Two months ago, I received a CD with the Ferry Corsten mix of Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise." My initial response was, why? Listening to the CD, I understood. The messages of black empowerment from nearly 20 years ago translates perfectly in the hands of European DJs. As someone who often sees a schism between hip-hop and dance music, it was quite incredible to see Chuck D addressing the ADE audience in a very direct interview. "Once you've taken dance out of hip-hop, there's a problem" and Chuck obviously feels the electronica/dance vibe witnessing dance DJs "putting magic into their acts." He had the crowd laughing when he referred to R&B as "Reagan & Bush, the beginning of the end." Look for an interview here on the site in the very near future and check out the mixes of "Bring the Noise" by Benny Benassi and Ferry Corsten and the Don Diablo mix of "Give it Up."
As you might have read in the day one wrap-up, I hit three clubs in one night. For some reason, jet lag or something caught up with me and I only managed to hit one party a night on the other two nights. Friday night, I hit the Armada and Flamingo parties at the Milkweg. The Armada room was packed and the energy was slamming but there was something about the sound that was just off - I think it was tweaked a bit too much on the high end, but even with my earplugs, I couldn't handle it.
I must have been the only person that noticed because the room was packed with people. Across the lobby, I hit the Flamingo Records party where ErickE was spinning - needless to say the Beat Was rocking. <erm, bad pun> Next up was Fedde le Grand who was clearly having fun with the crowd. Joined on stage by singers he has worked with - Camille Jones (who had the crowd singing the hooks from "The Creeps") and Ida Corr (who made me wish that there were more words to "Let Me Think About It" - she sounded and looked great but wasn't on stage long enough). With the help of MC Vika Kova, I snuck backstage and chatted with Funkerman and Camille. It's hard to believe that Camille had never performed with Fedde before and they had just met for the first time. Camille and Fedde's chemistry on stage was quite exceptional which makes me excited with anticipation for their upcoming single "Shotgun."
Saturday night, I headed over to Cineac for the Swedish House Mafia. We arrived at 11pm knowing that we had to get there early to get in for an event that would no doubt sell out. Witness our surprise when we were told to come back after midnight as ADE badges would not be honored until after midnight. That was my cue to head elsewhere, though I heard from someone who went that the party was "mental and the DJs were on fire." Next stop was the Marcanti for the Phonetic/Electrosoul party. The concept is quite interesting - two parties and two rooms with the freedom to move back and forth. Phonettic Recordings gave us the Post Ibiza Soundclash with sets from Bodyrox, Rob Roar, and a live performance from Luciana who was on fire. The US Dance Explosion in the second room started with a fierce set by Lucien Foort. DJs Alexia and Miss Kelly Marie entered the DJ booth which was then elevated to the sky to make way for the live performers on stage. Georgie Porgie kicked off the show with his new single "Lift Your Voices" which was a perfect opening for the incredible group of singers including newcomers Marilyn Davis (the looks of Macy Gray with the voice of Anastacia) and Luca G (imagine a spanish Kevin Aviance) along with the vivacious Michelle Weeks and showstopper Barbara Tucker. Throwing two parties in the same venue (similar to Milkweg the previous night) is quite genius - allowing two genres of music to feed off each other and different audiences to be crosspollinated.
