|
The annual Miami Winter Conference (WMC) was, once again, seven days of dysfunctional mayhem. All of the star DJs - and those who aspire to greatness - were there in force. Allen & Heath’s Xone DJ mixers were, once again, in huge demand. We made sure that nobody was disappointed… and even P. Diddy, no less, got into the Xone. Xone USA Artist Relations Manager, Nick McGeachin, reports...
P. Diddy with DJ Hell
The annual Miami Winter Music Conference (WMC) could easily be accused of being a victim of its own phenomenal success over the years, though the ‘conference’ element itself now seems to be the least popular reason/excuse for attendance. In truth, the WMC serves a very important purpose to the dance music business; groups of industry executives get together to discuss and confront pertinent issues such as piracy, new revenue sources, etc, but that’s only part of the big picture. The timing of the event tends to prove that there’s another driving force.
This years WMC not only coincided with the USA’s infamous license for debauchery, the annual college Spring Break, but also crossed over into Easter week. Couple those factors with the recent closure of South Beach’s largest hotel, and begin to imagine the chaos! Call it a necessary evil. Every year I hear industry veterans grumbling about how the WMC organizing committee MUST start to do something to get back on track and concentrate on the fact that this is, above all, supposed to be an international business convention. Every year the WMC founders say that they will make changes. Nothing changes, and every year we all return.
To put the whole thing into some kind of perspective, I was told by a Miami club owner that 40% of annual business income is generated during WMC week. This probably explained some of the outright extortionate prices being charged for club entry and drinks. What can you do? Not much, really. However, if you want to catch up with all the latest dance music and gossip, mingle with the stars, spend a fortune, and get a sun tan in March then a visit to Miami for the WMC is a good option. Why wait for Ibiza to kick off?
Allen & Heath were asked to supply gear to many primary events, and we did our best to oblige. In no particular order…
Pete Tong’s live BBC Radio One broadcasts, plus all the recorded Essential Mixes from Nikki Beach, were mixed on a Xone:464 and a BBC engineer noted that the mixer performed ‘flawlessly’.
Ali from Deep Dish performing at the Radio 1 event
L’il Louie Vega’s numerous performances featured a complete Xone:V6 DJ mixer rig, plus two Mix Wizard PA mixers. XM Satellite Radio and Thump Radio used a Xone:92 and a Mix Wizard for all their broadcasts from the Red Bull Mansion.
Louie Vega on the Xone:V6
Roger Sanchez specifically requested a Xone:92 for his private show at the Armani Emporium and, speaking of private shows, we landed the jewel in the crown! New York-based club Cielo secured the use of the amazing Versace Mansion on Atlantic Avenue in South Beach for an invite-only event featuring François Kevorkian. A Xone:92 and a Xone VF-1 were supplied.
New global superstar production/DJ team Gabriel & Dresden requested a Xone:92 to do a live recording of their five-hour set at Rumi.
Gabriel & Dresden playing at Rumi
Chris Fortier, Jimmy Van M and James Holden used the same mixer for the Balance Promote event, also at Runi. A Xone:92 was supplied for the low-key Bedrock event where John Digweed, Desyn Masiello and Luke Fair did a six-hour back-to-back-back set. (Author’s note: this was my favourite event of WMC!)
Bedrock protégée, Luke Fair
The growing drum’n’bass scene was well represented during WMC and Xone:92 mixers were supplied for the World of D’n’B and Hear Tomorrow events that featured Andy C, Dieselboy and many others.
Goldie performing on the Xone:92 at Warehouse
Three major club venues installed Xone:92 mixers for the entire week: Spin, Bed and Pawnshop. Headliners at Spin included Mauro Picotto, Hernan Cattaneo and Sander Kleinenberg; headliners at Bed included Danny Howells and Lee Burridge; headliners at Pawnshop included Mr. C, John Digweed, Josh Wink, Tiga and Jay Tripwire. Two Xone:92 mixers and a VF-1 were supplied for the huge Sasha & Digweed Delta Heavy event at The Miami Arena. The show also featured Hernan Cattaneo, U.N.K.L.E. and James Lavelle.WMC 2005 ended on a high note at Nikki Beach with the Mixology Official Closing Party featuring Mark Lewis, D:Fuse, Dave Ralph and more. Yup, there was a Xone:92 for that one too…
The Miami weather is always ‘subject to change’, and on Wednesday a tropical storm hit in the early afternoon complete with loud thunderclaps and spectacular lightning bolts. This unfortunately caused the cancellation of all open-air events that day, some of which were already underway. Miami’s new superclub, Nocturnal, failed to get last-minute safety approval from the local Fire Marshall’s department and this caused the cancellation of some massive events, including the sold-out Timo Maas/Fat Boy Slim show. Club Nerve suffered the same fate. Considering the validity of the ‘40% of annual income in one week’ statement, one wonders how these venues will be able to survive the next twelve months.
Allen & Heath/Xone participated in the Remix Hotel exhibition at the Eden Roc during WMC. Both the quality and number of visitors to our demo room were very high. Nice job, Remix!
the Allen & Heath booth at Remix
A point of interest: something struck me during WMC that probably states a lot about where the dance music world is headed. The usual sight of DJs carrying hefty armfuls of new vinyl, and/or aspiring producers forcing their own vinyl onto the unsuspecting, was rare. CDs were the norm, and frequently just contained edits of tracks with an invitation to visit a website for the full versions - which means that the composers then know who’s getting their music. A sure sign of the times.
WMC always leaves me with mixed emotions. I’ll join the grumblers and hope that something – anything – can be done before WMC 2006 to alleviate some of the madness that surrounds it. Dream on…
Photo credits
P. Diddy & DJ Hell (Misha Vladimirskiy)
Luke Fair (Jamie Mardis)
|
