Arty & co. take on No Sugar Added 2012: 5 Tracks You Need to Know (review)
When we first broke news of our official media partnership with No Sugar Added Miami back in February, we knew the 2-day beach festival would be big. Featuring a cross-genre who’s who of lineups, spanning tech house to hard-hitting electro, it would be no mistake to say that NSA was the go-to beach festival of Miami Music Week. And as if that wasn’t enough, Dancing Astronaut came out in full force with its own stage, featuring Arty as its headliner. While we’ve been live blogging the event through and through, we’ve dedicated this piece to an overall walkthrough of Day 2 of No Sugar Added: the day the Dancing Astronaut stage took Miami Beach by storm.
No concert can be judged solely by the quality of its performing talent, but if that were the only criteria we’d have used for No Sugar Added, we wouldn’t have been disappointed by any means. It’s obvious that the daytime Beach Arena was meant to cater to the more popular strands of EDM. Take your pick: Deniz Koyu, Swanky Tunes & Hard Rock Sofa, Tim Mason, and Bingo Players all made their mark on the first day. Those looking for something else were similarly catered to with daytime and nighttime offerings by Heidi and her crew, as well as Felguk, Jack Beats, and Joachim Garraud playing the Bass Rage stage.
On day 2, our attention was skewed more towards the evening side of things. Of course, we had Arty, Stefano Noferini, and Moguai, among others, at the DA stage, but apart from that, the Electroclash stage was no less attractive: Congorock, Bart B More, and even Pierce Fulton showed up with their usual bags of tricks.
Much more could be said about the excellent production quality of the event in general: first and foremost, the Element Acoustics sound rigs brought out bellowing lows, clear mids, and punchy highs no matter where you were. The sound, in addition to the all-too-luxurious plethora of daybeds and tables by and on the sand, were reminiscent of last year’s Beatport beach parties, decked out with similarly high-end sound and an equally excited crowd.
Top Tracks:
1. Michael Calfan – Resurrection (Axwell’s Recut Club Version)
We’ve heard perhaps no other track as much so far this week, and Resurrection deserves all the airtime it’s been getting lately. Be it played on its own, or coupled with a layered a cappella, that unforgettable (and unyielding) buildup (yes, you know exactly what we’re talking about) proved to be not just a crowd favorite, but a DJ one.
2. Bingo Players – Rattle (Original Mix)
Even though Rattle has been out for quite a while now, it’s got that signature Bingo Players sound that almost everyone who’s listened to their music has come to know and love. It’s at the same time simple and dynamic, and the drop is nothing if not infectious.
3. Niki and the Dove – Mother Protect (Alex Metric Remix)
We were completely blown away when Arty mashed together “Antidote” with Alex Metric indie house banger “Mother Protect.” Arty quickly became one of our favorite new artists after he showed his versatility on Pete Tong’s Essential mix and it was mash ups like that did it.
4. Stefano Noferini – Makaly (Original Mix)
Stefano Noferini’s percussion-laden, “Makaly” infected the crowd with it’s dark, tribal groove. Songs like Makaly can transform a club into a visceral and organic drum circle.
5. Ferry Corsten – Punk (Arty Rock n Rolla Remix)
There isn’t much else to say about this track other than “Wow.” Nikki Beach had its system turned up to 11 last night and this track may very well have given us a concussion.
Categories: Music