WMC - Not to miss

With the world’s best DJs in Miami for WMC, there are a mountain of club events happening during the week that cover the entire spectrum of dance music. That makes it hard to know which events to attend and which ones to miss.

Knowing that most Beatportal users are DJs and appreciate the art of DJing, we’ve put together a list of the 10 Miami DJ sets that you shouldn’t miss. All the jocks we’ve selected are DJs’ DJs, and are guaranteed to rock their crowd for their own reasons.

Find our top picks after the jump.


ATFC @ Defected in the House

Date: Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Time: 10 pm - 5 am
Where: SET Miami / 320 Lincoln Road, South Beach
Line-up: Kenny Dope [a], Chocolate Puma [a], Studio Apartment [a] + more

Kicking off this year’s WMC early, Beatportal’s 2008 House Artist of the Year ATFC [a] will celebrate ten years of Defected [l] at this party. Expect driving, big room house and a fine backing line-up that includes some of the prestigious label’s top dogs.


Dubfire @ SCI+TEC


Date: Wednesday, 25 March 2009
Time: 10:00 - 5:00
Where: Dubfire and Traktor present SCI+TEC @ Space / 34 NE 11th St., Downtown Miami
Line-up: Davide Squillace [a], Paul Ritch [a], Dubfire [a], Oliver Huntemann [a]


Dubfire [a] will most likely destroy his SCI+TEC label showcase party that is being co-hosted by Traktor. With an exclusive performance from WMC virgin Oliver Huntemann [a] and Parisian Paul Ritch [a] doing a live set, dazzling techno will be in abundance.


Luciano @ Viva vs Cadenza

Date:Thursday, 26 March 2009
Time: 9:00pm - 2:00pm
Where: Club Space / 34 NE 11 Street, Downtown Miami
Cost: $40 until midnight, $60 12am- 2pm
Line-up: Mark Knight [a], Dirty South [a], Dave Spoon [a], Steve Lawler [a], Reboot [a] and more


Chilean master Luciano [a] rarely makes it Stateside (our sources tell us that he’s planning to conquer the US next), and this special event at Space unites his label Cadenza with Steve Lawler’s Viva, where they’ll be taking over the infamous Space terrace well into the next afternoon. With Cadenza artists Reboot, Mirko Loco and Bearweasel providing support, and Desolat main man Loco Dice [a] making an appearance alongside terrace king Steve Lawler, you can bet this will be nothing short of hedonistic bliss. And with Mark Knight’s Toolroom in the main room, there’ll be something for everyone.




Sasha and Digweed @ Mansion


Date: Thursday, 26 March 2009- Miami WMC
Time: 10:00pm - 5:00am Mansion
Where: Mansion/ 1235 Washington Avenue, South Beach, Miami
Cost: $50+
Line-up: Sasha [a] & John Digweed [a], Guy J [a]

No WMC would be complete without a set from one of the strongest DJ partnerships in history, Sasha [a] & John Digweed [a]. Marvel at Sasha’s euphoric trip, worship Digweed’s programming, and hope for a little bit of magic, for when these two get on a roll, there are few dancefloor journeys more engaging.



Richie Hawtin @ Minus

Date: Thursday, 26 March 2009
Time: 10pm
Where: Karu & Y/ 71 NW 14th Street, Miami
Cost: $30
Line-up: Richie Hawtin [a], Marco Carola [a], Paco Osuna [a], Troy Pierce [a], Konrad Black [a], Barem [a], Gaiser [a] live, JPLS [a] live

With the Minus crew altogether under one roof, expect a night of quality, undiluted techno. Marco Corola, Paco Osuna [a] and Gaiser [a] have all probably planned bespoke sets for their Minus showcase, but the night will undoubtedly belong to Richie Hawtin [a], the king of forward thinking electronic music and DJ culture. He’ll deconstruct, reconstruct, filter, delay and mash-up driving techno in his own unique way, whilst everyone around him will scratch their heads in equal parts bemusement and bewilderment.


The Martinez Brothers @ Objektivity

Date: Thursday, 26 March 2009- Miami WMC
Time: 9:00pm - 5:00am
Where:SoBe Live/ 1203 Washington Avene, South Beach.
Line-up: Dennis Ferrer [a], The Martinez Brothers [a], Karizma [a], Argy [a], Filsonik [a]

New York house legend Dennis Ferrer [a] will showcase the latest toast of New York, the young Martinez Brothers, at this Objektivity party. Though not old enough to indulge in the festivities, these two demonstrate prowess beyond their years and are bound to turn the party out.


Seth Troxler and Konrad Black @ One Night Only


Date: Friday, 27 March 2009
Time: 10:00pm - Noon
Where: Karu & Y / 71 NW 14th Street, Miami
Cost: $35 General Admission
Line-Up: Guy J [a], Guy Gerber [a], Laidback Luke [a], Misstress Barbara [a], Paco Osuna [a], Onur Özer, and more

As the most currently hyped member of the Berlin brat pack, Seth Troxler’s profile has soared in the last year and this back to back set with Konrad Black is set up to be one of the great performances of the conference. Troxler’s soulful minimal with Black’s wonky techno will go perfectly together – in fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if the pair collaborate on projects in the future off the back of this set.


Boys Noize @ Boysnoize Records Party


Date: Friday, 27 March 2009
Time: 10:00pm - 5:00am Louis
Where: Louis/ 2325 Collins Avenue at the Gansevoort South, Miami Beach 33139
Cost: $25+
Line-up: Boys Noize [a], D.I.M. [a], Shadow Dancer [a], Strip Steve [a] + more

The inimitable Boys Noize heads this line-up of rising electro stardom on his own robust imprint. Mr. Alex Ridha has carved a fairly cavernous niche for himself in the electro circuit, and we recommend you mosey on down and see for yourself what all the fuss is about.



