YA’AH MUUL is one of those BPM Festival events you don’t want to miss. The massive show takes place literally in the forest in a new venue named “The Jungle” and yes Carl Cox, Art Department, Steve Lawler, Francesca Lombardo and D’Julz in the Jungle in Mexico are all delicious ingredients, which turned out to be some kind of magical experience. Add to the equation Mixmag and a Warung stage and you simply end up having an experience of a lifetime.
As it was well instructed by the The BPM Festival crew we start by taking the shuttle from downtown Playa Del Carmen, next stop, “The Jungle”! People sing in the bus to some rock’n roll songs playing on the radio, the feelings we all have on the way is a mixture of excitement, madness and a little bit of anxiety due to the unknown terrain that’s going to unfold before us. It’s not like we party in the Mexican jungle everyday!
When we arrive we discover a gigantic stage for some ten thousand ravers and a more intimate stage where Brazilians Albuquerque and Leo Janeiro are throwing down, the vibe is pleasant and everyone has a smile on their face. We decide to check out the big stage where “The Master” Steve Lawler is making it happen, it’s barely 1am and people are already jumping to the roof! Steve is using 4 CDJs, his set is sharp, powerful and he is giving it all! At some point he smashes it with a Nathan Barato remix “Feelings” and later in the night the latest Sinisa Tamamovic “Dubb Me Something Fresh”. We couldn’t find the set times for the show but of course we can’t help thinking, it’s gotta be Carl Cox next during peak time…
And here comes the icing on the cake, “The King” Carl Cox. They play at the same time for a while, from two different DJ booths next to each other, the crowd is going completely wild. A moment later, Carl Cox takes over by himself by throwing an explosive tune from outta space with a nasty bass so good and so dirty, he moves forward his right shoulder as a boxer would give punch, which could mean “yes, my turn” and of course the lights go full force with ten thousand ravers cheering arms in the air! What follows next is clearly a well orchestrated performance, with the music but not only…some burlesque dancers first show up, then we have dancers carrying giant “BPM” letters, an enormous cake with dancers inside, then “The King” takes on the mike and goes: “Uno, dos, tres, cuatro” and boom! The crowd goes completely insane again. Being based in Miami, I have seen Carl Cox many times at the Ultra usually at the Carl Cox & friends stage but this one night, for the 10 Year anniversary of BPM, he took it to another level, our expectations were matched and clearly surpassed.
It is so good that we can barely take it anymore, yes that sounds crazy but it happens and we want to see the super trendy Francesca Lombardo perform…we decide to aim back towards the Warung stage and find her doing her thing, it’s a deeper vibe but her finesse and skills behind the decks keep us happy until sunrise. A song that stands out for us is “Tropical Jazz” by Justin Imperial an Afro, Latin House anthem, with rich acoustic elements like guitar and flutes. The Mexicans being often from Mayan heritage surely appreciate the flute! Thumbs up to the promoters for scheduling the dynamic Carl Cox and the lovely Francesca Lombardo at the same time on their two stages, but isn’t it what electronic music is about? Dynamic moves and lovely emotions…
[gallery_bank type=”images” format=”filmstrip” title=”false” desc=”false” img_in_row=”5″ display=”all” sort_by=”random” animation_effect=”bounce” image_width=”600″ album_title=”false” album_id=”345″]
Photo Credit: aLIVE Coverage for TheBPMFestival.com
