Recession Partying

Things are tough all over — and that’s not just the name of a Cheech and Chong flick. And while the U.S. economy continues to freefall, the talking heads on the 24-hour news network of your choice barrage viewers with an unrelenting shitstorm of news so abysmal it makes drinking…

Fool’s Gold, Poplife, White Room

Every Winter Music Conference, every attendee and his brother claims to have been to the best party of the year. Some of them are close to correct; most of them have no clue. Unless, that is, they were at White Room in 2008 for the first Poplife-sponsored Fool’s Gold annual…

The Martinez Brothers Bring Their Soulful Bronx Groove South

Thank goodness the Martinez Brothers in question here are not the same-named Austin taxidermist siblings who come up eventually on a Google search. Really, who wants to concern themselves with the “Deer Season Special”? But just because our brothers hail from the Bronx rather than Texas, and spin for a…

Winter Music Conference Event Listings

MARCH 24 Aero Bar. Toronto Meets Miami: Markus Schulz, Glenn Morrison, and more!: Markus Schulz (Global DJ Broadcast, ColdHarbor), Glenn Morrison, Noel Sanger, Manzone & Strong, Joee Cons, DJ Ampz, Kaeno, Marcie, David Akermanis, Lucho, Richard Guerra, Jose Mata, Relik. Tue., March 24, 10 p.m. $20 advance, $25 before midnight,…

Fringe Sounds

There are plenty of big-room beats this week, if that’s your thing. Still, one of the best parts of WMC is getting to scope out the fringe sounds making the rounds. Whether you are into dark Euro-electro or left-field breakbeats, there’s something unusual for you. Below are some of the…

Ultra Vivid Wow!

Five hundred people. That’s how many bodies it takes to get Miami’s massive Ultra Music Festival off the ground and running. Five hundred people. From promoters in nearly every major city in the country, to a production staff that ranks among the world’s finest. Five hundred people. All on the…

Late of the Pier’s Ice Pop

The English quartet Late of the Pier is among its homeland’s best, brightest young hopes, boasting all the high cheekbones and music press praise that usually entails. But don’t mistake them for one of the dour, fedora-topped Brit indie groups of recent years. This band makes fun music for the…

Innovative French Label Institubes Celebrates Its Sixth Year

It wasn’t too long ago that we were renaming French fries to freedom fries, but Franco-American relations have come a long way. Featuring touches of R&B, soul, disco, hip-hop, and rock ‘n’ roll, the new wave of French dance music is heavily influenced by American sounds. Labels such as Ed…

Manchester Band The Whip Gets Feisty with Glam Electro-Pop

Trash” might not be the first title that springs to mind when you consider a great pop song. But believe it or not, it happens to be the title of four of the greatest pop songs in history. Really. The first “Trash” came way back in 1973, on the New…

Catch Matthew Dear and His Spectral Sound Around Town

In 1906, an American inventor named Lee De Forest was tinkering in his Council Bluffs, Iowa workshop when he accidentally created an electronic amplification device that could detect radio signals. De Forest wasn’t exactly sure what he had come up with; in fact, he had to have others explain to…

Above and Beyond Flies High over Trance’s Naysayers

Trance remains one of those peculiar genres with as many admirers as detractors. For years, even as it climbed international pop charts, some electronic music circles persistently criticized it for being too simplistic and formulaic. Yet trance has not only endured but also thrived, outselling most styles of dance music…

Rich Medina’s Returning Party Pays Homage to Fela

During WMC, there are plenty of poolside rendezvous, eardrum-splitting techno sets, and VIP meet-and-greets, but there is only one Jump n Funk extravaganza. Almost a ripple in time during the seven-day digital festival, JNF is the open-air, twilight party where your two-step gives way to a bowlegged grind as you…

Hands up for Fedde Le Grand

Fedde Le Grande is a busy man. When he’s not collaborating with international music icons or wrapping up his latest record, he’s touring the world, jetting from his home in the Netherlands to remote locales. To say his 2006 single — the homage to the mecca of techno called “Put…

Former Circa 28, Electric Pickle, Opens Tonight

When Circa 28 suddenly shut down last year, it came as a shock to many. Well its back, er, sort of. We reported about the Electric Pickle taking over the space back February, and just in time for Winter Music Conference, the place is ready for the public. Good thing…

Get Physical Miami Playground at Charcoal Studio CANCELED MOVED

We received word that Get Physical Miami’s event Saturday, March 28 at Charcoal Studio has been canceled. Calls to Charcoal Studio confirmed that it was true. We still are looking into the specific reason why the party was scraped. We did some snooping around on our own and we noticed…

WMC Preview: Q&A with Para One

While 2008 was a quiet year for Jean-Baptiste de Laubier — better known as Para One — 2009 promises to be a busy one for the DJ/producer. Laubier will be in town during Winter Music Conference to celebrate that label that pushed him to the forefront of the French-house craze,…

Jaguares Cancelled Miami Show Last-Minute

In case you didn’t notice it, Mexican rockers Jaguares canceled their Miami show, scheduled for last Saturday night at the Fillmore Miami Beach.  If you didn’t notice, then you probably didn’t have tickets.  Or, if you did and you still didn’t notice… give me some of that shit.Disappointed concertgoers found…

Fushu Daiko Play Taiko

Fushu Daiko from MiamiNewTimesBlogs on Vimeo.Fushu Daiko is a South Florida Taiko Drum troupe with a dojo in Dania. According to Fushu Daiko’s myspace, Taiko Drumming is a musical martial art hybrid involving traditional and modern rhythms and movements that developed in the 1950’s.I caught a Fushu Daiko performance recently…