DJ Umfang only knows the Miami she's encountered while visiting during Miami Art Week and Miami Music Week β the two weeks of the year when the world flocks to the Magic City and the chances of connecting with locals are slim.
"I've only ever been to Miami during these over-the-top art events," she says. "It kind of seems like this playland to me, and I don't really know what daily life is like there."
Umfang is curious to get to know the city when it's devoid of interlopers. It's only natural that the cofounder of a collective for the "others" in dance music would feel this way. As part of New York's Discwoman, she's helped present and represent female-identifying talent in electronic music. Her headlining role at the Internet Friends third-anniversary party at the Ground this Friday, August 9, feels like a natural extension of that mission.
Though she admits she wasn't familiar with the Miami-based collective before being booked, Umfang says she looks forward to learning more about it this weekend.
Founded by Gami and Keanu Orange, Internet Friends was a direct reaction to the hypermasculine EDM trend that dominated Miami nightlife for years. The collective's mission is to give women, femme, nonbinary, and queer acts a performance platform.
"[Three years ago], there was no sense of the underground or raves going on," Gami says. Around 2016, Gami put on an event at the Kendall roller rink Super Wheels, which gave her the chance to finally connect with the local people she'd been communicating with for so long online β hence the name Internet Friends. "Virgo, Poorgrrrl, Byrdipop, Nigby β even though we lived in the same city, we were online friends before we interacted in person."
Internet Friends' main objective quickly became booking Miami shows for artists the collective idolized online. It has led to events ranging from the Charli XCX-hosted Femmebot Fantasy to the Lucid pajama party during Miami Music Week. But Gami says she's proudest of this Friday's anniversary event.
"It's about how we are able to invade the space," Gami says. "Having [Nadine Artois] and Umfang play is such a pleasure... I'm happy they are down to collaborate."
It's been seven years since Artois last visited Miami. A lot has changed for the London-based DJ and event manager during that time.
"[Seven years ago] I wasn't involved with Pxssy Palace. I wasn't involved with queer nightlife. I was struggling with my identity at the time," Artois says. "It feels good to be back and confident in all those areas."
With Pxssy Palace, Artois has been giving women-identifying people of color in London a place to party without the fear of being harassed. "It's a collective that puts on cool events, workshops, and consultancy that prioritizes the experiences of queer and trans people of color."
The decision to play at Internet Friends' anniversary event was easy, says Artois, who from afar has long admired all that the Miami-based collective has been doing and realizes its mission is similar to that of Pxssy Palace: to create a safe party environment for nightlife's often marginalized communities. "There's a global trend now of people creating nightlife in their own image," Artois says.
While Internet Friends, Discwoman, and Pxssy Palace are on a mission to continue flying the banner for women-identifying acts, they admit there's still much work to be done regarding electronic music and venues, especially in back-of-the-house roles such as producing, booking, and management.
"It's still uncommon to see a woman owning or booking a venue," Umfang says. "Structurally, if there are women in every role and step of the way, there will be more visibility for women."
Internet Friends' Third Anniversary. With Umfang, Nadine Artois, Nar, Gami, and Virgo. Hosted by Keanu Orange, Sensitive Black Hottie, Jupiter Velvet, Chaplin Tyler, and Miss305. 11 p.m. Friday, August 9, at the Ground, 34 NE 11th St., Miami; thegroundmiami.com. Tickets cost $10 via eventbrite.com.