly two hours. I moved out of my shelter and onto the beach, joining the happy dancers. He eventually handed over the decks to Peter Kruder, who thereupon took us in a samba direction. Well, I’d kept warm for nearly two hours dancing to Dorfmeister’s set, but I saw that the fire was going to be banked w/ the samba beat, and it was time to get dinner, check in w/ friends and then get on down to Goddess. Slipped into Goddess along with some other guys who got waved in, well ahead of the stagnating crowd that was there when I arrived about 1130. Easy to see why tales of doormen and club lines dominate a lot of the humor and gossip around here. Me, I got lucky, and that makes it easier to decide to leave later…. Goddess has a funny traffic pattern which involves sending you upstairs where you can peel off into a back room w/ a stage and bar, or you can cross the room and go back down a second set of stairs to the main room with its stage. If you (like me) just stand around upstairs in the middle of the room by the balcony, you can look straight down onto the main room stage, which was the spot from which I watched Ming & FS work a total of 4 decks and 3 scratchable CD players … from which they unleashed, as the saying goes, a torrent of sound. It was an education to watch these two guys work, but the musical charm faded before too long and that’s when I remembered the back room …. Trying to find the performance area, I pushed my way into the farthermost reaches of the room and met a group comprised of !K7 label dudes and their guests, one of whom (Suzanne?) was just too sweet, found me a seat, introduced me to everyone and made me welcome. Immediately to my left, just beyond my seatmates and a bit of bar counter, was the deck setup and playing for us, as I soon learned, was Mark Rae. What a stellar set. I hear about Rae and Christian a lot, but except for some appearances on compilations, I don’t have any of their stuff, so this was a treat for me, to get introduced to this quality sound. Mark Rae has a new fan in the world, f’sure. Then, who should take over the decks at a little after 200, but Mr. Kruder. This time he started out w/ an utterly huge rare-groove sounding downtempo vocal track, absolutely riveting. Too good to last tho … after about 2-3 tracks, he starts alternating tracks with, it appears, Ian Pooley and damn if we aren’t back to samba-land. Hmmm. At this point, the fact that my oxygen needs aren’t being met and that every bit of smoke in the club seems to have accumulated in our area (which includes about 15 smokers in my immediate airspace) makes it easy to slide out mid-RD set (hey, maybe next year I'll see the whole set, ya never know….)
Wednesday is the final event, and the one I’m most looking forward to: for over a year now, I have been corresponding with a group of women that contribute to the sisterdjs newsgroup, and because they have an event of their own scheduled as part of this year’s conference, I will get a chance to meet them and hear them spin. Their show is at the Club Zanzibar at 10pm. But wait: maybe not. When I arrive around 1030, it seems they have found inadequate arrangements that may cause the cancellation of the show: how does "no turntables" sound as a problem? In addition, the sound setup apparently also leaves a lot to be desired, and certainly wasn’t properly handled by the Club in anticipation of the show. Fortunately, tho’, the sisters have some handy folks in their entourage and certainly if there’s one city in America this week where you could hope to scare up a couple of turntables on a moment’s notice, it would be Miami. So, by about midnight, the first performers are able to take the stage. In the front room, it’s the drum’n’bass divas and the set starts off w/ K2 from LA. Lingering sound issues plague her set, but she works thru it and hands the decks over to Freya, who is accompanied by Linzee as MC (the quality of the sound doesn’t make it easy to hear much of Linzee’s contribution, which is a shame since her style is very assured.) Freya’s tracks are very strong and her mixing is tight -- she is a remarkable figure of calm in the midst of the very hard sound she favors. It’s a truly intriguing contrast…. While her set is in progress, there’s also a ferocious downpour sweeping through Miami Beach and considering all the other issues they have faced this evening, it’s amazing that the place didn’t lose power on account of the storm. During Freya’s set, I hear beats from the backroom and realize that not all the performers will be stepping up to this stage: the front room is reserved for the drum’n’bass portion of the card, and the backroom for the techno/breaks/house/2step performers. But when I head toward the back, I find ppl furiously mopping and bailing a huge amount of water that has accumulated in the area and I decide to go away and let them get on with the cleanup effort. Later, when I return, I understand what’s happened: the back "room" is really just the back alley that’s had a bar and some furniture installed and a canvas "roof" thrown up over it all … so the downpour came right into the area, narrowly missing the decks, but rendering a lot of the furniture unusable. However, by now it was at least possible to be standing there w/o getting drenched, so I joined the group listening to Ms. E spinning funky breaks and house beats. I realize after not too long that this is where I’ll be spending the rest of the evening, as the danceability quotient is far higher here than for the fairly aggressive d’n’b sound of the front room. And dance we did. Standing back in the darker area near the stage