Mark Farina @ 15 Years of Om

Date: Saturday, 28 March 2009
Time: 10pm-close
Where: Karu & Y / 71 NW 14th Street, Downtown Miami
Line Up: Kruder & Dorfmeister [a], Diplo [a], Chromeo [a], Radio Slave [a], DJ Sneak [a], Mike Monday [a] (live), Colette [a], DJ Heather [a], Chuck Love [a] + more

The legendary master of deep and smooth grooves Mark Farina will be celebrating with the good folks at Om Records 15 years of going strong. This San Francisco label has been on point since its inception, and this party is sure to be a doozy. The roster is stellar, and includes an exclusive U.S appearance from the one and only Kruder and Dorfmeister powerhouse duo. Definitely not to be missed.



Arpiar @ Circo Loco WMC ‘09

Date: Saturday, 28 March 2009
Time: 10:00pm - ??
Where: Nocturnal Terrace / 50 NE 11th St Miami, FL 33132
Line-up: Timo Maas [a], Tania Vulcano [a], Tiefschwarz [a], Lee Burridge [a] + more

Despite probably not having a home anymore, the Circo Loco crew have put their Ibiza troubles behind them for this impressive one-off WMC event. Out of all the glorious DC10 residents appearing on the Nocturnal Terrace, our pick has to go to Romanian threesome Arpiar [a], the most hyped DJ threesome in history. Raresh [a], Rhadoo [a] and Pedro [a] are veritable gods in their home country (their press dodging abilities are good enough to challenge Vilallobos’ crown as the most elusive characters in electronic music), and they have destroyed DC10 enough times to now be considered a global phenomenon. Expect carefully crafted house and techno, classics and upfront grooves, mixed seamlessly using nothing but vinyl and good old fashioned DJ bravado.



Cassy @ Sunday School for Degenerates


Date: Saturday, 28 March 2009- Miami WMC
Time: all day
Where: Ice Palace/ 59 NW 14th Street, Miami
Line-up: D’Julz, Joris Voorn [a], Matthew Dear [a], Solomun [a], Steve Bug [a], Stimming [a] (live) and more

On paper, a set from 8-10 pm doesn’t sound very exciting, but when you take into account that the Sunday schoolers would have been already going for 22 hours, Cassy’s closing set suddenly sounds more like a case of last man standing than a warm-up set to no-one. This annual hedonistic extravaganza is memorable for being debauched and for attracting deranged party people, and Cassy [a] will no doubt go straight for the jugular. Wrap up warm, and then when it’s all over, you can go home and cry yourself to sleep.
And don’t forget Beatport’s Pool Parties!

We deliberately didn’t include any DJ sets from our pool parties in our feature because it’d be impossible for us to play favourites with this little list:
Thursday, March 26

3 to 4 Alex Khadiwala [Beatport]
4 to 5 A-Trak [Fools Gold]
5 to 6Juan MacLean [DFA]
6 to 7 Tiga [Turbo Recordings]
7 to 8 Tommie Sunshine [Ultra]
8 to 9 Funkagenda [Toolroom]
9 to 10 Boys Noize [Boysnoize Records]
Friday, March 27

3 to 4 ATFC [Defected]
4 to 5 Johnny D [Oslo]
5 to 6 The Martinez Brothers [Objektivity]
6 to 7 Dennis Ferrer [Objektivity]
7 to 8 Louie Vega featuring Anane [Vega]
8 to 9 DJ Sneak [Magnetic Recordings]
9 to 10 Laidback Luke [Mixmash]
Saturday, March 28

3 to 4 Terry Church [Beatport]
4 to 5 Damian Lazarus [Crosstown Rebels]
5 to 6 Radio Slave [Rekids]
6 to 7 Steve Lawler [Viva Music]
7 to 8 Josh Wink [Ovum]
8 to 9 Marco Carola [Plus 8 & 2M]
9 to 10 Adam Beyer [Drumcode]
Sunday, March 29

12 to 1 DJ Axel Von Greiff [Maroon 5 Imeem Remix Winner]
1 to 2 Stephan Bodzin [Jazzmutant Lemur Showcase]
2 to 3 DJ Reza [Saturday Night Sessions]
3 to 4 Martijn ten Velden [Phonetic Recordings]
4 to 5 Hatiras [Hatrax]
5 to 6 Olivier Giacomotto [Definitive]
6 to 7 Special Guest To Be Announced
7 to 8 Robbie Rivera [Juicy Music]
8 to 9 Sebastian Ingrosso [Refune Records]
9 to 10 Steve Angello [Size Records]

Respected techno DJ and producer Misstress Barbara [a] dropped the first single from her debut solo album ‘I’m No Human’ today, which ironically sees Barbara adding more of a human touch to her music than ever before.

Having approached the album from a singer/songwriter perspective, all 11 tracks on her album feature her own vocals and lyrics, but also includes contributions from leftfield king Bjorn Yttling of Peter Bjorn & John [a], Canadian rock artist Sam Roberts and NYC electro group Brazilian Girls [a].

For an artist that used to be considered one of the fiercest hard techno DJs in the business, it’s a dramatic transformation.

‘Dance Me To The End of Love’ cover


The lead single which was released today is a cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Dance Me To The End Of Love’, a techno pop ballad that has a hint of Björk about it.

Barbara said of the track, “I was really inspired and did it in one afternoon.”

In a video interview with Beatportal in 2007, Misstress Barbara admitted that she struggled to move away from the harder techno sounds that she used to play, towards slower, more minimal music.

She said at the time, “People expect DJs not to change, people expect nothing to change, people are conservative. But when you’re an artist, of course you change. Thank God you change. It’s the evolution of everything you’re feeling inside.”

