X-mas may have come early, blessing Miami's 23rd Winter Music Conference with an uncharacteristically top electro line up for the night simply billed as "Something Simple". The event was held on Friday, March 28th and hosted in Downtown Miami's PS14. Organized by Miami based label Transient Force "Something Simple" was headlined by Detroit's Brendan M. Gillen A.K.A. Eectomorph and Gothenburg's Lukas "Eargoggle" Pettersson. The supporting acts were a plethora of local electro talent including: Gosub, Alpha 606, Vidrio, Nomadic, AS1, Hectic,Spectre313, Wundt, Medley, Karakter, Uprokk. With a line up like this there should have been very little complaints about the no show of DJ Godfather, who was originally billed as the event headliner.
Ending their set was Alpha 606 with their blend of crisp bass notes & Afro-Cuban drums. As the trio's set progressed the dancefloor concurrently filled. Their fast pace electro was setting the tone for the Electro assault that was on the way. Instantly following Alpha 606's set there was a rush to the stage. Ectomorph had began to set the tables on fire. The thirteen year published artist and label head of Detroit's infamous Interdimensional Transmissions is also serving as a Moderator for the nicknamed "Legends of House" discussion panel along side Hank Shocklee, Frankie Bones, Carl Craig, Cornelius 'Atlantis' Harris, Man Parrish, Jesse Saunders, Junior Sanchez and Juan Atkins. His techno to electro seamless mix proved to be the crowd favorite. He ended the set with a few of his own productions and the classic "Space Invaders are Smoking Grass" by I-F.
Next up was one of Miami's original Electro producers, Shad T. Scott performing under his Go-Sub alias. The prolific artist is not only the main man behind Isophlux Records but after a four year hiatus has recently released on a slew of imprints including Citinite, KONDI, Point.One Recordings, Frustrated Funk, Device, and Transient Force. Tonight's energetic hour long set flooded the small venue with warm analog sounds flecked with intricate bass lines that manage to seam both blindingly simple and ridiculously complex simultaneously.
The receptive crowd seemed to slowly diminish to a steady fan fare of 15 or so electro heads and friends. I guess it's going to be another disappointing turnout for a rare and great Electro line up in Miami. You would figure that in a city known or its Electro roots, you would have a steady flow of supporters and fans coming through. I guess the House and Trance that has flooded WMC in the past years is the new sound of Miami A.K.A. Little Ibiza.
After a brief intermission and with little enthusiasm, Luke Eargoggle hits the stage around 2am in front of a small intimate crowed comprised of a few Miami local DJs & promoters, event staff, and some conference stragglers who can't quite leave 'til they come down from whatever they're on. Hailing from Gothenberg, Sweden, Luke Eargoggle is the proud mastermind behind the Stilleben Imprint and owns over 10 pseudonyms. Hidden in the rear part of the stage Luke begins his set as Ectomorph and crew began to take down their set up. So much for stage appearance. Fortunately stage appearance is not Luke's strong point. After a teasingly long intro of icy electro abstractions and eerie melodies he began wrecking the floor with slight reworks from his "Audio Warrior" LP and a few unfamiliar tracks that sound a lot like his Catnip collaboration with Legowelt: funky Electro / Disco beats and beautiful synth melodies combined with oddball vocoder vocals that weren't overbearing or excessive. 45 minutes into his set Luke stops the music and humbly raises one hand thanking the supporters. The pumped crowd of less then 10 begin to clap, whistle, and scream for an encore. Never getting their wish, Luke bows and unplugs his headphones. I'm not sure how he feels about coming from Gothenburg to Miami to play for a handful of people but I know those people who were there were very appreciative for this rare opportunity to party with the "Audio Warrior".
