Ghostly International 10 Year Anniversary Party
White Room, Miami
Better than: Any record label party this side of WMC.
Despite
the unfavorable weather most of Saturday, things cleared up enough for
Miami to enjoy partying al fresco at what was surely the greatest White
Room turnout all year. Ghostly International apparently has that much
pull, bringing together as it did a wide cross section of fans. By
midnight things were looking promising as Toronto-based electro-pop
producer Solvent got through his opening set. Despite being Canadian,
no other artist from the Michigan-based Ghostly roster playing that
night sounded as Detroit as Solvent. There's something about his stark
analog basslines, grainy vocoder, and 808 breakbeats that seem to
perfectly embody the cold spartan Detroit techno aesthetic.
Michna,
on the other hand, was a completely different beast, given his eclectic
and upbeat blend of sounds. The Brooklyn-based DJ kicked up the
momentum quite a few notches with a set that cruised the gamut between
jacked-up old school electro and some of the sickest dancefloor
industrial numbers I have heard on a club soundsystem. Making ample use
of the frequencies with melodic synth-driven vocal bangers, he
sustained a relentless beat and had the entire main floor at White Room
grooving in fervor.
Of
course
the highlights of the night were Ghostly mainstay Audion, a.k.a.
Mathew Dear, and M.A.N.D.Y. of Get Physical fame. Audion got a bit
weird on Saturday, with lots of abrasive acid techno beats interjected
with extended breakdowns. These were filled with machine-like abstract
white noise that made the dancefloor, at times, sound as though it were
inside a steel mill. The expertly crafted sound engineering by Ultra
Music Festival's Terry McNeil made for a mind-blowing aural experience.
considerably as the pair took to the decks around 2 a.m., kicking off a
set of funky body-jacking techno and tech-house. By that time White
Room was packed wall to wall with bodies, all entranced by the sheer
physical power of the bass and those Bassmaxx vibrations upon the early
dawn air. It was a night of fantastic mind-bending sounds and surely
the musical highlight of Art Basel this year.
Personal Bias: Ghostly's reputation precedes them and I'm a sucker for hype. (Well, depends whose hype.)
Random Detail: I've
been to White Room on more than a few occasions, but had never
registered the existence of the chill-out room. Often overlooked, this
is a nice little dark place for doing dark deeds.
reprised Saturday night's fun for a select few the following day at a
SAFE "secret location" party (later revealed to be Boteco on 79th St.).
By alll accounts the duo rocked it once more.
Of course the highlights of the night were Ghostly mainstay Audion, a.k.a. Mathew Dear, and M.A.N.D.Y. of Get Physical fame. Audion got a bit weird on Saturday, with lots of abrasive acid techno beats interjected with extended breakdowns. These were filled with machine-like abstract white noise that made the dancefloor, at times, sound as though it were inside a steel mill.
Personal Bias: Ghostly's reputation precedes them and I'm a sucker for hype. (Well, depends whose hype.)
Random Detail: I've been to White Room on more than a few occasions, but had never registered the existence of the chill-out room. Often overlooked, this is a nice little dark place for doing dark deeds.
