A year after they engaged in a bitter feud on Twitter, house hero DJ Sneak and former Swedish House Mafia member Steve Angello have collaborated on a musical project called Surprise. Apparently the union came about when the two DJs crossed paths at an airport a few months ago. Instead of exchanging insults, the DJs took the high road and traded tracks, leading to their unlikely musical partnership. The bad news? Fans interested in hearing their collaboration are going to have to wait until April Fools’ Day 2222. Sources close to both DJs tell us their associated string of club gigs will only take place in Antarctica — which will find them tag teaming on two cassette decks and two 8-track players — will be dubbed the When Hell Freezes Over tour. We’ll keep you posted as we learn more on this, er, interesting and most unlikely musical union.
Thursday it was all about the Dim Mak Pool Party with Steve Aoki and friends at the Raleigh Hotel Pool. His “friends” included DJ Carnage who greeted with a dubstep version of “Save The World.” Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike offered up a mix rendition of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” into Daft Punk’s “One More Time.” Sidney Sampson delivered spot-on blends of electro house, progress house and dubstep.
Dim Mak’s head honcho Aoki set it off with his Afrojack collaboration “No Beef.” It made sense because the surprise guest Afrojack was actually in the booth manning the decks at the moment. Aoki dropped another crowd pleaser with Kid Cudi’s “Pursuit Of Happiness.”
The sets were slathered with water blasts, cryogenics, champagne sprays, crowd rafting and cake — lots and lots of cake. Aoki aggressively burrowed into an oversized sheet cake, mixing it up before offering teaser samplings to front-row fans. With the crowd roaring anticipation to be one of his welcome victims, Aoki heaved the massive cake to the first few rows of willing fans to more uproarious applause and encouraging. All the while he played Borgore “Decisions” or commonly and affectionately referred to as the “Bitches Love Cake.” He spun for maybe 30 minutes then rode in a raft with a buddy. He sprayed the crowd with champagne and went running around for another half hour while the crowd ate it all up (literally). The tracks magically transitioned and one had to wonder how this is possible and who’s manning the decks. Sometimes it was electro house veteran Benny Benassi, sometimes Afrojack and occasionally Aoki. It was a spontaneous team effort. Aoki introduced a new dub-inspired track he said he wrote with Flux Pavillion so that’s one to watch for.
Electro-house DJ/producer Felix Cartel took to the decks in a massive way dishing out energetic and thumping tracks right from the start. He played his own, winning “No Sleep” and wound down with one of many remixes of “Clarity.” He wasted no time instigating the crowd and keeping them engaged even after his follow-up to his Dim Mak boss’s antics. Mr. Cartel also should be another on everyone’s one-to-continue-to-watch list.
The night closed out (or was just getting started) with a cab ride over to Miami’s Club Space for an opening, heaping, lively, earful from Bassjackers. Each and every track was just as kicking as the previous. Note-to-self, look into Bassjackers mixes or podcasts. He dropped a remix of the fun-loving, vocoder-laden “Easy” from dynamo’s Porter Robinson & Mat Zo. When he dropped a remix of “Maximal Crazy” it seemed a subliminal reference to the substantial crowd, ambiguous winding lines and hysteria to get into the venue tonight.
Ferry Corsten followed up with one of his winning archives “Rock Your Body Rock,” last year’s captivating “Check It Out” and his melodic “Live Forever.” Menno de Jong and Giuseppe Ottavianni were also on hand mingling with the A-list VIP’s.
Tritonal was in house rounding out the lineup and celebrating posting the following on Facebook, “Let’s all wish my best friend and awesome partner, David Reed, a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Let’s rock this party dude!!” A perfect example of DJ’s partying in true style.
Wednesday of Miami Music Week launched with what was promoted as a “We’re All Friends! 8 hours and 8 labels Beach Party” featuring A-Trak, Boys Noize, Skrillex, the electro disco-house sounds of Bromance and more. When a promoter and artist manager e-mails you and asks, “Can I really not tempt you to the pool party tomorrow?” and it’s featured poolside at the lovely South Beach Raleigh Hotel, with this lineup, how could you pass. A 45-minute downpour only added to the intensity of the crowd’s passion especially when it was an all-hands-on-deck moment literally as almost all of the featured artists gathered on the stage for a few rounds of tracks.
An impromptu interview with Chicago house great Felix da Housecat gave some insight to his cherished EDM roots and what EDM artist he’s feeling these days as a rising star in the business. Spoiler alert: his response was Boys Noize who minutes later spontaneously appeared at the poolside lounge interview sight where the two proceeded to offer their mutual appreciation for each other’s contribution and influence on the scene.
Concerned about missing the minimal timeslot of the multi-faceted South African duo of Dominic Peters and David Poole (better known as Goldfish), the mad dash across the street to the Gale Hotel rooftop presented a pleasant surprise result. Goldfish’s set was delayed due to the earlier downpour and they were just now setting up for their timeslot. Once settled their creative utilization of an electric up-right bass, saxophone, keyboards, flute, the Roland MC 909 sequencer/synth and vocals created an upbeat, funky, jazz, African-influenced dance music so pleasantly and surprisingly unique. Massive imagery spanning the façade of a nearby midrise projecting the artistic, cult, martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the multi-colored sky from the post-storm setting sun, and the aroma of the jerk chicken and rice available at the rooftop event offered the perfect elements to the outdoor set.
Midweek Miami nightlife was in true form as always during Miami Music Week presenting an eclectic palette of choices from the drum ‘n’ bass of Andy C, Goldie and Ed Rush & Optical at Therapy to the Kyau & Albert and Dennis Sheperd event at Club Euforia. LA’s DJ Kristina Sky, DJ duo Myon & Shane54 and Anjunadeep’s DJ Jaytech were on hand at Euforia to show support, network and mingle with fans. Jaytech was honored to hear Kyau & Albert play his recent smash hit “Stranger” offering a lip-synch rendition from the VIP. Closing time at 4am at Euforia on this particular night was still not an indication that the Miami nightlife was over and that fans were turning in for the night any time soon.
Las Vegas’ club scene continues to explode with Light at Mandalay Bay and Hakkasan announcing they will both open in April. Light, a state-of-the-art nightclub operated by Cirque du Soleil and The Light Group, will present resident Nicky Romero, Clockwork and Andy Caldwell on April 26, followed by resident Axwell with Hook N Sling on April 27. The club says it has “confirmed partnerships” with world-renowned DJs including Skrillex, Sebastian Ingrosso, Alesso, Baauer, Thomas Gold, A-Trak, Mat Zo, Otto Knows and many others.
Hakkasan, a five-level culinary/nightlife experience, will open its Las Vegas outpost on April 18 at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino. The club, which is sprawled out over 10,000 square feet on the fifth floor of a spectacular building, will also feature state-of-the-art design and technology , promising DJ talent including Tiësto, Calvin Harris, deadmau5, Steve Aoki, Bambi, Bingo Players, Bob Sinclar, Dada Life, Danny Avila, Fergie (DJ), Hardwell, Laidback Luke, Michael Woods, NERVO, Quintino, R3HAB and Tommy Trash.
The influx of nightclubs in Sin City will no doubt be a boon to DJs given that both clubs are well financed. But will both clubs’ deep pockets lead to a bidding war for DJ talent? We’ll find out soon enough.