‘I’m No Human’ then, is where Misstress Barbara is at in 2009. It’s due for release in May.
Misstress Barbara: upcoming tour dates

February 6th – Forum, Medellin - Colombia
February 7th – The Cave, Santo Domingo – Dominican Republic
February 14th – BCM, Palma De Mallorca - Spain
February 20th – She Club, Villasar - Spain
February 24th – Smile Club, Benevento - Italy
March 5th – Parking, Montreal - Canada
March 13th - CMW Maple Music Recordings Showcase @ Wrong Bar, Toronto -Canada
March 26th – 29th – Winter Music Conference, Miami FL - USA
April 3rd – Klubbers Day, Madrid - Spain
April 4th – Shadow Club, Athens - Greece
May 2nd – Pacha, Buenos Aires - Argentina


dance me to the end of love - Mistress Barbara


* Get these tracks on Beatport.com

The nominees for the Beatport Music Awards 2009, the annual awards that aim to recognize electronic music talent, have just been announced and voting is now open at: beatportal.com/awards/beatport-music-awards-2009

To keep the awards fair and relevant to the whole electronic music scene, the nominees were chosen based solely on unit sales on Beatport during 2008 and are broken down into separate genre categories.

The public must now decide which artists and tracks deserve to be recognized by casting their vote.

Here is the full list of nominees:
Best Artists 2008

Best Breaks Artist
Agent K [a]
Ed Solo [a]
Far Too Loud [a]
Freestylers [a]
General MIDI [a]
Krafty Kuts [a]
NAPT [a]
Plump DJs [a]
Slyde [a]
Stanton Warriors [a]

Best Chillout Artist
Boards Of Canada [a]
Christian Prommers Drumlesson [a]
Eddie Silverton [a]
Fort Knox Five [a]
Jazzanova [a]
Mr. Scruff [a]
Nightmares On Wax [a]
Peter Bjorn & John [a]
Quiet Village [a]
Thievery Corporation [a]

Best Deep House Artist
After Tea [a]
Dennis Ferrer [a]
DPlay [a]
Jimpster [a]
Kevin Yost [a]
Manuel Tur [a]
Milton Jackson [a]
Osunlade [a]
Scope (Ric McClelland) [a]
Studio Apartment [a]

Best Drum & Bass Artist
Break [a]
Brookes Brothers [a]
Chase & Status [a]
Danny Byrd [a]
Evol Intent [a]
Logistics [a]
Lomax [a]
Noisia [a]
Nu:Tone [a]
Spor [a]

Best Dubstep Artist
Bar 9 [a]
Benga [a]
Burial [a]
Caspa [a]
DZ [a]
Martyn [a]
Nero (UK) [a]
Reso [a]
Rusko [a]

Best Electro House Artist
Deadmau5 [a]
Dirty South [a]
Hatiras [a]
John Dahlback [a]
Miles Dyson [a]
Pryda [a]
Robbie Rivera [a]
Sebastien Leger [a]
Tocadisco [a]
Wolfgang Gartner [a]

Best Electronica Artist
Aphex Twin [a]
Apparat [a]
Autechre [a]
Ellen Allien [a]
Flying Lotus [a]
Miss Kittin [a]
Modeselektor [a]
Paul Kalkbrenner [a]
Sebastien Tellier [a]
Underworld [a]
TRG [a]

Best Hard Dance Artist
BK [a]
DJ Zany [a]
Donkey Rollers [a]
Headhunterz [a]
Lisa Lashes [a]
Scooter [a]
Showtek [a]
The Real Booty Babes [a]
Vinylgroover [a]
Zatox [a]

Best Hardcore/Hard Techno Artist
Art Of Fighters [a]
Boris S [a]
Evil Activities [a]
Gammer [a]
Jason Little [a]
Sven Wittekind [a]
Sy [a]
Tha Playah [a]
The Stunned Guys [a]
Unknown [a]

Best House Artist
Antoine Clamaran [a]
ATFC [a]
Axwell [a]
Danny Tenaglia [a]
David Penn [a]
Fedde Le Grand [a]
Juan Magan [a] & Marcos Rodriguez [a]
Kaskade [a]
Laidback Luke [a]
Mastiksoul [a]

Best Indie Dance/Nu Disco Artist
Alex Metric [a]
Bag Raiders [a]
Boys Noize [a]
Chromeo [a]
In Flagranti [a]
Justice [a]
Mr. Oizo [a]
MSTRKRFT [a]
SebastiAn [a]
The Kills [a]

Best Minimal Artist
Ahmet Sendil [a]
Alex Young [a]
Barem [a]
Gaiser [a]
Giash [a] & Til Yali [a]
Kanio [a]
Marc Houle [a]
Phunklarique [a]
Prompt [a]
Robag Wruhme [a]

Best Progressive House Artist
Adam K [a] & Soha [a]
Deadmau5 [a]
Dousk [a]
EDX [a]
Eric Prydz [a]
Jaytech [a]
Jerome Isma-Ae [a]
Ned Shepard [a]
Sultan [a]

Best Psy Trance Artist
Ace Ventura [a]
Burn In Noise [a]
Day Din [a]
Dualism [a]
Freq [a]
Liquid Soul [a]
Odiseo [a]
Perfect Stranger [a]
Symphonix [a]

Best Tech House Artist
Booka Shade [a]
Funkagenda [a]
James Harcourt [a]
Jerome Sydenham [a]
Johnny D [a]
Mark Knight [a]
Radio Slave [a]
Solomun [a]
Stimming [a]
Tiger Stripes [a]
Zen Mechanics [a]
Thomas Gold [a]
The Shapeshifters [a]

Best Techno Artist
Christian Smith [a] & John Selway [a]
Dubfire [a]
Format:B [a]
Gregor Tresher [a]
Lutzenkirchen [a]
Minilogue [a]
Oliver Huntemann [a]
Paul Ritch [a]
Popof [a]
Radio Slave [a]

Best Trance Artist
Above & Beyond [a]
Armin Van Buuren [a]
DJ Tiesto [a]
Gareth Emery [a]
Kyau & Albert [a]
Lange [a]
Markus Schulz [a]
Martin Roth [a]
Paul van Dyk [a]
Sean Tyas [a]

