ON THE FL
ON THE FLOOR
Breaking BPM
BPM 2013 hosted more DJs and parties than it was possible to catch. We spent a week in the Mexican sunshine doing o best to keep up with their who’s who line-up of house, techno and other dance stars, and came up with the only soluti to not sleeping for the festival’s ten day stretch...
L
et’s make it clear, running from January 4 to 13, BPM 2013 is not the place to start your New Year’s resolutions. Started as an Ibiza-style winter destination, and initially put together as a party
for DJs and other industry heads to mix and unwind, the 2013 edition attracted upwards of 45,000 revellers over its ten-day stretch. With official day parties, night parties and after parties, boosted by villa parties and an assortment of other peripheral events (including Audiofly’s invite-only jungle party, which unfortunately we miss by a day), there’s the potential for non-stop mischief. But what soon becomes apparent, for DJs especially, is that the festival is also a place to wind-down, experienced crews extending their stay before or after the ten-day stretch to enjoy the spotless sunshine and vast expanses of sandy beaches. With flights landing in Spring Break favourite Cancun, host town Playa Del Carmen is a swift 45-minute cab ride away. A tourist hotspot for its scuba diving, the town itself is the usual parade of restaurants and gift shops, selling everything from novelty Mayan memorabilia to prominently displayed packs of Viagra, but cruise the beachfront and the number of clubs alongside the sand show why BPM has bedded in so well.
Arriving very late on Sunday of the first weekend, we decide to duck out of the night’s festivities, a decision influenced by having picked up the first four series of ‘Breaking Bad’ at the airport. As well as this, we have two heavily-swollen ankles from the flight over, courtesy of having grown too large physically — but not financially — for economy seats. After a day unwinding in the sun, reading Hunter S. Thompson’s take on the Mayan civilisation, and shopping for fresh fruit and vegetables to counteract the inevitable vitamin depletion, we head to Kool Beach to pop our
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BPM cherry at Nic Fanciulli’s Saved party. Opposite the slightly smaller but equally popular Mamita’s, Blue Parrot has a seated section on the beach, a daytime restaurant to aid recovery from the night before and sunbeds around a pool behind the dancefloor. There are also plenty of people who’ve been here since the party’s early morning start. With Nick playing back to back with Carl Cox, the tracks they’re hammering are as pumped up as the boobs, booties and biceps jostling us from every side, Carl grinning out across the hundreds in front of their elevated booth as Nick drops his own remix of Loco Dice’s ‘Definition’.
Richie Hawtin
After a swift dinner, we’re a few blocks down the road at Coco Maya, another giant, split area beach venue that’s blessed with a club neighbour. This time it’s Blue Parrot. Hosting Circo Loco, Coco Maya is uncomfortably busy as we struggle through the thatched seating area by the stage to find a decent vantage point to watch Bpitch’s Ellen Allien as she drops the mechanical jack of Cowboy Rhythmbox’s ‘Shake’. Despite Maceo Plex following, we escape up the road through the town’s concentrations of EDM-blasting commercial clubs to Le Santanara, an intimate, two- floored club where label Digital Delight are hosts. Dropping Latin freestyle and hip-hop-flavoured house when we arrive, Puente & Rosch add classics like MK’s remix of Jodeci’s ‘Freakin’ You’ and Metro Area’s beautiful ‘Miura’ to the mix, handing over to the rough, rude charm of Mr Nice Guy boss Jesse Perez. By dawn we’re able to squeeze onto the floor at Circo Loco, the Martinez Brothers dropping a Nas sample over bubbling acid as they take turns trying to outdo Seth Troxler, whose new beard traces a line from his sideburns to his top lip. Big tracks follow from Ashley Beedle (‘Run The Track’) and Maurice Donovan (‘Babeh’), wonky techno accompanying increasing wonky behaviour until sometime after 8am when the action moves upstairs — with entry only given to those buying a bottle from the bar.
Undeterred by this sudden end, a few hours later we’re dancing on an unknown person’s villa roof by the sea. This kind of behaviour, we soon learn, makes BPM a struggle. Or as one of the club’s directors and co- founders Craig Pettigrew advises us later, “Try to stay away from an after-party,” adding: “I’m not going to lie, I’ve been sucked into a couple!” It’s probably this that
Pics: BENNETT SELL-KLINE, DOUGLAS VAN SANT, SCOTT KOWALCHYK
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