This past weekend left me inspired and full of joy. The weekend included hanging out with some old friends, my wife and music. Friday was a chill day in as my wife and I spent the night Netflix and chilling. The following day we headed to the beach where my friend Carlos and his GF (Sofia) met up with us. We chilled, had a few beers and good time. A little after they left our apartment, Danny (my childhood friend/old music partner) came over to my apartment to hang for a bit before going to Do Not Sit. It had been a while since Danny has seen me play live so i was excited for him to come to the club. Not only was i excited because of that but also because I was playing b2b with Magician on Duty for the first time. He's a great guy and DJ as well. We got the club and before opening I could feel it was going to be a good night; and it was. Magician on Duty and myself got into a groove and played until about 1:45am before David Hohme (who was making his Do Not Sit debut). There was a good energy in the room when David got on and he crushed it. I had never seen him live before and he was awesome. He is a great guy and was full of good energy. I hope David gets booked again after a great performance; he definitely deserves it. What really resonated with me was that during my b2b with Magician, i tested 3 new tracks of mine and got a great response from the people on the dancefloor. I was actually scared of playing my tracks as i wasnt sure how people were gonna react. It was very humbling and satisfying to see my work getting a positive reaction. Its been a long time coming and all the hours of hardwork and trial and error paid off. So i now have a few weeks off from music, as i am off to Sweden in the near future with the wifey for a couple of weeks. Im excited as it is my first time. Its gonna be great to live new experiences and disconnect from the music for a little. This break is gonna allow me to hit August with full force and hopefully pump out a few new releases with a clear mind. Until next time :) This past weekend started with me getting home early from work and getting a cold IPA in my system. I went over my music for the last time before my gig at night and spent the early evening relaxing and hanging out the wife. I headed over to South Beach a little earlier to meet up Alejo for some pre-gig beers and made our way to Do Not Sit. I played alone from 10-11pm, and then played b2b with Surreal Flight from 11pm til about 1:45am :)
It was an awesome time playing with them as usual! That night we had German artist Esther Silex making her debut. She was a cool person and played some nice tunes. Overall it was a great night and once again another learning experience. I always try to reflect, and take every gig and opportunity as a learning experience. I try improve everyday whether it is in producing, DJing, being a better friend or husband, or just even in my everyday life. The following day my sister came over with my niece and nephew as they were gonna sleep over. We all hung out for a bit and it was great to see them again. My sister left after a while and we headed to Lincoln Road with the kids. We went to Dylan's Candy Shop and got the kids candy, as usual, and visited a few stores to buy some stuff for our (my wife and I's) trip to Sweden at the end of the month. It always great spending time with my niece and nephew; I feel as if they were my own kids while being my little sister and brother at the same time haha Finally, on Sunday we went to the beach early and just hanged loose. It was a chill weekend filled with good vibes. Now time to prepare for my set on Saturday as I set the mood for David Hohme (from Akumandra) at Do Not Sit on the Furniture! :) Hey friends, I know im a day or two late but better late than never :)
This weekend was awesome! I headed up to West Palm Beach with my wife to make my first appearance at the Vandal Warehouse. We left early on Saturday morning and drove up to WPB, which was an hour and a half drive. We made a pit stop in Weston to see some horses and stopped to get breakfast and coffee. We checked into our hotel at around 11am and we just chilled the whole day; it was wonderful. Nothing like just chillin all day at the pool and in bed with the person you love. After we ate dinner our friend Andres (Yeppec) came over to the hotel for a few pre-gig IPAs. It was great catching up with him. We not only share the same interest and passion in music but we also used to play on the same University Soccer team. So we headed to the warehouse to meet some of our others friends from around the area, check the venue out and feel the vibe before jumping on to play. I was unsure of what to expect as I had only seen images and videos online. Not only was I unsure about how the venue was going to be, I was also a bit unsure/nervous about the music I was going to play. It was my first time playing for this crowd and had no idea how they were going to respond. At first i could not find the entrance nor the building for the warehouse, but we followed the music and somehow found the secret entrance. The room was packed and the birthday boy Danny Shawn was on the decks. He played a nice set and had the crowd moving. I got on at 2am and the crowd was engaged. Before playing my first track I a bit worried about the sound, as the sound in the booth was bouncing off the walls in the warehouse. It made me focus more and rely on my headphones more than usual to beatmatch and mix my tracks. I must say that we are spoiled at Do Not Sit when it comes to that; the sound in the DJ booth is so crisp and clear. Once I played the first two tracks my doubts were put to ease and I felt that all my previous experiences at Do Not Sit on the Furniture prepared me for this moment. Everything went really well that night and even better than I could have imagined. The hospitality was great; the owners, promoters, and the bar staff were friendly and professional. Its always great to come play somewhere new and have their staff treat you like one of their own and handle business professionally. What made me even happier is that the owners said that they wanted to have me back soon! I felt so much joy when I was told that. I truly look forward to playing at the Vandal Warehouse again :). Reflecting on my experiences, I would not have been as prepared for that night, or be where I am now if it was not for Do Not Sit. It is something I am truly grateful for and will carry with me for the rest of my life. Im truly blessed to be part of such a great establishment and learn from the best like Behrouz and the other great artists that come in and out of Do Not Sit. Oh and guess what?!?!?? I recorded part of my set! So you can ehear what i played in the first hour and a half of my set this past weekend. Go to my SoundCloud and check it out! Or visit the link below: https://soundcloud.com/viktopmia/viktop-vandal-warehouse-west-palm-beach-july-8-2017 Now its time to prepare for my b2b with Surreal Flight on Friday at Do Not Sit on the Furniture! Stay tuned for more updates :) So this week we have a special guest writing a little piece on music and our friendship in my blog: Alejo from Surreal Flight. I have known him for what seems like for ever and I hope you guys enjoy this piece written by him :) Happy Friday!!
