DJ Times spent the Tuesday of Miami Music Week checking out the latest gear at Winter Music Conference and dancing to Jamie Jones & Lee Foss’ special disco sets at Basement Miami, but the true marathon began over the next two days. We kicked it with Spinnin’ Records artists, got a taste of soaring progressive house at the SiriusXM Music Lounge, and caught just about everything in between.
Peep our full run-down of Wednesday, March 25 and Thursday, March 26 below.
Wednesday, March 25
On Wednesday, at WMC’s “Producer Panel” featuring Nicky Romero and Junior Sanchez, the duo dropped a few dollops of wisdom for up-and-coming DJ/producers.
“Right now,” said Sanchez, “the problem is that the kids, the young DJs, see the lifestyle [of the global DJ/producer] first and they want that, but they’re forgetting about the passion and the art that comes first. You have to find what moves you first before you can even think about enjoying a lavish lifestyle.”
Romero concurred: “You can’t just buy this all in one kit. You don’t get into this [music-making business] to be the ‘No. 1 DJ in the world.’ You do it for the passion.”
On getting your work discovered, Sanchez offered advice and a bit of a warning. “I get a lot of music sent to me and I listen to a lot of music because I want to,” he said. “I get thousands of tracks a week and what is usually missing, I think, is music that’s original. It’s something different that catches my ear, even if it’s, like, a flute a little out of key or off-beat. If you are mimicking, you are just chasing a sound, and why would you do that? You won’t be around long.”
“But when you’re young, let it go. Try everything. Try new sounds, new approaches. When you’re young, you shouldn’t feel stress about making music because you’re making music for the love of it. Really, you shouldn’t stress about making music until you’re successful.”
Down at Nikki Beach, Spinnin’ Records hosted the 2015 edition of its perennial Spinnin’ Sessions pool soiree. DJ Times TV spent most of the day inside chatting with some of the label’s roster—including Oliver Heldens, Sander Kleinenberg, and Quintino—but we did make it out to catch a wild house set from the boys of Firebeatz.
Thursday, March 26
The day started bright and early at the W Hotel for the SiriusXM Music Lounge. As Paris Hilton sat in the radio area snapping photos with Carnage and NERVO, Swedish duo Galantis—comprised of Style of Eye and Miike Snow member Christian Karlsson—took to the decks and dropped their indie-inflected progressive house hit “Runaway (U & I).” Afterward, Dirty South and Axwell^Ingrosso delivered the one-two punch of anthemic cuts for the intimate party.
Afterward, it was time to head over to to the Surfcomber for the evergreen All Gone Pete Tong pool party. It was a furiously diverse lineup for the sunny afternoon, with Thomas Jack joined by fellow Tropical House stalwart—and unannounced special guest Kygo for breezy beats and good vibes. Despite the beaming rays shining down, Dubfire and Sharam came together for a dark techno set as Deep Dish shortly after. The bass was throbbing, with a mid-set drop of Matador’s sinister “Play With Me!”
After a quick nap, the night truly begun with a trip over to the Clevelander Hotel. The hotel was taken over by EDM-focused radio app Beatgasm for the weekend and rebranded as the Beatgasm Hotel. With a stacked lineup spread over four days and free entry to anyone who downloaded the app, the event was one of the hot-spots of the entire week.
Thursday night’s lineup consisted of a smattering of Casablanca Records artists for the label’s Oasis showcase. 3LAU, A-Trak, and Gazzo were all on-hand to bring the bass, but it was Seven Lions’ genre-defying performance that was the true cornerstone of the night.
Away from the bustling streets of South Beach, Jamie Jones set up shop at Downtown’s Mana Wynwood for his annual 12-hour Paradise marathon. Once again running from 10 PM until 10 AM, Paradise Miami was outfitted with an indoor and outdoor stage as well as sound courtesy of booming (and visually-striking) Pure Groove Sound Systems.
The performance of the night? Lee Foss’ banging set at 4:30 AM. Lasting for the better part of an hour and a half, the Pleasure State member dropped what seemed like an endless array of hazy dance bombs in the vibey indoor area, including his new Emerald City imprint’s debut release “Fearing Love” by Serge Devant. “I’ll stay for one more song” eventually turned into, “There’s no way I’m leaving until this set is over.” Other highlights of the night came courtesy of Steve Lawler’s killer peak-time performance as well as Jamie Jones’ own sets—a funky solo one and a B2B with Jackmaster—that pushed the tempo from 5 AM until 10 AM.
Stay tuned for the rest of our Miami Music Week coverage and our Ultra Music Festival wrap-up!
