Cedric Gervais, Miami's king of Space, has a lot to live up to at this year's WMC. Last year, his moody, slow-burning jam "Mauri's Dream" scored a nearly monthlong "essential tune of the week" nod on Pete Tong's BBC One radio show. With that coronation, the track soon became the big-room, tech-house anthem of the conference. And though this affable Frenchman is seemingly unflappable, even he admits to feeling some pressure. "I have so many tracks, and I don't know which one to push!" he says, laughing.
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Cedric Gervais at the Conference Closing Pool Party with Axweel, Benny Benassi, Funkagenda, and others. 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, March 28, at Surfcomber Hotel, 1717 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. Tickets cost $30 before 2 p.m., $45 after; age 21 and up.
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He certainly does have a fresh selection. It's been four years since the release of his debut studio album, The Experiment, and after years of remixing and touring nonstop, he finally has a fresh platter for his hordes of hungry fans. Due out in June on Ultra Records, the sophomore effort is called Miamication, and as the title indicates, it has Gervais' adopted hometown's stamp all over. "I've been in Miami for, like, 15 years, and I've seen it change so many times," he says. "Every time I tour, they're like, 'That's the guy from Miami,' so I wanted to call the record something about that."
In fact, part of the reason behind the several years' gap between the records, Gervais says, is that his musical style changed along with the city's scene. He even recorded an entire album's worth of material not long after The Experiment only to scrap it and start over completely. "I went from tribal to tech-house, and now I'm coming back to more funky, disco-house... I'm not going to make something I'm not going to play on the dance floor."
Gervais' final product is equal parts club-ready and radio-friendly. Dance and pop music bleed together more on "Love Is the Answer" with possibly the biggest crossover guest on his record, singer Mya.
Don't take this as Gervais going commercial, though. On one hand, he hopes "Love Is the Answer" will be as massive as "Mauri's Dream." But on the other, he's cooking up a more underground oddity with Sharam, which they'll release in time for the conference under the name Shargais. It's so left field for him, Gervais says, that he can't even describe it. "It's either gonna go or not go," he says. "It's pretty weird. It's a different sound, and I don't even have a style for it." Keep your ears open for both tracks this week at any massive dance floor around town.
