2014 Winter Music Conference in review – Day 4

Saturday started off with a bloody mary brunch in our hotel where there was a who’s-who of EDM participants. People there included Nervo, Val Kolton from V-Moda Headphones, Robert Dietz, Loco Dice and Thrill as well as various talent managers, tour managers and more.  After a nice lunch  it was time for a marathon day of clubbing.

First stop was the No Sugar Added party at Nikki Beach which in a short few years has already become an institution during the WMC. Sold out on this Saturday and running for 17 straight hours (!!!), the setup at Nikki included a large tented ‘main stage’ area in the middle. Other areas used during the even include the main ground floor area and 2nd floor of the Nikki building itself. We arrived late in the afternoon and caught Quintino dropping his electro house beats and whipping the appreciative crowd into a frenzy! Other top EDM djs on the bill for the day included last minute guest Thomas Gold, Tritonal, Fehrplay, TJR and the Chainsmokers.

Quintino at No Sugar Added

After a short time we made our way to the Delano hotel for the Pacha party, also put on by Diskolab which threw the No Sugar Added event. Due to last minute set time changes we were not able to see Guy Gerber. However we did catch John Digweed drop one of his signature progressive house sets leading into a more house vibe from MK. The Delano venue is one of the more beautiful for the WMC pool parties. We highly recommended you catch a party here next year if possible. Tip of the cap to Diskolab for coming through with top events and talent bookings for the 2014 WMC.

John Digweed at Pacha at Delano

After we made it out of the Delano, we attempted a quick stop at the SLS Hotel next door for Nervo who invited us to see their set earlier in the day. Unfortunately, the fire marshall had long closed the door to new guests so we made our way back to the hotel to rest for the big night ahead. As darkness fell, a strong rainstorm passed over South Beach, providing some worry that it would be a rainy night. No fear – the rain passed after a few hours. The rain did however cause some stages at Ultra Music Festival to cut the music until the heavy rains stopped.

Our next stop was to see the reunited Deep Dish downtown at the  Ice Palace venue. When we arrived around 1:30am the venue was already packed with a steady stream of people continuing to enter. We ran into former NBA player and now top house dj Rony Seikaly as well as Pete Tong who introduced Deep Dish to a ready crowd around 3am after Carl Craig set up things nicely with a techno opening set (Hot Since 82 played the early set). The Ice Palace venue is a set of soundstages/warehouses used for movie shoots. Other than some minimal lighting and the requisite vip section, you knew you were in a warehouse. Good thing Deep Dish brought the heat and the crowd ate it up. Running through a mix of their recent release, older hits and favorite tracks for their solo sets, the boys did not disappoint.

Deep Dish at Ice Palace

At this point we were debating between staying the distance or making the trip back to South Beach. As there was a Solomun +1 event at the Red Bull Guest House we made our way back over the bridge to SoBe. After a slight wait getting in, attributable to the P Diddy and Guy Gerber listening party going on for their upcoming 11 11 album, we made our way into the basement club. We were pleasantly surprised to see an open bar so grabbed the mandatory sugar free Red Bull before closing. We caught the tail end of the Israeli producer Gerber’s set and then happily saw Solomun take over for his signature and unique sound. One of the more random moments was Wyclef Jean jumping into the dj booth and singing an impromptu birthday wishes song to Solomun!  The party winded down a little before 6am and we took it then as our cue to call it a night!

Wyclef Jean (left) and Solomun at Red Bull Guest House