A 14-year veteran of promoting techno events in Miami, Nelson Fernandez, AKA DJ Nova, has observed that folks tend to arrive in town early for WMC. "They're always ready to start partying as soon as they get here," he says, "or, for the locals, as soon as there's an excuse!"
Fernandez has been throwing bashes under the Pornograph Events moniker since 2006. In that relatively short time, Pornograph has nurtured local talents and also brought in popular, internationally known techno DJs/producers such as Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, Stewart Walker, Stacey Pullen, and John Acquaviva.
Fernandez has an ambitious WMC schedule planned, including a 15-hour affair that begins the afternoon of Tuesday, March 24, and concludes the morning of Wednesday, March 25. And that's followed by a ten-hour event that begins Wednesday evening. Over just a few days, his parties will feature DJ sets and live performances from artists from New York, Detroit, England, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, and others. Despite that potentially intimidating schedule — when, exactly, will he sleep? — Fernandez has a WMC pre-party in the works as well for Monday, March 23, a free event that's scheduled to rock for 11 hours.
As record labels and publications fold, so do the opportunities for people to travel to WMC on the company dime. The resorts are no longer full to capacity weeks before the event. These factors potentially reduce the amount of pre-Conference traffic, and there are subsequently fewer events taking place before March 24, the official WMC opening date.
According to the official WMC calendar, as of press time, Fernandez's Monday-night competition will be limited to three other events: the colorfully dubbed Funky Junction de Puta Madre 69 at Hed Kandi, The Collective's pre-party at the News Lounge, and My 1 TV's unfortunately named Lick Ur Pinky at Twilight. (In fact, the last begins at 5 a.m., so it's really like the dregs of a Sunday party.)
But Fernandez's bash boasts a solid, all-locals lineup. It's highlighted by a live performance and a DJ set, respectively, from Miami minimalist masters Basti and Baez (the latter of The Womb), and offers a good taste of the scene here before the area gets inundated with outsiders.
