Guy J’s latest endeavor, Balance Presents Guy J, is a collection of appeasing compositions that peacefully ebb and tide their way to a harmonious symphony of contentment. While still maintaining a serene resonance, the lead-in track “No One Gets Left Behind” inflects the undertone eeriness and key plunking of Nine Inch Nails on a calmer day. “Santa Fe” conjures up a vibe of South Beach during Ultra Music Week when day three or four of insomnia is rearing its head: You saunter down to poolside at close to 1pm for breakfast and that first cup of coffee. Your eyes are shaded from the glaring tropical sunlight, your hand over your brow masking the fuming heat of midday. All the while there’s this cool ambiance flowing from the poolside speakers to calm the soul and radiate positive energy and the day is unfolding as it should.
The tracks are minimalistic yet opulent and a few are reminiscent of the pleasing Egbert “Open” from 2010. The jazz and funk infused “Waitin” is hinting at drum n bass similar to that of Brazil’s DJ Marky. “Once Upon A Time” might be a candidate for Above & Beyond’s Anjunadeep meets old school The Shamen “Boss Drum” with a slightly slower tempo. Indecipherable, subtle chanting on tracks like “Migrants” and “Fever” add a distinct, surreal element and the latter track gains a nice pickup funk about two thirds of the way through for a unique flare. Considering its soothing vibe, Guy J’s remix of Way Out West’s “Killa” is a bit of a misnomer.
As a whole what encompasses the essence of this latest effort from Guy J is warming and inspiring. The listener will find after unknowingly letting Balance Presents Guy J flow on repeat, it is both uplifting and therapeutic and leaves the listener with a new sense of rejuvenation like that from a nice hot tub soak or a good massage.
Who brings together three stages, 20 artists ranging from Black Joe Lewis to Pretty Lights to Gareth Emery to Vampire Weekend, 11 hours of non-stop music, 50,000 fans across 40 acres, all with a price tag of free? That would be Virgin mega mogul and founder, Richard Branson.
Sir Richard scored another win with his annual Virgin FreeFest that has fans in the know vying for the too-good-to-be-true, two-ticket limit at the very second they become available depleting the supply in record time year after year. Virgin Mobile’s good-spirited concept has fans exercising their sense of appreciation with positive energy, good vibes and a resulting contribution of over $1 million in donation over the last five years. Virgin Mobile USA’s agenda is to direct its profits from VIP sales, donations and revenue from the iconic Ferris wheel ride to operate RE*Generation House which is a transitional living facility for Washington, D.C.’s homeless youth.
Increasingly outgrowing their former nook the Dance Forest was relocated this year. It kicked off with New York’s Ghost Beach who offered, “We’re happy we started off with you guys,” then made the obligatory yet comical, “We’re going to play new songs blah, blah, blah.” Their initial sound conjured up a little Lenny Kravitz meets The Flaming Lips. They moved on to “Miracle” which SoundCloud and their Facebook calls Tropical Grit Pop, a fitting descriptive matching singer Josh Ocean’s Hawaiian shirt and his thrash dancing.
The ladies made a grand entrance at the West Stage launching the platinum-haired, creamy-skinned, John Lennon spectacled, Madonna-esque Sky Ferreira with her industrial style fashion complimenting her sultry and smoky melodies. She was contrasted by her follow up, the clean-cut, conservatively dressed, angelic voiced Chvrches whose minimalistic threesome on-stage delivered some of the biggest sounds while garnering some of the loudest reaction from the crowd.
Manufactured Superstars opened with Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” and that they did. The Dance Forest crowd didn’t let up when Congorock took the decks and delivered tracks like W & W’s “Lift Off!” just as the day’s promised rain began.
The relentless rain didn’t hamper a dense West Stage crowd from seeing Kaskade who thanked the drenched revelers for sticking it out with him. He of course wowed them with “Move For Me” and also the festival favorite, one of the many versions of Empire Of The Sun’s “Alive” also played later by Madeon.
Any skepticism based on the recent controversial display with Miley Cyrus about Robin Thicke was instantly diminished the moment he darted on the stage. He propelled from stage right impeccably dressed with his jacket trailing in motion, his blinding smile, his aviator sunglasses, his gleaming streams of sweat and his non-stop showmanship. His entourage included a drummer who couldn’t stay in his seat, two smartly dressed tandem guitarists and three striking, choreographed female backups. A thunderous crowd of screaming females expressed wanting him and drop-mouthed males who wanted to be him. Mr. Thicke stole the show as one fan aptly described him as a cross between Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake.
