As BPM draws near (less than a month away!!!) the swirling perplexity of which parties to go to and which ones to pass on is definitely on everyone’s mind. There is an amazing mix of parties happening day and night in Playa Del Carmen during BPM. If you’re like me, then you will want to get the most out of your experience. So I have done a little investigating on which day parties will be worth your time along with some new acts to check out the year at BPM.
Sunday 1/1/12
Digital Delight Label is throwing a party at Canibal Royal. This popular, deep tech house label has thrown parties in cities such as Ibiza, London, Paris, Miami and their home base, Barcelona. They have a residency at Angels and Kings and are most well-known for their private parties during SONAR Festival. The main reason I would check this party out is for the UK threesome: Wildkats. They pull influences from 80′s funk and New York disco and recently have played festivals such as SONAR, Burning Man, Glastonbury along with Ibiza’s DC-10. They have released tracks on Hot Waves and Lower East and just recently released their new track “Perpetrating” on the Hot Waves 2 compilation, which is climbing fast on the Beatport Deep House charts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G-mrKS6aws If you survived New Years Eve intact, be sure to check them out.
Monday 1/2/12
Akbal Music Label is showcasing some of their own local talent along with some more established acts like Afrilounge and Sebo K. Akbal Music is a Mexican based label that is dedicated to promote high quality electronic music and they are based right there on the Riveria Maya. Their releases get support from some of my favorites: Nic Fanciulli, Joris Voorn, Audiofly and even have tracks by Nick Curly featured on their label. They have played a big part in the growth and development of Kabuto & Koji and they have also booked one of my favorite local DJs from Los Angeles/Costa Rica, Fredo Cortez. Expect to hear to great techno, tech house, minimal, rolling percussive grooves with a hint of drum and bass. You’ll definitely have your feet moving at Canibal Royal. Here’s a promo video from last years party: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTUDePnE6SE
Tuesday 1/3/12
Wall Miami is doing a bit of a change and throwing a party down here in Playa. Wall Miami is a club featured at the W Hotel in South Beach. We are all familiar with South Beach thanks to WMC, UMF and now MMW, but those days are over and Wall Miami is keeping up with the times and the movement. Without sparing any expense, they are going straight for the gusto and have booked one of the most well respected, world renowned DJs in the EDM scene: John Digweed. Diggers has been in the scene and on the decks since ’93 recording on labels such as Global Underground, Renaissance and of course his own label, Bedrock. He has played nearly every major festival and club known to man and hosts a 2 hour show on KISS 100. If, for some strange reason, you have never heard him, then do yourself a favor and hit this party. Also the likes of Craig Pettigrew, Paskal & Vesselinov and Jeff Gold really keep the sound in the progressive tech-house realm. You will be taken on a journey from which you may never recover.
On the 4th and 5th, there really isn’t much going on for the day so maybe spend the day checking out the Mayan ruins, go snorkeling, eat locally or take the ferry over to Cozumel. BPM says they are having a 5th anniversary event, but line up is not announced yet. If you must keep the party going, I recommend the Listed party at Mamita’s on Wednesday and the My Favorite Robot party at Canibal Royal on Thursday. For me, I will be resting, because the best day parties are about to take place…
Friday 1/6/12
One of my most anticipated parties is the SAVED party at Kool Beach Club. SAVED records is a label ran by Nic and Mark Fanciulli and they have produced some of the best tracks heard on the dancefloors. They are bringing, without fail, some of the hottest artist out there: Stacey Pullen, Ross Evana, Subb-An, Matthias Tanzmann and Nic Fanciulli. These men are responsible for tracks such as Limmo (Nic Fanciulli and Stacey Pullen) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4e4cpwbiis These Sounds (Ross Evana) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYu_WIJfrz0 This Place (Subb-An) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPKTv3vI17c and my personal fav Two Dots (Lusine - Nic Fanciulli remix) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtZe2k_gMCY&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL This day will be a long full of amazing music, good looking people and nothing but moving and grooving. Plan on staying the whole time. I have a feeling these guys are going to throw one of the best parties of the week.
Saturday 1/7/12
IF you have made it this far in the festival, then this will be the perfect party for you on Saturday: All Day I Dream featuring Lee Burridge and Matthew Dekay. How can I describe Lee Burridge?…. his music will take you to a different realm; full of grooving beats, smiling faces and with Lee himself having the most fun at that party! Every time I have seen him it has just been a pure riot. He has hosted numerous daytime rooftop parties in New York over the last summer, however this sandy seaside venue is an incredible place to hear his dreamy melodious mix. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPRtE7wPyj8&list=UUK8-qIQl5B51RwSXnnlEpVA&feature=plcp
Sunday 1/8/12
This is the last day of parties for the festival and there are 2 to choose from. The first is a Hed Kandi party at Kool Beach Club. They throw parties all over the world; from Saturday nights in Ibiza to pool parties in Las Vegas. Admittedly, I am not too familiar with their acts, Steve Aries aka Jester is a Montreal based DJ who shares similar bills with Erick Morillo, Tiesto and Benny Benassi. Not my style, but their parties are supposed to be quite fun. My preferred closing day party choice for the day is the Hot Creations vs Crosstown Rebels at Mamita’s. If you have enjoyed my picks so far for the festival then I will be seeing you at this day party. Hot Creations have released some of this years HOTTEST tracks, “Your Everything” (Danny Daze), http://www.youtube.com/user/hotnatured#p/u/3/Q3T7DS9y24Q, “Forward Motion”( Jamie Jones-Hot Natured-Lee Foss) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvcb0S6fvWY , “Body Shiver” (Hot Natured-Waifs & Strays) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHamILUolg8 and the list goes on! The music for this will be perfect a Sunday after noon, beach style groove, with lyrics of love and energy to keep you going. It shows Richy Ahmed, Robert James, Russ Yallop and Danny Daze as a featured artists along with those sly little words…”and more”! In great traditions of music festivals, closing parties always have the BEST surprise guest and looking at the days prior, I know everyone will be in town and I would not be surprised if we see a full line up from this party.
There you have it. That is a full run down of what I think is going to be a week full of fun, sun and beats at this years BPM Festival! I hope to see some of your faces out there and make sure you smile for my camera 
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