Mike Deuce Honors Prince with New Mix Series and a Purple PAMM Performance

It's crazy to think the world has been sans Prince for more than a month already, and yet, there's still a constant stream of celebratory content honoring the legacy and the genius of the late musical icon. A star like Prince's doesn't fade fast. It will take decades, centuries maybe, for the Purple One's influence to leave us.

He was a multi-instrumentalist, a Grade-A guitar hero, a funky sex god, and a modern poet. Also, turns out, he was a huge influence on Miami's go-to beat buster, DJ, and producer Mike Deuce.

“Prince has been an inspiration for me since I was very young,” Deuce told us. “I wanted to make this mix because he has, and will continue to be, my favorite artist of all time.”

That mix he's talking about is The Purple Experience: Volume I, the first in a forthcoming series of three mixes that showcase the legend's versatile talents, styles, and creative peaks. This first volume tackles Prince's uplifting danceable edge. It's all blood-pumping BPMs and hair-flipping sass, and, to be fair, it's not really a posthumous shout-out at all.
Deuce started working on the Purple Experience in January of this year, before Prince's death. He threw himself headfirst into the rock god's catalog. He sifted through B-sides, demos, bootlegs, live recordings, and every studio release the dude ever slapped with a symbol. The mix series would be his open love letter to his greatest influence, and then, the worst happened.

He was hesitant to even finish the mix when he heard of Prince's death. He didn't want it to get lumped in with every other remembrance. It wasn't supposed to be like that, but in the end, Deuce decided it was better to let his vision out into the world than keep his adoration hidden away.

“I decided to finish the mix as my own way of celebrating his life and music,” he says. “I put a lot of pressure on myself for the mix to uphold his legacy and do justice to his genius.”

He picked a great day to start the series. The Purple Experience: Volume I drops today on the Purple One's birthday. It's only the beginning, and to further mark the occasion, Deuce will unleash even more of his sonic findings at PAMM on Thursday, June 9. Dancers who come dressed in purple can enter the party free of charge, which would almost definitely make the big man happy. Raspberry berets are welcome, too.

PAMM and Poplife Present: Purple Party Celebrating Prince's Brithday, with Mike Deuce and Sweat Record's DJ Lolo. 6 p.m. Thursday, June 9, at PAMM, 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-375-3000; pamm.org. Tickets are free with regular museum admission of $16. Admission is free for guests dressed in purple.