The downpour escalated as the Madeon crowd at the Dance Forest interpreted the weather conditions and the unstable mud as some sort of bonus, special effects. Gareth Emery stood side stage, protected from the elements to witness the energy and expertise of the phenom artist.
Vampire Weekend closed out the packed Pavilion Stage arena to an adoring and grateful crowd who were comforted to be under the protection of the pavilion overhang. Surrounding crowds scattered in all directions to reach the destination and shelter of their vehicles as the festival slowed to a close.
It was a surreal day of music, mushroom-shaped golf carts, swings who’s swinging action generated a spray of water from the rider, a torrential downpour, water-damaged cell phones, fluorescent, fur-covered teeter totters, #FreeFest to post your favorite festival moments, a free-spirited camaraderie and an overall feelgood experience. The Virgin FreeFest motto of “Let Free Ring” continues to ring so true.
The final day of the Ultra Music Festival 2013 was a harsh reality and fans were arriving early and were pumped to make it an ultimate last day. Arriving at the festival grounds before the crowds poured in and scoping out the place and vast space it was difficult to envision hosting (squeezing) the tens of thousands of people that will fill every inch of this space within the next few hours. It was so peaceful and surreal for a while.
A definite buzz for the this final day of UMF was surrounding Armin van Buuren’s A State Of Trance 600 in the Mega Structure which hosted hot commodities like W&W, Cosmic Gate and Paul van Dyk. In the ASOT arena van Buuren was projected on the backdrop introducing the big event and then the countdown began. It may have been more appropriate and more intense to actually have the crowd be ready and waiting when Tritonal took to the stage but the festival gates opened at noon, and the ASOT fans hadn’t made it in and made their way to the Mega Structure before Tritonal’s set began. It was an entertaining and impressive spectacle to witness the scores of fans come running into the wide-open tent to capture a coveted viewing spot knowing exactly where they wanted to be this day. Eventually this tightly knit crowd would grow to epic proportions flowing into the adjacent Korea Tent not knowing where one crowd ended and one began. With no more space in the Mega Structure crowds packed onto the passage ramp to view the event making the walkway impassable and causing security to step in for crowd control.
On the Main Stage progressive electro-house sisters Nervo joined Sultan & Ned Shepard on the decks for the end of their set and shared congenial embraces and joined in singing. It makes sense since their collaborative single “Army” was just released last month. The bass was cranked to maximum capacity for the duration of the female duo’s set as they blasted hits like “We’re All No One.” When they played their current chart buster collaboration with Nicky Romero “Home” and offered the crowd a singing moment during the chorus it went on a bit longer than expected. Nervo looked puzzled and the crowd came to the realization that the sound was cut, but they went right on singing and didn’t skip a beat. Nervo stepped to the mic and cheered, “Miami, that’s why we love you.”
One of the more miscalculated stages was the Live Stage that perhaps next year will need a more ample venue location. Veteran DJ Fresh, formally of Bad Company, hosted an entourage on stage, on the side stage and in the crowd with his pumping inspiration of drum ‘n’ bass. He kept the crowd hyped and on their feet, in the aisles, on the chairs, on the lawn and overflowing into the main walkways with chants like, “We got the power. Let’s get this party started.” That was no problem as the crowd went ballistic when Diplo joined Fresh and company on stage. Fresh played a mix of “Seven Nation Army” and then encouraged crowd participation by instructing them to hold their hands high forward for kick and back for snare. Given their undivided attention he was excited to also announce this was his first show in America.
The Italian trio Forza electrified dancing fans in the ample valley-like, grassy dancefloor with their pulsing style of progressive house. Hosted at Mark Knight’s Toolroom Knights Stage tucked away at the deadend of a main path it was gem to find and it wins points for creativity. It continuously displayed a computer generated boom box image on the stage-flanked display screens with pumping woofers in time to the music beats.
Relative newcomer but already skyrocketing success story, Zedd played the Korea Stage opening with a subtle repeat of, “Breathing you in,” from his blockbuster hit “Spectrum” and even managed a little “Gangnam Style” sampling while friend and supporter Skrillex watched proudly from the wings.
Meanwhile Thomas Gold was wrapping up his Main Stage set with the popular Mikkas remix of the Emma Hewitt track “Rewind” as the dancing crowd was engulfed in a sea of dust. He played on with an impressive rendition of “Apologize” by OneRepublic mashed up with Otto Knows “Million Voices.”