Best Tracks 2008

Best Breaks Track
Far Too Loud ‘You Know the Sound feat. Subsource’ (Original Mix)
NAPT ‘Gotta Have More Cowbell’ (Original Mix)
Slyde ‘Frequency’ (NAPT Remix)

Best Chill Out Track
Âme ‘Doldrums’ (Original Mix)
Jerome Isma-Ae ‘Underwater Love’ (Original Mix)
Smooth Touch ‘10 Minutes of Pleasure feat. G-Sax’ (Original Mix)

Best Deep House Track
Manuel Tur, D Play ‘Deviate’ (Original Mix)
Milton Jackson ‘Ghosts In My Machine’ (Original Mix)
Studio Apartment ‘I’m In Love feat. Ron Carroll’ (Rasmus Faber Epic Instrumental Mix)

Best Drum & Bass Track
Bachelors of Science ‘Strings Track’ (Apex Remix)
Lomax, Focus ‘5 Weeks’ (Original Mix)
Sub Focus ‘Timewarp’ (Original Mix)

Best Dubstep Track
DZ ‘Down’ (Original Mix)
Rusko ‘Cockney Thug’ (Original Mix)
TC ‘Where’s My Money’ (Caspa Remix)

Best Electro House Track
Boys Noize ‘Oh!’ (A-Trak Remix)
Jean Claude Ades, Vincent Thomas ‘Shingaling’ (Original Mix)
Sandy Vee ‘Bleep’ (Original Mix)

Best Electronica Track
Loco Dice ‘M Train to Brooklyn’ (Original Mix)
Paul Kalkbrenner ‘Queer Fellow’ (Original Mix)
The Martin Brothers ‘Dum’ (Original Mix)

Best Hard Dance Track
Headhunterz, Tatanka ‘Call It Music’ (Original Mix)
Showtek ‘We Live For The Music’ (Original Mix)
The Real Booty Babes ‘Derb 08’ (Club Remix)

Best Hardcore/Hard Techno Track
Kamui ‘Spielzeug’ (Original Mix)
Miche & Mirzinho ‘Shamans’ (Original Mix)
Raul Mezcolanza ‘Want You Bad’ (Original Mix)

Best House Track
Eric Prydz ‘Pjanoo’ (Original Mix)
Snap! ‘Rhythm Is A Dancer’ (Novy vs. Snap! Remix)
The Shapeshifters ‘Lola’s Theme’ (2008 Re-Edit)

Best Indie Dance/Nu Disco
Kid Cudi ‘Day ‘N’ Nite’ (Crookers Remix)
SebastiAn ‘Momy’ (Original Mix)
Streetlife DJs ‘Gunn Crime’ (Original Mix)

Best Minimal Track
Giash, Til Yali ‘My Little Ladybirds’ (Original Mix)
Phunklarique, Dejonka ‘Reflections in Plexiglass’ (Original Mix)
Prompt ‘Evolve’ (Original Mix)

Best Progressive House Track
Delerium ‘Silence feat. Sarah McLachlan’ (Niels van Gogh vs. Thomas Gold Remix)
Mind X ’Sensation Seekers’ (Martin Roth NuStyle Remix)
Thomas Schwartz ‘Jupiter Calling’ (Original Mix)

Best Psy Trance Track
Burn In Noise ‘Transparent’ (Original Mix)
Liquid Soul ‘Prophecy’ (Original Mix)
Symphonix ‘People of the Dawn’ (Original Mix)

Best Tech House Track
George Delkos ‘Deftoner’ (Original Mix)
James Harcourt ‘Call and Response’ (Original Mix)
Laurent Garnier ‘Man With The Red Face’ (Mark Knight and Funkagenda Original Club Mix)

Best Techno Track
Dataworx ‘Control’ (Original Mix)
Koen Groenveld ‘ Wake Turbulence’ (Original Mix)
Mark Mendes ‘Beneath You’ (Original Mix)

Best Trance Track
Blank & Jones, Bernard Sumner ‘Miracle Cure’ (Martin Roth Nu Style Dub Mix)
Cressida ‘6AM’ (Kyau & Albert Remix)
Simon Patterson ‘Smack’ (Original Mix)

Putting together a Top 10 singles of the year list reminds me of that old saying “opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.”

And indeed, the Beatportal team debated long and hard about which tracks would make into our final Top 10 Singles list of 2008.

We spent hours arguing over how the feature would take shape, like whether it would be the biggest club tracks of the year or the most influential electronic cuts of 2008.

In the end, we decided to put something of a personal touch to our list.

These singles aren’t necessarily the biggest club bangers of the year or the biggest sellers (because popularity doesn’t necessarily equate to greatness), but rather they are tracks that shaped our year at Beatportal, from artists whom we felt did really great things in 2008.

We hope you enjoy these records as much as we do, and please feel free to express your support for, or indeed your disgust with, our choices, and don’t forget to add your own Top 10 in our comments section.

After all, you have an asshole don’t you?

1. SIS ‘Nesrib’ [Cecille]


Get SIS ‘Nesrib’ (Hardwax) [vinyl]

What a year Turkish producer SIS has had.

Having caused near riots on global dancefloors in the summer with the trumpet-led minimal house track ‘Trompeta’ on Ricardo Villalobos’ vinyl-only Sei Is Drum label, he followed up with the cataclysmic ‘Nesrib’ on Cecille.

Sampling the 1988 pop song ‘The Right Stuff’ by Vanessa Williams, SIS twisted a snippet of the original vocal into an evolving multi-layered delight that had all the hallmarks of a dancefloor bomb - a recognizable vocal, a four and half minute DJ-friendly intro and a perfect tech house groove.

SIS’ music was so forward thinking this year that on some forums people even suggested that it might be Ricardo Villalobos himself behind the productions, but it was in fact a little known Offenbach-based producer called Burak Sar, who to this day remains a difficult character to track down.

