WMC 2011 | ChinaShop

Music Rony Seikaly: Transition Game

April 20, 2011 - 10:32 am

If you’re a sports nut like me, you know Rony Seikaly from his 11-year NBA career, more than half of which was spent with the Miami Heat. If you’re a dance music nut—also like me—then you know about Rony Seikaly the DJ and producer. Check out his site and you’re met with images of Seikaly rocking packed clubs, not short shorts and knee socks. He’s got a full tour schedule, and his various productions—of the deep, sexy, tribal house variety—are being released through Subliminal Records, one of the genre’s most tastemaking labels. (Check out a selection of tunes here.) Last month he was booked for gigs at both Winter Music Conference and the week of the Ultra Music Festival, and this month will hit up New York, Paris and Marrakesh. Quite the baller indeed. We caught up with him between shows to find out a little more about his spin moves.

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Gallery Music I Survived Winter Music Conference

by Rich Thomas and Graham John Bell

March 15, 2011 - 10:33 am

Apart from needing a double foot transplant, a deep tissue massage, a wheatgrass IV drip, and to never be around cigarette smokers again, I feel amazingly good after this year’s Winter Music Conference. What started off slow gained a tremendous amount of momentum in a very short period of time, and reports from my colleagues at other events around the city were favorable. If you’ve been following our WMC coverage, you know that the divorce with the Ultra Music Festival (happening 3/25-3/27) was the big news. Would it be favorable for the conference? What sort of effect would it have on South Beach? With all the marquee names playing Ultra weekend, would you still get enough quality DJs to support the fans?

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Featured Gallery Music Nothing But Nervous

by Rich Thomas and Graham John Bell

March 14, 2011 - 2:52 pm

Tuesday was mild, Wednesday was warm, and Thursday was poppin’, but by the time Friday rolled around, the spring break crowd was in full effect and the WMC’ers were ready to go hard into the weekend. We wanted to experience a little local flavor, so our friends over at Nervous Records told us to come by their big “Made In Miami” party, featuring an exclusive cast of homegrown deck masters like Behrouz, Rony Seikaly, Lazaro Casanova, Ralph Falcon, Jon Cowan, Stryke, DMS12, Edgar V, Danny Daze, Patrick M, and of course the one and only Oscar G. When we set foot in the building, it became abundantly clear that this was the place to be. We caught three sets worth of tunes, then had to give our ears and dancing feet a rest. Here’s what it looked like.

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Music DJ Colette: Your House Or Mine

by Rich Thomas and Graham John Bell

March 14, 2011 - 11:27 am

She’s been called Om Record’s First Lady of House, helped form the genre’s only female supergroup (SuperJane), and released some of last decade’s most infectious 12-inch singles in “Feelin’ Hypnotized,” “What Will She Do For Love,” and a sultry version of Robert Palmer’s “Didn’t Mean To Turn You On.” Indeed, Chicago’s DJ Colette is one of house music’s most well-respected performers and producers, and a 16-year veteran of the Winter Music Conference. You know, back when people traded vinyl by the pool and the only things that tweeted were the endemic Florida Scrub-Jays that hung out in the palm trees. We met up with Colette at a South Beach cafe to get her take on this year’s conference and the inside scoop on her next artist release for Om Records.

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Music Oscar G: Made in Miami

by Rich Thomas and Graham John Bell

March 14, 2011 - 10:59 am

You’d be hard pressed to find a dance music artist that reps Miami harder than Oscar G. A true house music don, Oscar has had a long and healthy career on New York’s own Nervous Records, releasing a crate of singles and his first (and only) full-length, Innov8, back in 2008. Now with a new label in the works, appropriately titled Made In Miami, Oscar is looking to give shine back to his fellow South Florida musicians and possibly drop another full-length, sooner rather than later, we hope. Before he blazed through a sunset performance at the Nervous Records pool party, we got a hold of him for some questions.

