"It's very hard to fully articulate how special the experience is unless you attend. We can write about it and make videos, and that can give people a nostalgic element, but for someone who has never been, it's something you have to do before you die," Sinopoli says. "It's really not a thing to articulate through words."
Despacio, a Spanish word meaning slowly, is a traveling sonic space occupied by DJs who spin vinyl records on a formidable sound system powered by McIntosh speakers. It was created in 2013 in Manchester, England, by Brooklyn-based James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, along with Belgians David and Stephen Dewaele of the band Soulwax and their DJ duo, 2manydjs.
It's easy to overlook Despacio's return to the III Points lineup, squished as it is — "Despacio All Weekend" — between the twin columns of star power that have been announced so far. Yet the significance of its return cannot be understated. Whether a III Points attendee is a Despacio veteran or novice, they must spend at least some time at Despacio, located inside the Mana Wynwood Convention Center.
Despacio's simplicity feels almost comical compared to the world of full-throttle production and its LEDs, dancers, and sometimes literal smoke and mirrors. Attendees enter the large, circular room in near darkness, depending on how Despacio's customized lighting rig interacts with the music. Whereas the DJ's location serves as the North Star at a typical set, Murphy and the Dewaele brothers prefer to be totally obscured from the listener's eye; their physical presence should be secondary to the music. Instead, a large disco ball overhead in the room's center will serve as the nexus. Whatever your wristband, you'll all arrive at the same space.
"The whole room is centered around a disco ball and people looking at each other or closing their eyes — as opposed to staring at a DJ," Sinopoli elaborates. "James Murphy's whole thing is being a performer, but he wants to be tucked away when DJ-ing."
Sinopoli describes the room as "disorienting," noting that "everyone is trying to get to the middle, where with every other stage, everyone is trying to get to the front to ride the rail."
The Origin Story
III Points booked Murphy for the festival's inaugural year, 12 years ago. "James was, beautifully, the first person to play in that room," Sinopoli says. By "that room," he means the "Black Room" inside Mana Wynwood, which had previously operated as a film studio before serving as the main stage at III Points in 2013. "When James first saw that room and did his soundcheck, he said, 'This room is fucking crazy.'"Sinopoli recalls a conversation the two had during that first year: Murphy wanted to build a "dance experience" like Despacio following LCD's breakup. A few years later, he inquired specifically about whether Sinopoli thought the Black Room at Mana might serve as the venue: The acoustics were impeccable, and they wouldn't have to worry about building a tent; the room could serve as a club within the festival.
Still, Despacio didn't make its III Points debut until 2022. The first time was an early set, from 5 to 11 p.m., as Murphy also headlined with LCD Soundsystem that night. The following night, Despacio ran from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m., as it would again for both sets in 2023. "People now want to bring their friends and girlfriends because it is so rare," Sinopoli says.
Owing to Soulwax's touring schedule, Despacio did not return for last year's edition. III Points pivoted, converting the space to "444," where three DJs played for three hours apiece. (The sets are available on Apple Music with spatial audio.)
After Soulwax wound up filling in for Massive Attack, the Dewaele brothers told Sinopoli that Despacio had to return in 2025.
"I think they understand the cultural significance of the festival, and they feel comfortable there," Sinopoli says. "They only do one show or two a year, if that. And Miami getting its third Despacio in four years is absolutely crazy."
The Despacio Experience
At a Despacio show, the sounds pour forth from seven custom-built McIntosh speakers, each 11 feet tall and capable of producing 50,000 watts, that encircle the room like totem poles.The three DJs probably won't spin the tech-house and techno tracks du jour, given that they can choose from hundreds of vinyl records spanning six decades. Peak time might include a stripped-down, instrumental remix of Barbara Mason's 1978 song "Darling Come Back Home" that exaggerates the slow and rich bass line. Another possible selection: a Despacio remix of Capone's "Music Love Song," replete with bongos, rock-star guitar solos, and a slowed-down chorus in which a singer repeats tellingly, "I love you, I love you." The closer may not be a nameless track ID, but the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun," with golden beams ricocheting off the disco ball like an enormous halo, bathing the entire room in light.
"It's three friends getting together and incorporating sound and light experts to create what they think is the most euphoric and authentic sound and dance experience," Sinopoli sums up.
"We got it this year, but that does not mean we will have it ever again," he adds. "It's a year-to-year thing, and we will try every year, but there is no guarantee. As James [Murphy] says, 'It's not a party if it happens every night.'"
III Points. Friday, October 17, and Saturday, October 18, at Mana Wynwood, 2217 NW Fifth Ave., Miami; iiipoints.com. Tickets cost $139 to $309 via iiipoints.frontgatetickets.com.
