Electronic music and its surrounding industry generally exists in a separate plane from the rest of the world's troubles. The music is, after all, most often about dancing and going out -- a form of escapism. And even if things are generally going to the shitter, people are still going to want to go out and forget.
Yes, there were a few signs of recession this year at WMC. The famed annual Remix Hotel is nowhere to be found (parent company Penton Media is apparently restructuring), and its usually connected Beachport Pool Parties are happening on their own, at the Gansevoort, starting today. The usually penny-foolish Scion, who loves to throw its money at "influencers," swapped its usual South Beach hotel pool party for ... a Wednesday party in the patio at Bar, with a kiddie pool.
Still, the rest of the machine cranks on. To wit: The Alize Oasis at the Raleigh, one of two separate booze company-sponsored, VIP-only lounges going during this conference. (The other is sponsored by Belvedere and hosted at the W.) I stopped there early yesterday afternoon for a Kaskade listening party put on by Ultra Records, and the swag was pretty crazy. Among the "gifting suites" you could get a haircut, a manicure, a rainbow-color selection of Penguin polo shirts (with the $70 price tags still on), even some kind of artfully designed "personal massager." There was Cafe Bustelo-branded coffee ice cream, a menu of cooked-to-order food from the Raleigh kitchen, and, of course, an endless river of Alize-spiked fruit juice concoctions. What recession?
After that, it was time for another recession-proof annual WMC tradition: the Bedrock/Creations VIP Sunset Cruise, featuring both Sasha and Digweed this year, aboard the posh Lady Windridge yacht.