WMC 2013 RECAP: Alive And Well

WMC 2013 … March is the perfect season for this Conference with exception of the saying “In like a Lion, out like a lamb”. It was quite the opposite of that. With the Conference Starting March 15 and ending the 24, WMC offered a lot of options to the diverse crowd of music lovers, producers, performers, promoters and househeads.

The first weekend was attendance light. As the week progressed and more participants arrived, the standard pool, rooftop and open venue parties had their share of House. One damper on festivities was the “Noise Police”, with a sound ordinance in place that sent some of WMC’s roar into a sheepish whisper. Of course, I’m being a bit dramatic, but not by much.

While discussing WMC with one world renowned DJ/producer I was reminded that, while the conference is about Music, it’s also about “getting together with your friends and having a great time”. And I did. I think we all did. One cannot deny the draw of hanging out with your friends 24/7 in an environment that is conducive to nurturing the love of House.

A few things that were noteworthy of the 2013 Winter Music Conference:

1. A stronger Female presence behind the decks. While several events were female focused specific, such as Femancipation, Women Man the Decks and She-Jays on the beach, other events had their share of Girl Power on the decks. In 2012, SA Miami Invasion had one Fem in a sea of male DJs, in 2013, two women rocked the dance floor at Ocean’s 10
2. Spoken Word had a voice. At every single event I attended/worked/performed at, DJs played spoken word music. It’s inspiring to hear the diversity of talent in this category of House Music. Being a spoken word performer myself, I was especially keen on this.
3. Collaboration, unity, progress. With the demise of record labels, music sites and notable figures in House, 2013 WMC has seen an increase of collaborations across several avenues: Are You Afro? (NY) joined forces with Global Influences (Philly), Media Services NYC joined forces with Dive (CA) and on and on from boutique labels and promoters to big name collaborators. This led to parties that saw a greater diversity in attendees

Rolling through the week, from event to event, picture to picture, DJ to DJ, performer to performer you hear such a variety of opinions about Winter Music Conference. The nay sayers as well as those who made the week a wonderfully epic party were all vocal. Things change. Some things work out for the best, others make room for growth. Winter Music Conference is a staple for the House Music Industry. Just like a bass line.

See y’all on South Beach in 2014.