This month, the Winter Music Conference in Miami celebrated its 25th anniversary, and it’s safe to say things have come quite a long way — and maybe not so long — since its inception in 1985. But there’s been some speculation about the WMC in the past few years: is it relevant? Or has it devolved from the trend-setting, groundbreaking event thousands of people flock to every year, to something insipid and boring?
Over the past three decades dance music has been what many might call consistently inconsistent, maintaining a sort of progressive stagnation in its evolution as it struggles to retain some sense of originality. In L.A. especially, one need only stumble around the Sunset Strip to see dance has evolved from the dark days of disco, progressed into New Wave-y territory in its heyday, and come around full circle again. Specifically to the point where disco is becoming acceptable again, and where dress and music from 1983 is more the norm for some people than the exception. 3000 miles away, WMC stalwarts A-Trak, Lil Jon, Jazzy Jeff and Steve Aoki did their best to sort of challenge this notion, while a few surprises like Travis Barker ‘s match-up with Aoki, as well as Danny Tenaglia’s debut of a new Lady Gaga remix track (along with an incredibly long and entertaining set) kept things on an original level with a bit of genre-crossing.
And if there was a decline in attendance, it didn’t really seem to show — all the clubs were pretty packed. Greg Wilson, Crazy P, and other WMC aficionados had everyone shaking their respective booties like their lives depended on it, all til the wee hours of the morning. The general consensus seems to be: come if you can, at least once in your life: The Winter Music Conference is both a geek-tech haven for aspiring electronic musicians wishing to network or acquire more gadgets for their trade, to even those who aren’t so much into electronic music as just having a damn good time.
Last year we remarked on the fact that, if anything, the Winter Music Conference has proved dance music is much more of an institution than anything else (and arguably many other genres) It garners new listeners every day, adding to a rabid fan base; every day countless electronic musicians from all continents emerge to break barriers in music or (many of them) start their own label. Needless to say it’s doubtful there will be any shortage of fans in the nearby future. And regardless of whether you find the genre to be mostly redundant or revolutionary, the great thing about the WMC is that it proves there’s countless styles of electronic music, and judging by the tons of people who come here, something different for a lot of them. ULTRA proved once again to be a groundbreaking dance marathon, while the usual marathoners like Victor Calderone, Lee Burridge, and J- Boogie were to be found everywhere from the Bently Hotel rooftop party to the Beatport Pool Party, it was hard not to get into the mood.
Photos by Angel Tagudin