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Gallery Music In Search of Oakenfold

by Rich Thomas and Graham John Bell

March 11, 2011 - 5:30 pm

Two words: Paul Oakenfold. Two more words: Florida Room. Four more words: No Ugly People Allowed. At least that’s what the sign said. I’m sure it didn’t reflect the opinions and feelings of the Delano administration, but it was an ironic reminder of just how exclusive and intimate some of Miami’s parties can be during Winter Music Conference. Tonight we were in for a special treat. One of the biggest names in dance music—a man famous for playing arenas all across the globe—was going to treat this hotel crowd to a small-scale performance with big room sound. No flip-flops and bikini bottoms allowed, and one gentleman was turned away at the door for wearing cut-off jean shorts. Go home and get your big boy pants, homeboy. This ain’t no beach party.

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Gallery Music Stormy Weather Is No Match for Second Sun

by Rich Thomas and Graham John Bell

March 11, 2011 - 4:44 pm

Here’s what I love about Miami. At approximately 11:30am on Wednesday, I was walking along the rooftop deck of my hotel admiring the amazing view, taking in some sunshine, and cursing the fact that I had to quickly go back inside and get writing done. At 12:30pm, deck chairs were flying into the pool and the rain was coming down sideways against the glass of the café I was working in. It was a rainstorm of biblical proportions, and the beautiful people of South Beach were undoubtedly cursing the fact that they now had to go inside and do something not so fun. One glance at the weather report told me that that any outdoor parties scheduled for today were sure to be a bust, which included the annual mega-bash on Nikki Beach, one of WMC’s most tried and true venues. This was to be our big destination for the day. Electric Beach, a 12pm to 5am marathon of banging house music put forth by names like Donald Glaude, Harry “Choo Choo” Romero, Behrouz and Junior Sanchez. Gone with the wind, we thought—washed away by the elements. But we decided to go anyway, and of course, it was rammed.

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Featured Gallery Music Q&A With The Indelible Talib Kweli

by Rich Thomas and Graham John Bell

March 11, 2011 - 2:52 pm

Hip-hoppers at Winter Music Conference this year got a special treat when the Red Bull Music Academy announced a special two-day event featuring indelible MC Talib Kweli and producer 9^th Wonder that hoped to provide an intimate look into two of the game’s most talented and influential artists. After an interview and Q&A session on Thursday, the two artists would then regroup at the Delano Hotel’s Florida Room for an “On The Floor” performance. We had the chance to interview Talib before he took the stage for the interview portion of the event, held at the Raleigh Hotel. Then, due to flight delays with 9^th and the session moderator, we jumped on the mic to kick off the discussion while we waited for the rest of the crew to arrive. Below is a portion of our conversation.

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Gallery Music Beatport CEO Matt Adell Provides Conventional Wisdom

by Rich Thomas and Graham John Bell

March 10, 2011 - 5:25 pm

The music is omnipresent, the winter part is questionable, but the backbone that props up WMC every year is always the conference part of things. This year, the Miami Convention Center plays host to WMC’s numerous panels, product demos, and all the extracurricular fist-bumping and business card exchanging that connects DJs and producers around the world. The latest in wearable LED illumination is on display. Need a DJ booth custom-made to look like a pair of white sunglasses? They’ve got it. Motion-sensing control surfaces and app-based, virtual DJ technology is always a big thing. But if you want to see product in action, your best bet is to sidle up next to the DJ booth at your favorite club and train spot. Just make sure to follow proper etiquette. But onto business.

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Gallery Music Musical Revolutions with Egypt’s DJ Carlos

by Rich Thomas and Graham John Bell

March 10, 2011 - 3:37 pm

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past three months, you’re aware of the wave of democracy and change that’s been sweeping through the Middle East. Nowhere has that been felt more strongly than in Egypt. While the club scene in Cairo has been slowly bubbling, the party has taken somewhat of a backseat to the country’s sociopolitical events. For Cairo native DJ Carlos, it’s been an astounding period of change.

A longtime DJ at Egypt’s influential Nile FM radio station and one of the region’s most successful performers, Carlos takes great pride in the musical influence he has over his listeners. We caught up with Carlos before his set at the Kung Fu Lounge, just a few steps off the bustling South Beach main drag of Collins Avenue, to find out more about his unique journey behind the decks.
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