and vocalizing for Ms. E was Audio Angel, and her contributions were so seamlessly woven into the music that it was well into the second track before I realized the vocals were being delivered live and on the spot. Because of the nature of the room (very small and 1/3 open to the sky) I could see each performer very clearly (I was standing about a foot from the decks) and I didn’t suffer overmuch from the abundant cigarette smoke which had been such a problem the night before at Goddess…. Good, at least I won’t have to leave this performance early! On a purely Florida note, I went to the bar at one point to get water and sit for a moment on one of the dry stools … only to look down and see a palmetto bug (what you call cockroach) about the size of a Mo Bay blunt wandering around looking for a new home (they’ll catch a ride in your clothes if you don’t avoid them.) I stepped away from the bar and didn’t return…. Miss E. handed the decks over to Charlotte the Baroness and once again I was treated to a magical set. I’ve heard her name for a long time and it was quite a treat to finally hear her play: more funky breaks and house, absolutely huge tunes -- another night of the best music I’ll never hear again in my life because I don’t know any of the tracks except one (only because the label was legible, a rarity): Freakin’ 2001 – everything else was a complete mystery to me. Vocals for Charlotte the Baroness were handled by Gina Rene of Soulstice who was absolutely mesmerizing: torchy soul singing that gave a whole other dimension to the recorded music … when it was time to quit, she didn’t want to, and no one wanted her to, either. Too sweet! The last set I heard was Forest Green’s techno set, which certainly opened my eyes and heart to the danceability of techno, which I had previously considered basically an intellectual proposition…. Not so, as she amply demonstrated. She was heading into the homestretch on her set when I left at 400. Stopped on the way out to give big thanks and respect to Freya and Linzee who had the burden of organizing the show and actually getting it to happen despite the early difficulties: they had every right to be pleased with the outcome, and I added my praise. And that was that. |
| WMC 2000:
The conference kicked off with registration
and the opportunity to meet the many people flooding into the Radisson
Deauville, site of this year's WMC. This conference has a
worldwide draw, and I met artists from Germany and website promoters
from Japan as well as swarms of American DJs, musicians and
media-folk. There would be poolside
activities throughout the week, for those few who did not care to
venture into Miami Beach ... this was, after all, also Spring Break and
not for the timid. But how many timid people end up at WMC to
begin with, right? Among the dozens of musical treats available on
Saturday was the ULTRA 2000 GLOBAL BEACH MUSIC FESTIVAL, with four stages and an
impressively endless roster of artists appearing from noon until nearly midnight
... that seemed to be the place to start sampling the sounds, and that's
where I headed.... Maybe it's just been too long since I've been to such a monstrously large, potentially drug-fueled event, but a $60 entry fee coupled with the security measure of a no re-entry policy for a 12-hour time period really turned me off ... I chose instead to cruise the beach just outside the chainlink fence barrier, so that I could easily go from stage area to stage area, hearing the music nearly as clearly as from inside and with much less interference from crowds and crowd-control persons. From that vantage point I got less (tho' not much less) information about who was on which stage than I would have had inside ... I know that I heard Hybrid before I left in the late afternoon to get some food. My goal was to hear Roni Size, and I knew that was likely to be goin' on much later. Returning after sundown, I see that the security guys are dropping the chain occasionally to let people in thru the gaps in the fence ... eventually, I'm standing near a chosen group and scoot into the enclosure with them. Our entry point is right behind a raised platform holding sound gear and a few VIP types, surrounded by light towers and other possible perches, and beyond that, a packed-solid sea of bodies ... it doesn't look as tho' navigating to any other stage area would be easy, perhaps not even possible, so I make up my mind to accept whatever music the gods assign to the stage I can see. One act is just winding up ... it's Sasha. A short wait and then next up, amidst profuse apologies for the delay, straight from the airport: Roni Size! Waay short set, Brown Paper Bag and everything else new ... encouragement to come to the next night's show and bam! they're gone. The set-up for the next performance takes quite some time, then we have Rabbit in the Moon. Based on just their recordings, this isn't what I judge as a high point, but after their set I do understand the enthusiasm of their fans -- elaborate visuals and effects cause the music to drop back to more of a soundtrack level of importance and the overall creativity of their show doubtless strikes a deep chord for the average pyschedelicized concert-goer. Huge bundles of glow-sticks bombard the audience and soon the frontlines are a waving sea of glow. On that happy note, and with the end of the concert and the beginning of the crowd's exodus coming up fast, I scoot back out through the fence-gap and return to my perch on the veranda of my hotel at 9th & Collins for another stretch of people-watching....
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