The sad thing about ‘Nesrib’ is that it will never see the digital light of day because of a certain uncleared sample.


2. Johnny D ‘Orbitallife’ [Oslo]


Back in March, Beatportal contributor Zack Rico said, “I haven’t heard a single record more exciting than ‘Orbitallife’ this year. Mark my words, Johnny D will be a star because of it.”

Then in May, Luciano included ‘Orbitallife’ in his famed ‘Fabric 41’ mix CD for the London club. After that, ‘Orbitallife’ entered that strange freeze-thaw electronic music cycle where records hot up in Ibiza but get so overplayed in the summer that they cool down, almost to the point of being reviled.

But there’s a reason that certain tracks reach a point of oversaturation, and the cause of the rise and fall of ‘Orbitallife’ was its rolling house groove that refused to let up for 12 minutes.

It was the ultimate DJ tool. From its driving bongo loops to a stunning deep house breakdown and soulful vocals it epitomized the merging oceans of deep house and techno that we’ve been navigating this year.

The exotic rhythms, clever arrangements and story-telling ability of Johnny D became famous with the release of ‘Orbitallife’, a reputation that was no doubt stratospheric to his profile.


3. Radioslave ‘Grindhouse feat. Danton Eeprom (Dubfire Terror Planet remix)’ [Rekids]


Dubfire had a huge 2007, having successfully reinvented himself from a progressive house star player (Deep Dish) into a credible Minus-supported techno slayer who got away with comparative murder - remixing the untouchable Plastikman classic ‘Spastik’.

This year, Dubfire continued that transformation with a number of heavy hitting techno throbbers that suggested the Iranian-born producer was carving himself out a sizeable niche and a recognizable Dubfire sound in the process.

His remix of Radioslave and Danton Eeprom’s ‘Grindhouse’ symbolized Dubfire’s newfound confidence probably more than any of the other records he dropped this year and it destroyed countless dancefloors.

With its dark haunting techno chords, vicious blood-thirsty vocals and brutal FX, Dubfire’s ‘Terror Planet Remix’ went well beyond improving the original and became one of the biggest techno tracks of the year.

Controversy will no doubt continue to follow him into 2009, because for a community that likes to think of itself as forward thinking, the electronic music elite has a habit of criticizing artists who break out of the boxes they were forced into, but after having headlined Sonar Festival in Barcelona, Dubfire is letting his music and his escalating profile do the talking.



4. Sebo K ‘Diva’ [Mobilee]


Humour this writer while he indulges in a little analogy.

Imagine if you will, that electronic music is an oven with many shelves. On each of those shelves is a different musical pie that bubbles and falls independently depending on the hotness of each shelf.

Because those pies are all cooking in the same oven, the smell and flavours of each pie mixes with those around it, in turn leading to new and exotic tastes.

That is the evolving beauty of electronic music and the symbiotic influence of its sub-genres.

Sebo K ‘Diva’ was perhaps the result of one such fusion.

The cut had a deep house sapidity thanks to its perfectly crisp house beats and soulful female vocal, but there was a smidgen of repetitiveness in its loops that was unmistakably techno.

It was held in a rigid minimal arrangement, which spread out all of its elements, and because of all of this it was the perfect embodiment of a techno and deep house soundclash.

Almost every underground house and techno DJ worth his salt indulged in a bit of ‘Diva’ in 2008, and ultimate proof that ‘Diva’ was the bridge between genres is the fact that both US deep house supremo Dennis Ferrer and minimal and tech house spinner Loco Dice included the track in their recent Essential Mixes for BBC Radio 1.


5. Sasha Funke ‘Mango Cookie’ (DJ Koze Remix) [Bpitch Control]


The pure emotion and euphoric rush that DJ Koze managed to squeeze out of Sascha Funke’s melodic epic ‘Mango’ was overwhelming in symphony and cinematic in quality.

The feelings that the Hamburg-based producer interwove through layers of stressed out electronic sounds, haunting pads, a flowing 12-minute arrangement, and male vocals that included the line Dream on dreamer ‘cos you did the best that you could, you’re dying slow, but way much quicker than you should were so powerfully contradictory that you weren’t sure whether to feel happiness or its opposite.

It was the part where the hero died amid a hail of bullets whilst attempting to save his brothers from a burning building, or the scene where the couple sailed off into the sunset but as they watched the land slowly disappear over the horizon, they arrived on the shores of loneliness.

It was the regret one felt upon walking through a door that closed afterwards, and the sadness of seeing a face gradually age in the mirror. It was the sound of inevitability.

‘Mango Cookie’ told its own story, through your imagination. And that’s the power behind music.


6. Christian Smith & John Selway ‘Total Departure’ [Drumcode]


Christian Smith and John Selway’s approach to big room noise is borderline simplistic, but that is the genius behind ‘Total Departure’.

Based around the realisation that DJs use records mainly as a tool to instill an instant dancefloor reaction, the duo proved resoundingly that the only way was up.

They added an incessant rising synth to driving techno beats, took the kick drum out for a breakdown and added a large amount of white noise and FX.

The result? One of the most devastatingly brilliant peak-time destroyers of 2008.


7. Lee Jones ‘Aria’ (Tiger Stripes Remix) [Aus Music]


Tiger Stripes and Lee Jones both had successful 2008s in their own right, but it was their joint effort on Simple Records that really paved the road to that glory (particularly Tiger’s reputation as a remixer du jour).

Jones’ catchy bell melody on ‘Aria’ had all the hallmarks of being an anthem anyway, and Tiger Stripes recognized this by leaving the cute main melody in tact completely.

But by gently injecting some oomph through a tech house syringe, the heart of ‘Aria’ became a bright pumping star, one that shined over Miami throughout the annual Winter Music Conference in March.

