October 13th, 2017 set the night for the fifth instalment of III Points Music Art and Tech Festival and this year was nothing less than “Out of this World!”.
Miami’s, Mana Wynwood, set the stage for the impressive growing festival that has become a mecca for music lovers of all types. The creativity behind this festival really stood out this year from stage names like ‘Mind Melt’, ‘Main Frame’, to ‘The White Dragon’, and exhibitions like “Videoscope” by Miguel Prychan as well as “Daydream V.4” presented by Nonotak Studio. You could tell the hard work and effort given by the creative minds behind the production team.
Miami never disappoints, with a melting pot of house, techno, and electronic sounds infusing the home grown festival. With acts like Oscar G, Arthur Baker, Lazaro Casanova, Dude Skywalker and Wolf Story, bringing the fire to the ‘White Dragon’ stage, this musical affair brought the heat of Miami and the soul of deep house music.
Living in a World of Infinite Drops
This year ‘Mind Melt’ set the stage for acts like Gorillaz, Nicholas Jaar, Bonobo, The XX and more… However, our favorite stages easily became ‘Main Frame’ and ‘The White Dragon’. We started out our Friday night swinging by the infamous “SHOTS” Miami to pick up our media credentials. As we are greeted and receive our wristbands, we received word that the only artists we could not take pictures of was Gorillaz. Thankfully we were all clear and set to go to the mainframe stage of this interstellar complex of music.
‘Main Frame’ definitely gave you the sense of living under the DJ’s Controllers; it was like being in the center of the console. With 12:25 am quickly approaching, we soon anticipated the long night still left ahead of us. Danny Daze (Daniel Gomez) took the stage promptly and proceeded to keep it impossible for you to stand still. The rhythm took you over and filled your body with arpeggiated disco bass lines of the future. The crowd with open arms receiving the tsunami of Danny Daze’s turntables was awe-inspiring. He killed it with his build ups blended by his extraterrestrial synths. No warning for you but we slowly realized we had entered into a world of infinite drops.
The Black Madonna (Marea Stamper), Mixmag’s DJ of the year 2016, was up next and 1:55 am seemed to dawn upon us. Disco and Techno in perfect harmony, what a set!!! Let us just leave it as “dope as f**ck”. The tribal fortress of the mixer presented us with a hard “Four-to-the-floor” rhythm that left you right there. In a mix of euphoria, she played with not just our mind but our soul!
Yes, it’s technically Saturday Morning, now 3:45 am. But why would you be aware of how late it is? This is Miami, home of the late night adventures. We grab a cup of water, a beer or 2, and guess who’s up next, Richie Hawtin. The Canadian Techno DJ has been a leading advocate of Minimal Techno and tonight Richie came out with nothing but energy to represent the deep Detroit roots of Techno music. The innovated cosmic clash of visuals and robust sound is what for us created such a sensational performance on the ‘Main Frame’ stage, what a night!
A couple of hours of sleep and lots of water, it is Saturday night and we are back to the Foresight entrance. As we head our way to the ‘White Dragon’ we hear from ‘the wolves’ of Wolf Story. Unmindful of the arsenal of a playlist that they brought with them, the red light basement type setting, complemented the underground scene and sound these wolves so mysteriously live in. There’s no doubt to why they are on Detroit’s KMS Records, playing their soulful deep house banger “Music Please”, they left bodies on the dance floor wet, dripping in sweat.
Next up was Oscar G and who else to bring the fire of this “White Dragon”. This Miami native turns on the sounds of Miami with a mixture of his cuban background and infamous addiction to drums, the room felt the bump of the BPM’s as they ran thru the turntables. The crowd feeling the vibes and becoming slaves to his 2002 hit “Dark Beat” The best of Miami turned out tonight and who else but Oscar G to give you more than you can ever ask for.
Fast forward to Sunday and as Lane 8 (Daniel Goldstein) took the stage, he brought with him his iconic, dreamy, electronic house sound. Playing tracks off his latest album “Rise” that debuted this past July, he propelled pulsing electronic sounds fused with whimsical melodies into his crowd. Despite not playing a few of his big hits from the past, his mesmerizing beats hypnotized everyone on the dance floor. As he lead the crowd to their ecstasy, Lane 8 made it hard to say “This Never Happened”. We are excited to see what he will bring this upcoming year as he announced he will be releasing his second album, “Little By Little”, on January 19, 2018, via his own This Never Happened imprint.
Sadly, time is never enough, and as Sunday night came to a close, III Points Music Festival left us with a bittersweet sensation of complete satisfaction. Every year this festival brings a unique experience amongst all music fans, of which are left with great memories and high hopes of what next year’s festival will bring.
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Words: Diego Bermudez
Featured Image: Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith by Adinayev for III Points
