Posted by: Derek

whoa, what a ride…

As mentioned in my [last podcast post] I just got back from Miami Music Week, and hot damn that was alot of awesome.
Industry parties, pool parties, things happening at all hours, craziness all around.

Given that nearly the entire dance music community was there it was a great place to meet friends, listen to some amazing tunes at arms-length from legendary spinners, and bask in the sun and the beats coming from every direction (even Wallgreens had a DJ!).

roger sanchez - yup, he's right there.

Besides new connections and great memories though, one of the most incredible things I took away from the experience was the power of dance music as a uniting and unifying force for all sorts of people. This was present on every dancefloor in town, where the vibe was just ALIVE in some indescribable way, from the small events to the huge warehouses. However, the largest events seemed to showcase it the most - Above & Beyond’s Anjunabeats Ice Palace event was incredible, and the biggest of them all - Ultra Music Festival - trumped all reason.

Ultra is insane.
According to the figures, this year was attended by over 100,000 peeps.

ultramainstage

The amount of people there should be absolute chaos, and if you look at the aftermath photos it still was to some extent.

However, nothing speaks to the human spirit like 70,000 people in sync with the DJ and each other in an undulating, bouncing, flowing tide.

Though every stage at Ultra shared this, the tent (or blimp hanger I should say) shared by Carl Cox and then A State Of Trance 500 was off the charts.

Absolutely nothing like it - look in any direction and thousands of people are experiencing what you are, bobbing to Carl Cox’s impeccable rhythmic melange, or completely losing it to Gareth Emery throw down Forbidden City.

The crowning moment for me had to be when Ferry Corsten threw down Beautiful - and the message hit home, leaving the entire arena crying, laughing, jumping, and sweating their hearts out. Very meta in a way, as one of the (minimal) lyrics to this tune is “Let the music carry us together” — it did, and in a way impossible through any other medium.

I’ll have to get a video from somewhere of this slice of time — it was absolutely incredible - will post if I find.

If you’re interested in seeing more pix of what Miami is like during music week, check out my album on Facebook.
And if we’re not friended on there, add me for chrissakes ^_^.

Bienvenido a Miami!

PS - I had the awesome chance to spin on one of the smaller Ultra stages! it was epic. and very miami. see below:

Posted by: Matt

Back in 2004 I’d either just bought my first set of turntables or was still mooching off a housemate, but I was definitely buying records already. I really had no solid direction when it came to record hunting, so I just set off down the trail, stopping to sniff at whatever might pique my interest.

I did like me some Underworld at the time, which lead me roundabouts to Darren Emerson’s Underwater Records. A tromp through their catalog turned up Mateo Murphy’s Meltdown/Panic single, which was pretty rave-y for me in those days, as I was spending a lot of my time in Minimal Techno land, but its combination of evil, distorted bass and squelchy acid couldn’t be ignored.

Seven years later, and I just rediscovered it during a move and threw it back on the decks. It bangs my mind as much today as it did then. They’re so sinister and driving. I love it.

(The mp3s are rips from the vinyl. I think there might be a skip in one of them. I would have happily bought them if someone was selling…)

Panic

Meltdown

Like these? Check out more Mateo Murphy on Beatport.

Posted by: Jay

On the podcast this week I am very pleased to present DJ Dahzen, all the way from Japan! Dahzen helped me with the series of “Shine” parties I started in Aizu way back in 2006, and has kept the star lit ever since (Shine turns five years old this year, whooo hoo!!). He brings a blend of blissful beats with him to mellow your mind and soul. in his own words:

“Sun Down” is a multipurpose mix good for watching the sun set, chillin’ in the zone, gettin’ seditative, romancin’ or whatever you regard as chill.

‘Nuff said. Kick up your feat and enjoy the mellow grooves!

DJ Dahzen - Sun down (right click and “Save as…” to download)

Posted by: Jay

DJ Dahazen’s Sun Down is a multipurpose blend of blissful beats good for watching the sun set, loungin, romancin & general chillin.

Posted by: Cor

The Beekeepers first landed on my radar last year when their funky hiphop/breaks jam Transcript was featured on the Jalapeno Funk Vol. 2 compilation. You can check that track out right here and then come back. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

Okay, so given the feel of that last single you can imagine my surprise when I heard their latest offering: a pair of lush orchestral breaks tracks that seemed to come out of… well, leftfield.* Dark Ascending’s slow beat and building strings give it a feeling of impending greatness, like the soundtrack to a good action flick; that scene where the hero gets suited up in slo-mo in preparation for the final confrontation. You know the kind. Sea Change has more of a pensive feel, looking back with a feeling of accomplishment. Maybe this is playing during the end credits, the picture starts to fade as our hero, bruised but not broken, having defeated seemingly insurmountable odds, walks away into a better world.

Er, what was I talking about? Oh right. The Ascending Change EP is a sampler of a forth-coming album from the Beekeepers titled Apiculture, and if the rest of the LP follows suit, I’m sure I’ll be picking it up when it releases. Meanwhile, enjoy the samples, and hit up the links to purchase these tracks now if you can’t wait for the full album. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go shoot the next great super hero movie.

Dark Ascending

Sea Change

Buy ‘em: beatport | iTunes

* Leftfield is a rarely-used term for a poorly-defined subset of downtempo music… though I’m now wondering if the usage above is exactly how the name came to be.