Each year, the prospect of finding one track that defines WMC and the subsequent summer months that follow is slim, but Tiger Stripes’ effort certainly made ‘Aria’ one for 2008.


8. Afefe lku ‘Mirror Dance’ [Yoruba Records]


The Osunlade protégé outdid his own master on ‘Mirror Dance’ with a sublime chunky house record dripping with African rhythms and exotic flavours that one might find on Afefe Iku’s home island of Manda, near Kenya’s coast.

‘Mirror Dance’ fitted perfectly with Yoruba Recordings’ globally-influenced approach to house music, and through the wave of deep house mania that swept across the scene in 2008 this song emerged as an unlikely weapon for underground techno and house DJs alike.


9. EQD ‘Equalized #001’ [Equalized]


Somebody in Berlin (possibly one of the guys at Hard Wax Records) made this stupendous EP, but it’s hard to say who created it as no artist information came with the record and it was put out on a mysterious white label.

The Basic Channel style dub techno of the ‘A’ side started setting dancefloors alight in the techno clubs of Germany’s capital city early on in the year, but it was the ‘B’ side that confirmed ‘Equalized #001’ as one of the most stylistically flawless techno records of the last 12 months.

Unashamedly repetitive and loop centric, ‘B’ effortlessly took control of minds and internal tempo settings with the ease a pro wrestler might have whilst picking up a young child with one finger.

The swinging hypnotism of the main synth and its mirroring bass clause caused a strange confusion to the ears, and for 8:05 minutes it was a struggle to keep pace with the record which felt like it was constantly speeding up.

That ‘feeling’ of being stuck, locked into a moving-train type groove that’s impossible to keep up with could only have come from a techno veteran, a perceptive individual who understood that, at the core of techno was only a will and a need for constant movement.


10. Milton Jackson ‘Ghosts In My Machine’ [Freerange Records]


Every year in electronic music there are a few records that never quite reach the upper echelons of mainstream exposure, but are nonetheless reliable when you call upon them, like a good German Shepherd.

That kind of DJ-friendly reliability is at the heart of Milton Jackson’s ‘Ghosts In My Machine’, a record that was released in February but remained in DJs’ boxes for many subsequent months.

The secret of ‘Ghosts In My Machine’ is in its amnesiac lead synth loop that is difficult to recall, yet instantly recognizable when played.

In an electronic music world that is becoming increasingly disposable, Milton Jackson’s understated tech house slow burner proved that there are still producers out there capable of creating excellent dance music that doesn’t lose impact with each play.

Our friends over at Imeem and Remix Mag have just launched a remix competition with dance group Maroon 5 for their track ‘If I Never See Your Face Again’.

Similar to Beatportal’s remix comps, there are remix parts available to download and users will have to upload their remixes to Imeem for the public to vote on. The winner will be flown to Miami in March to play a warm-up slot at the Beatport pool party during WMC

http://www.imeem.com/maroon5fans

Next month, Beatport will celebrate its fifth birthday as the industry leader of digital downloads in electronic music with a series of parties in the world’s best clubs.

The Beatport 5 Year Anniversary Tour will take place in 13 clubs in nine countries throughout January and February, including The End in London, Womb in Tokyo, Tenax in Florence, Beta in Denver, and Berlin’s Watergate.

Click through for the tour schedule and lineup.


Beatport Celebrates 5 years

The tours aims to highlight some of electronic music’s leading lights as well as up and coming talent – the creative lifeblood of the scene.

Jonas Tempel, CEO of Beatport said: “In the past five years, Beatport has grown into a very large family of artist, labels, DJs and fans all connected by our love for electronic music. This tour is a celebration of the efforts and a way to share all that we have accomplished together. Thanks to everyone that has joined and supported Beatport along the way.

Dubfire, Andrew Weatherall, Steve Angello, Cevin Fischer and Phonique will all play at Beatport 5 Year Anniversary parties, as will Mountain People, Stimming, Sascha Dive, Seth Troxler, Konrad Black, Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts and many more leading artists.
Beatport 5 Year Anniversary Tour schedule

London, UK | 03 Jan 09 | The End
Dubfire, Nic Fanciulli, The Shapeshifters

Zurich, Switzerland | 16 Jan 09 | Hive
Phonique, Sascha Dive, Stimming, drumpoet.comMUNITY, Mountain People

Tokyo, Japan | 24 Jan 09 | Womb
Richie Hawtin

Denver, USA | 24 Jan 09 | Beta
Bad Boy Bill

Florence, Italy | 24 Jan 09 | Tenax
Konrad Black, Seth Troxler, Guillaume & The Coutu Dumonts

Berlin, Germany | 28 Jan 09 | Watergate
Andrew Weatherall, Heidi, Sascha Funke, Format B, Sten, Appleblim, Danton Eeprom

New York City, USA | 06 Feb 09 | Cielo
Motorcitysoul

San Diego, USA | 06 Feb 09 | Spin
Steve Angello

Paris, France | 07 Feb 09 | Rex Club
Troy Pierce, Konrad Black, Shonky

Toronto, Canada | 07 Feb 09 | Circa
Cevin Fischer

Miami, USA | 07 Feb 09 | Mansion
Dubfire

Los Angeles, USA | 07 Feb 09 | Giant @ Vanguard
Steve Angello

Madrid, Spain | 14 Feb 09 | Low Club
Sascha Funke, Thomas Muller

Dutch trance superstar DJ Tiesto has let slip that he’s involved in the development of a DJing version of Guitar Hero in his latest email newsletter.

“We are proud to announce that Tiësto has teamed up with the game developer Activision and their latest project DJ Hero,” read the announcement. It continued: “I am very excited about this! I think this is a great way to introduce people into DJing”.

Although Activision has never confirmed that it was planning a DJ Hero game, in February 2008 the company filed to trademark the name DJ Hero.

