MIAMI MUSIC WEEK Bringing down the house
A chance Miami encounter 12 years ago started Steve Aoki’s journey to the Ultra main stage. By Kat Bein
STEVE AOKI, THE mustachioed master of L.A.-based label and lifestyle brand Dim Mak, is a notorious figure in EDM. He was one of the first producer-DJs to cross over into the mainstream, thanks to high-energy compositions and onstage antics (cake throwing, anyone?). But as recently as 2004, he was standing in the audience like the rest of us, sharing a cheap hotel room and saving his cash for the shows and magic of Ultra. Magic came not onstage but in the form of a
woman strolling down Ocean Drive, wearing a “huge flowing dress, massive headphones and humongous glasses.” The stranger turned out to be Björk. “She was so majestic,” recalls Aoki. After mustering up the courage
to speak to her, the two exchanged phone numbers and kept in touch. No collaborations resulted from their chance meeting but the unexpected interaction resonated with Aoki, who experienced part of what draws millions of people to Ultra every year: the opportunity to see some of the biggest names in music. In 2010, he went from being a face in the crowd to a performer, playing his first show at Ultra. His 2017 headlining set boasts tons of
surprise guests, and while he can neither confirm nor deny anything on record before the show, we have a feeling that “Just Hold On” collaborator Louis Tomlinson will make an appearance. And Aoki might just drop a new track while he’s at it. “[Ultra] is the
perfect ground for experimentation, to play all your new music and get the best feedback you can from a crowd,” says Aoki. “[The fans] know the music. You feel it at the clubs; you see that in their faces.” Aoki will also perform at his Dim Mak label
“The fans know the music. You feel it at the clubs; you see that in their faces.”
showcase—a label that launched the careers of MSTRKRFT, Zedd and the Chainsmokers. “Electronic music has just as much ability to reach as many people as any other genre,” he adds. “It’s an incredible time.”
PRIDE Big gay countdown
We crunch the numbers on South Florida’s largest LGBT bashes, Miami Beach Gay Pride and Pride Fort Lauderdale. By Joel Meares
15,000 The number of spectators
who showed up to cheer on the first Miami Beach Gay Pride in 2009.
2017 The first time Pride FLL will be held on Fort
Lauderdale Beach. Expect entertainment, food and a special family area to mark the event’s 40th anniversary.
3 The number of
days Miami Beach celebrates gay pride
this spring with a beach party, a festival and the climactic parade on Ocean Drive.
2015 The year Pride South
Florida officially became Pride Fort Lauderdale.
1977 The year Pride South Florida
started. It was a response to the Anita Bryant–led Save Our Children campaign to overturn a local ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.
130,000
The number of people from across the world who attended last year’s Miami Beach parade.
à Miami Beach Gay Pride takes place Apr 7–9 (
miamibeachgaypride.com) • Pride Fort Lauderdale takes place Sun Feb 26 (
pridefortlauderdale.org)
Time Out Miami February 9–May 17, 2017 28
PHOTOGRAPHS (FROM TOP): CHELSEA LAUREN/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK; COURTESY MARK’S LIST
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
