It seems that the raves of the past have devolved into more streamlined lounge fare or $30-a-head South Beach outings. But like a strobe-induced blast from the past, an event like High Fidelity appears on the scope, and from the unlikeliest of places. Since grunge doesn’t count anymore, the Northwest…
Yes, it’s the end of March and the Winter Music Conference is set to monopolize South Beach again with nonstop beats broadcast through the streets. But in recent years, many scenesters have tired of the ultraglossy beachside atmosphere. So they have set out for the other side of the bridge…
Electro has undergone several deviations since the dawn of Kraftwerk’s cold pulse, from the “Planet Rock” of Afrika Bambaataa to synth-pop to recent electroclash nostalgia. One of its more underrated offshoots is Florida’s indelible electro-breaks scene, which owes an equal debt to roller-skating booty-tech and German industrial beats. At the…
Alongside his Planet of the Drums accomplices Dieselboy and AK1200, New York-based DJ Dara is one of the preeminent figures in American drum ‘n’ bass… though he’s not American. Transplanted from Ireland in 1994, Dara, or Darragh Guilfoyle to mom, quickly delved into the various splintered forms of jungle music,…
Though its former home was Christian-tinged emo label Tooth and Nail, it’d be naive to call the Juliana Theory Christian rock. Like other bands that have capably blurred the lines between secular and religious — from pop-punkers MxPx to angst-ridden Floridian upstarts Further Seems Forever — Pennsylvania’s Juliana Theory handily…
DJing has proven to be the afterlife of choice for the alumni of early ’90s alt-rock. From Jarvis Cocker (Pulp) to Tim Burgess (Charlatans) and now James Iha, Billy Corgan’s trusty foil/secret weapon in Smashing Pumpkins, musicians by day have found a nighttime muse in the sweaty throng of the…
For those bred on the mid-’90s Florida rave scene, the name DJ Three is synonymous with late-night/early-morning euphoria. A long-time cohort of Tampa icons Rabbit in the Moon and a staple on that group’s Hallucination Records, Florida-based Three (first name Christopher, last name withheld by request) paid his dues at…
To Americans, Oakenfold, Sasha, and Digweed were British dance ambassadors. Truth is, their homeland has always sprawled with like-minded, big-time talent. One glaring example is the aptly named Tall Paul, a 20-year veteran of the 1s and 2s. Already a DJ for his dad¹s club, Turnmills in London, at age…
Seems like P Diddy isn’t the only impresario capable of throwing down attire-demanding soirees in South Florida. Miami-based DJ Nyce brings his inaugural Blue & White Party (emphasizing clothing, not Israeli homage) to Hollywood’s Club XIT. The two-floored venue, which hosts a melting pot of events — from weekly fetish…
Long considered the secret, sultry weapon of the Massive Attack collective, Daddy G had been something of a recluse in recent years. Fatherhood kept him from appearing on the band’s disappointing 2003 effort 100th Window, which might explain its mediocrity. But after returning to the fold in ’04, G began…
Highlighted hair, high-end couture, and meticulous makeup jobs were the aesthetic components of the New Romantics, and nobody exemplified this preen ‘n’ dance better than Duran Duran. Icons of the ’80s new wave scene, the polished Brits pierced a hole through the collective psyches with hits like “Planet Earth,” “Rio,”…
In recent years, James Murphy has undeniably helped direct the hipster strata of New York music. DFA, the label that he produces with partner Tim Goldsworthy, is the Neptunes of indieland, lending guidance and technical savvy to a who’s who of exploratory bands, from the Rapture to Black Dice to…
Though downtown Fort Lauderdale currently thrives on hip-hop and rock, it wasn’t that long ago that throbbing dance beats were a significant presence. The venue was the Edge, and its resident DJ, Mike Sharpe, catered to hard-core revelers by throwing all-night parties in the mid-’90s. These days, the South Florida…
His band Glassjaw draws comparisons to the sorely missed Faith No More, and Darryl Palumbo isn’t doing much to debunk that association. With Head Automatica, Palumbo follows in Mike Patton’s manic footsteps, forgets his day job, and takes up after-hours flirtation with ubiquitous producer Dan “The Automator” Nakamura. Patton he…
Though 2002’s Come with Us had the brothers Chemical stirring all their past ingredients in one pot, the promise far exceeded its result. With last year’s greatest-hits package providing a welcome breather for the techno innovators, it seemed a back-to-basics record was in order. But Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons…
It was an era rife with history, one engraved with the underpinnings of dance culture. Through the early ’90s, the U.K. music scene witnessed the dual explosion of Britpop and club music, the latter of which united them both through its carefree, drug-fueled settings. The Renaissance label, which picked up…
Until recently, geriatrically inclined Hollywood was never mistaken as a magnet for dance music culture or even a second-tier nightlife destination. In recent years, though, as the Young Circle area has been revamped, the town’s club scene has undergone its own resuscitation. One of its freshest additions is the sharp,…
Hard to believe downtown West Palm’s one and only Respectable Street Café is a ripe 17 years old. The Clematis Street club, long considered the oldest progressive bar in the Southeastern United States, is the cornerstone of nightlife on the city’s famous strip. Founded by ex-film student turned club impresario…
The world’s ugliest, most popular interplanetary purveyors of satirical thrash metal return for what seems like their monthly visit to South Florida. Yes, friends, GWAR (God What an Awful Racket, for the uninitiated) has landed yet again, ready to feed the wretched masses another bodily fluid-filled, bone-crushing metal feast. Led…
Beat Street Good Karma It’s about time Fort Lauderdale embraced some of the beat-driven culture for which Miami is heralded. Thanks to the residents of Karma Lounge, dance music’s been revived in an area usually blessed (more accurately, cursed) with commercial trance and 99 JAMZ hip-hop. DJ Sean Weeks, a…
Consider Washington, D.C.,’s musical heritage from a modern viewpoint: Dance music doesn’t usually register at the top of the list. The city’s lineage traces back to the 1980s era of Bad Brains, Minor Threat, and the Dischord dynasty. But in the past decade or so, an underground renovation has evolved…
It was such a weird, surreal thing when emo became a commodity.” So says Rjyan Kidwell. For anyone familiar with the IDM-cum-menacing glitch-hop of his more notable alias Cex, this reflection might be surprising at first. But on second thought, it’s not. The 22-year-old Baltimore native’s inner conflict embodies emo…