It’s unclear at this point what Tiesto’s involvement will be - whether his tracks are included in the game, or if he helped the company come up with actual game play, but he continued: “Maybe they realise it’s not as easy as they think. I am sure this brings new fans to the scene; dance music is not far from hip-hop for example. Hopefully the music I have composed appeals to all kinds of fans!”

* Get these tracks on Beatport.com

The organizers of The Grammys have revealed themselves to be a little out of touch with the dance world.

The nominees for this year’s Best Dance Recording and Best Electronic/Dance Album categories are a disappointment.

In the Best Dance Recording section is a trio of pop stars: Rihanna has been nominated for ‘Disturbia’, as has Sam Sparro’s ‘Black & Gold’ and Lady Gaga & Colby O’Donis’ ‘Just Dance’.

Hot Chip’s ‘Ready For The Floor’ rescues the nominations slightly (at least the track is actually dance music) but the inclusion of Daft Punk’s ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger’, a track originally released in 2001 but re-released in 2007, is a bit strange (should re-releases count?).

The best dance album category isn’t much better, as Cyndi Lauper, Kylie Minogue, and Robyn have all been nominated alongside Daft Punk and Brazilian Girls.

There are a few dance representatives in the Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical category as well, including Deadmau5 for his remix of ‘The Longest Road’, Justice for ‘Electric Feel’, Stonebridge’s version of ‘Closer’ and Junkie XL ‘4 Minutes’.

And M.I.A.’s ‘Paper Planes’ (which counts Diplo and Switch as its engineers) made it into the Record of the Year category.
Grammy Nominees

Best Dance Recording

‘Harder Better Faster Stronger’
Daft Punk

‘Ready For The Floor’
Hot Chip

‘Just Dance’
Lady Gaga & Colby O’Donis

‘Give It 2 Me’
Madonna

‘Disturbia’
Rihanna

‘Black & Gold’
Sam Sparro

Best Electronic/Dance Album

‘New York City’
Brazilian Girls

‘Alive 2007’
Daft Punk

‘Bring Ya To The Brink’
Cyndi Lauper

‘X’
Kylie Minogue

‘Last Night’
Moby

‘Robyn’
Robyn

Philadelphia-based DJ and producer Josh Wink today announced details of his fourth studio album titled ‘When A Banana Was Just A Banana’.

“In a nutshell, it speaks really of the loss of innocence of music,” explained Wink, who seems to be on a personal mission to rid the electronic music world of its pigeonholes.

“Music was just music when I was growing up. Nobody was ridiculed or had views of ‘I only listen to this one kind of music’, I grew up listening to everything.

“Today, so many people tend to only listen to one style of music with a strong opinion of why. I miss the innocence of how it was, like when you were younger, ‘A Banana Was Just A Banana’.”

After the jump there is the full tracklist of his LP, plus track descriptions from Josh Wink himself.

1) ‘Airplane Electronique’

“This was first started in June 2007, after playing the Piknik Electronik party in Montreal. I kind of got an idea of the track with the style of music I was playing at the event. It’s a mixture of tech and house with a twisted feel.

“I started the groove then and got back to finishing the track in October 2007. The name came from flying back from the party, but the spelling of Electronique is more French (Montreal style) than the name of the party.”
2) ‘Counter Clock 319’

“This was originally called ‘319 Acid’, similar to ‘516 Acid’, but it was called ‘319’ as I started this on March 19th 2007.

“After playing around with ideas, and effects, I created a panning motion in the track which when listened to in headphones travels in a counter clockwise fashion.

I was listening to a set of (DJ) Dixon and noticed how slow and groovy most of the set was, which influenced me to make a twisted, intense track that was in the same tempo range.”
3) ‘What Used To Be Called Used To Be’

“This original track was based on a remix I did for my friend Someone Else (Sean O’neal) in October 2006.

“This was the groove and acid line used, but Sean and I agreed that a different remix was needed, which I did and it was released on his label FoundSound in 2007.

“I asked him if I could change things around with my remix (as all the music except the vocal samples were from his track) and perhaps release it on Ovum Recordings and he said “sure”.

“So, I’ve been playing it out since then with great reactions, and had to release it. Acid Baby!”
4) ‘Jus Right’

“The original groove was done in 2005. I found it again in February 2008, when I was cleaning files on my computer, and finished the track in the same month.

“It reminds me of some old French 80s disco house, which I’m a sucker for. We wanted to leak this out for the summer season in 2008, as it really has a summer/sexy groove-vibe to it.

“We weren’t sure what to do with it, as people don’t expect me to release things like this. But, Matt from Ovum said “it’s you, and it’s deep and pumpy, we gotta put it out”.

“The track was originally 17 minutes long, which to me was “Just Right” to tell my story.

“But, several edits were completed to make it shorter and we agreed that it still had the same feeling. This was played at the WMC this past year and someone Youtubed it and people are wondering who it is. So we decided to release it.”
5) ‘Dolphin Smack’

“It originally was intended for a B-side track on Pokerflat in September 2006. But we decided no, and we left it and came back to it in October of the same year to complete.

“It’s been changed many times as I constantly get ideas on ‘unfinished’ tracks by playing them out. I remember playing it at my Ovum Last Wednesday residency in Philly, and someone came up to me and asked ‘what was that track with the dolphin in the break’, and the named Dolphin came about.

“Then to me it sounded like a dolphin on heroin, hence ‘Dolphin Smack’. If I get the right crowd at a gig, this breakdown is magical, as it’s very out there. I’m excited to release it.”
6) ‘Minimum 23’

“This is influenced by 90’s NYC house, as was ‘Stay Out All Night’. It was started originally in October 2006, and was finished a year later on October 23rd, 2007.

“It’s another track of mine that wants to marry the various sounds of USA style house and my electronic-tweaky-ness of production.

“I’ve been playing it out, and it gets pretty insane response on the dancefloor, jackin-house tech!

