Miami 2007 Part Eight - Raw Fusion Event
Leaving the Giant Step Sunset Soiree with Santiago and Rojas from the Amalgama crew, where Gilles Peterson would still be spinning music two hours after its scheduled end time, we walked several blocks to Jazid, where the excellent Co-Op Miami party was held the night before. It was West London/Tokyo/Seattle-style then, but this night would have a Swedish/New York vibe.
The Raw Fusion party, named after the respected club night and the venerable indie record label founded by the man known as Mad Mats, was an eagerly-anticipated event. It was held in Miami last year, but this year would be my first taste of the Raw Fusion madness. It was a complete 180 from the event that Mats was spinning at two years ago at a club called I/O in downtown Miami, where not many knew of the event and, sadly, the inside dance floor was practically empty (while another room and a back patio were quite active with DJ’s and dancers).
The night at Jazid was hopping, with DJ Scribe kicking off the downstairs activity. It wouldn’t be long before the floor was packed with dancers, as Mad Mats took the ones and twos and dazzled both the spotters and the dancers with his turntable wizardry and his dope selection. Sonar Kollektiv’s Markus Enochson also held it down in fine form and keeping dancers on the happy side.
The two chairs blocking the upstairs entryway would soon be removed, and the upper level would find Rich Medina going for a soulful set of songs to get things started there. Back downstairs, New York’s Arch_Typ brought out his keys and gear for a groove-heavy, beat-infused live set alongside vocalist Ahmad Larne…wicked!
Also wicked on the upper level, Simbad getting furious with the music. It wast packed with bodies, and peeps were happy to hear his selection. Later on downstairs, it would be yet another live set from Swedes Freddie Cruger (aka Red Astaire) and vocalist Linn, making their live stateside debut a soul-influenced show that got the joint rockin’. When the set was over, it was back up to a very packed upstairs, where Karizma nearly destroyed the upper level, having peeps packed from the back of the room all the way to the decks.
The overall feel of the night was ridiculous. Even Ubiquity/Tranmat’s John Arnold made it down straight from Detroit just to hang and party with the peeps. Gilles P. was said to have been there after his gig, but didn’t stay for very long. I saw Taylor McFerrin around the decks area. And then there was this guy with this two-toned striped hat that I saw several times at some events this week. Little did I know that it was Daniel Best, managing Clara Hill and Jazzanova while in Miami.
With that, the last full day of festivities is upon me.
Highlights:
- Santiago from Amalgama calling me a party monster…who knew??
- Seeing peeps in awe of Mad Mats’ skillz on the decks.
- Catching Proof and Angelo from Massive Selector and the homies!
- Strutting to Simbad’s set.
- Rockin’ to the heavy beats of Arch_Typ…impressive!
- Freddie Cruger and Linn’s live set…peeps were feelin’ it!
- Feeling Karizma killing it with as packed a dancefloor as I’ve seen in the whole conference…awesome!
See the whole lot of pics from the event, as well as the whole album from Miami 2007 so far.
The last sets of pics are coming soon.
Thanks to Mad Mats, Sarah at Pitch Control, Scribe, Santiago and Rojas at Amalgama, Arch_Typ, Simbad and Red Astaire.
Categorized as:Music News> News You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