Bingo Players displayed a baseball cap with the name of their record label but equally fitting, it’s a single, simple word that described the day, “Hysteria.”
Back at ASOT Above & Beyond mesmerized the crowd with the Miami appropriate “See The Sun” from Matt Darey Urban Astronauts and their own “Alchemy” and “Sun & Moon” from Group Therapy. Later, the man of the hour at ASOT, Mr. Armin van Buuren, began with a modest remix of today’s hit “Clarity” from Zedd and went on with stunning hit after hit like the vintage “Sound Of Goodbye.”
Major Lazer, again featuring Diplo onstage with his expected antics, pulled hordes of willing females into the front and center spotlight to dance during his affectionately titled track “Bubble Butt.” And once again, it seemed featured artists at the Live Stage could use a bigger hosting area. The same could be said for follow-up classic Snoop Dogg who alone accommodated about 100 of his closest friends stage side and thousands more in the over-packed crowd.
For many it was the ultimate closing in more ways than one witnessing the artists who posted the following on their Facebook page, “Nervous. No words to describe it. No limit to the memories. No way to say thank you enough. Ultra…here we come. One Last Tour…for One Last Time.” For many fans leaving the festival on this last day it was a similar sentiment and melancholic euphoria as to these words from Swedish House Mafia.
If it’s any consolation with each passing day we’re one day closer to the next Ultra and we can appreciate one fan’s optimistic Facebook comment, “I’m ready for ultra 2014 already!!!!!”
Ultra Music Festival fans somehow managed to pull themselves together after day one and were eager to get started for more of the same thrill, masses and music on day two (read our recap of day one here). They filled the venue in no time to get this party started.
On the Bayfront Stage Nic Fanciulli, scheduled for a solo set, played a surprise tag team set when he was joined by fellow house DJ associate Joris Voorn. A catchy, memorable moment was when the duo dropped a remix of Snap’s “The Power.”
One of the anticipations and then highlights of Ultra Music Festival was Fatboy Slim’s spirited set on the main stage. He was obviously and visibly having a blast playing the archives for the veteran fans but also furnishing a new twist of remixes for the newcomers and did not disappoint either group. His winning set included remixes of his famous “Star 69,” an anthem from Ultra of years gone by. He dropped an unlikely but pleasantly surprising (Fatboy) mashup of Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” with Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” while also displaying an Andy Warhol style image of Ms. Summer. The image was decorated with sparkle highlights reminiscent of her glitzy disco era from which she vastly contributed.
Fans planted themselves along the crowd-control gates of the main stage for hours and periodically waved flags from their home country, held hand-made, posterboard signs of “I’d Rather Be At Ultra” and endured the hot sun in dedication to catch their favorites.
Speaking of dedication, a male fan in a wheel chair allowed himself to be hoisted up in the third row during Zeds Dead at the Dropzone Stage to be more up-close-and-personal to the artists and show his ultimate fan support. He garnered cheers and applause becoming an instant crowd favorite.
At the Dropzone Stage drum ‘n’ bass great Subfocus played the dance heavy “Out The Blue” and “Get Free” featuring the vocals of Amber Coffman of Dirty Projectors.
For a man who needs no introduction these days, Calvin Harris charmed the Main Stage crowd with, “Hello Miami. I’m Calvin Harris. And you’re looking beautiful tonight.” He dropped his Rihanna collaboration smash hit “We Found Love” and his former (and still) Ultra hit “In My Mind.”
Over at the Live Stage German house duo Booka Shade played a live set with their signature percussion, synths, drums and chimes blending a magical variation of sounds so fitting for this tropical evening under the stars in the amphitheater setting.
Throughout the year, under the air of discussion of will he or won’t he play Ultra, Deadmau5 indeed played Ultra and closed out the Main Stage in true Deadmau5 fashion. Recognizable only by his silhouette, donning a mouse head that was a sphere of LEDs with LED covered ears, he appeared flanking his personalized decks, waved to fans then hopped up to man the music controls. He started off significantly deep with a slow mix of his Kaskade collaboration “I Remember.” He played on with “Raise Your Weapon” as the crowd chanted along. Zelda images appeared on the backdrop and DJ deck screens while “Zelda’s Theme/You Need A Ladder” boomed in the background. Periodic blasts of cryogenic and multi-colored streamer shoots filled the stage front and filtered throughout the crowd marking numerous grand finales of Ultra Day Two.