“The name has changed too, as most of my tracks start with dates of the month. Then titles come to me later, as they don’t really mean much to me. But, they’re fun to make up.”


7) ‘Hypnoslave’

“I started working on this when I was asked to do the ‘Screaming Hands’ remix for Radioslave in November 2006.

“But, it wasn’t going in the direction I wanted for the remix.

“I never used any of Radioslave’s parts for the, so I worked on it a bit more, and put it away to work on another day.

“I was still in my making-house-versions-of-tech-production mood. The name of the track half came from Slave as I started it as the RadioSlave remix and the other half came from it being hypnotic as all hell!

“I remember being in San Diego in 2007 and Dubfire was there, and we found out that we were both playing in LA the next day, so he gave me a ride to LA in a rented truck and we listened to each others music on the drive.

“Still to this day, he asks me about getting this track! I will finally get it to him!”
8) ‘Everybody To The Sun’

“In December 2005 it was originally based around a vocal of someone saying ‘Everybody To The Sun’. I found it again, took the vocals out and completed it in January 2007.

“I began playing it out to great response, and I still get threats from Marco Carola and Paco Osuna (who heard me play it) that they will hurt me if I don’t give them a copy.

“My response “Ah, well, it’s not mastered yet”. Well, it’s mastered finally.

“The version before this one went a little crazy with analog madness during the break, but this version is a lot more subdued, and hypnotic. No bass-line here, but the bass of the drum every 4 measures gets the ladies’ hips going.”
9) ‘Stay Out All Night’

“I was listening to a lot of 90’s NYC and Chicago house (which I’m very influenced by) when I made this track, and decided to do a bunch of music that was more house-tech than tech house.

“I had a a lot of fun bringing in jazzy rhodes lines, jackin’ house beats and a deep ass bass to my sets.

“This really stood out when I played it the first few times at the end of 2007. I played it for Matty B (Ovum) and he thought it would be a great idea to leak it out at the 2008 WMC.

“We gave it to 15 people and the magic started there. It’s great how it was played by so many diverse DJs and continued to blur the line between the new styles of tech and the old sound of house.”


Josh Wink ‘When A Banana Was Just A Banana’ is scheduled for release in February 2009

www.beatportal.com

When you’ve worked with the likes of Kylie, Robbie Williams, Mark Ronson, Lilly Allen and Deadmau5, it’s pretty safe to say you’re in demand for remix duty. It should come as no surprise then that the latest name added to the remix list of Chris Lake is hot-to-trot Australian songstress Sia.

Famed for her canny knack of picking the best producers to work on her original tunes, this year saw her dominate the dance charts with ‘The Girl You Lost To Cocaine’, thanks to a crossover hit remix from Sander Van Doorn. Now she’s back in the clubs once again with a Chris Lake re-rub of her hidden bonus track ‘Buttons’, from her album ‘Some People Have Real Problems’.

‘Buttons’ also got remixed by Markus Schulz, Canadian whizz kid Jimmy Vallance and electro-clash darlings CSS, but it’s Lake’s remix that is keeping DJs happy the most.

We caught up with Chris Lake to find out more.



How did the opportunity to remix ‘Buttons’ come about?

Well a little while ago I was asked to remix a track for Robbie Williams. It turns out he and Sia share the same management. They liked the work I did for Robbie, so I guess it came about from developing a reputation with the company. I’m glad they did, I’m personally a huge fan of her work.

Her vocals certainly work in dance music. Were you given just the vocal stems and given the opportunity to make what you felt was best out of them?

Yeah pretty much, it’s definitely my preferred method of working with a remix track. It gives you an extremely high level of creative power. Sometimes less is more – if you’re given too many parts it confuses what comes naturally to you – and there’s just too much to work with.


Sia’s ‘The Girl You Lost To Cocaine’ was remixed by both Sander Van Doorn and Stonebridge earlier in the year and was a huge success. Why do you think her voice works so well on dancefloors?

Well to be honest, it is not easy to work with her vocals because the tracks she writes are all in a slow tempo, so they have to be chopped and retimed to work with a house groove. It takes a lot of time and effort to go through that process. Although once this is aside, yes, her voice is a joy to work with. She is so talented and quite easily my favourite singer.

So what’s the best software for doing this type of remix?

Ableton Live, I love it! Who doesn’t? I actually wrote a piece on my rising music blog a few months ago, questioning the new meaning of a ‘live’ performance.

My thoughts came after seeing a piece written by James Holden on the topic. Obviously this software and the ease at which it can be used has given so many more people the opportunity to make music, but for the professional producers out there, the opportunities are massive.

How has the track been received so far in the clubs?

Well I’ve been playing it in clubs for the past six months and I’ve got to say it works literally every time. Obviously it’s not for the deeper nights, but when it’s just about a really good party, people seem to lap it up.

Do you enjoy doing remixes as much as your own work?

I’ve gone off them a bit now. Not because of what I’ve done, or what I’m still being offered, but simply because I’m enjoying writing my own material so much right now. The next few years hold a very exciting future for me and the label, exploring different musical avenues and working on entirely new concepts. There’s just so much going on!

As the year begins to come to a close, what has been your favourite gig and your favourite track of 2008?

Favourite gig is a hard one, but playing at the Ibiza Cream closing party was amazing. What a crowd! Favourite track, again, when we’re talking about a whole year this isn’t easy, but Deadmau5’s ‘Slip’ has to be up there. A great piece of music which is almost impossible to write, and every time I’ve played it the floor goes mental.

And what’s in store for you in 2009?

My new single ‘If You Knew’ will be hitting the digital shelves very early in the year, followed soon after by my debut album which I’m really excited about. I can’t wait to have all my material put together in an album format – I think it’s something most producers will always aspire to, I certainly have. After that, I have a world tour launching at WMC ’09.
www.beatportal.com

http://www.imeem.com/rockmusic13/music/vpqGLiGY/sia_numb_paradise_soul_remix_pt_1/