-Viktop Good day friends, Excited to prepare a little history of us (Surreal Flight) and Viktop for his blog. Also, for you to get to know us a little better and the kind of relationship we have with the main guy. I met Viktop long time ago in our other passion appart from music (soccer). Talking about what is important in this case (music), Surreal Flight started playing music approx. 9 or more years ago, step by step, with a lot of patience and always believing in what we like musically. With this idea we have made (what we like to think) a little name for ourselves. We started playing more seriously in parties in a place called Mekka from time to time, friends houses, The Cove, etc, with a much different sound than the one we use now.After a time we began playing with our good friends from Sub Motus which allowed us to develop a sound not many knew or dared to play in clubs in those years (when djing in a club was more strict and you had to earn the chance to play by hard work and only good music). We played at the Electric Pickle in various events with some nice DJs, always learning from the main resident, Baez and from the international guys that Sub Motus brought. We started playing music we like, more melodic, more the way I like to say it, music that means or can transmit something to the public. Something like I mentioned before, a style that not many dared to play at a night club just because it would be boring or make people leave the establishment. I still remember comments from people saying that it was crazy or not smart to play music like that in a nightclub in Miami. After a year or two, Do Not Sit on the Furniture was created and almost since day 1 we’ve been part of the family.They were unique in the sense that they understand what good music is and actually wanted something musically like we did. DNS has always has been years ahead of the musical industry through their owners are Behrouz and Megan. They are now seeing how almost everyone plays or loves the melodic, oriental, dreamy, vibey music (they were clear in what they wanted for their club since day one and it even looks like us as Surreal Flight weren’t that wrong after all right?) We’ve gained so much experience in this magical place. Our sets always try to be adequate for the headliner, more dreamy, more oriental, more slow tempo, more danceable, always based on the headliner of the night, but always with our touch, keeping the vibe of what the night should be, and always playing music we like. After a long time we have created a special family at DNS, with very very good music selectors. Our roster includes: Surreal Flight, Adrian (Magician on Duty), Nii Tei, Alan Epps, and of course Viktop Now that you know a little bit more about us, its time to get to Viktop. We invited Viktop to our house (actual house) from time to time to play some music. If you heard how he used to play, you wouldn’t recognize the Viktop from today….. (he knows what im talking about) One of the main positive things about Viktop is that he listens; he understands and always tries to improve.I remember talking to him about the sound of the club, what a warm up should sound like, how beautiful is to create the atmosphere for a party, and he simply got to work. He started looking for different kinds of music, always humble and learning everything he can.He started, like everything in life, step by step in the club, and gradually building an immense roster of excellent artists he's warmed up for under his belt. Its always a pleasure listen to him and I always enjoy a lot playing b2b with him (not something we would do with a lot of people). To conclude this blog I'm excited to see what the future will bring, to keep creating memories and to keep learning from each other and all the amazing artists our home will continue to showcase. PS: Much love to one of my fav people, Steph (Viktop’s, Wife) -Alejo Family Weekend Since i had the weekend off, my wife and i decided to go to Atlanta to visit my sister and her family. It was great to see her, my brother in law and my niece again. We hadnt seen them for like 5 months and it was long overdue! Once my wife and i landed in Miami i was asked to play the warm up at night for Megan's birthday celebration (for those who do not know Megan, she is the owner of Do Not Sit and Behrouz's wife). I played b2b with fellow Resident Nii Tei until Behrouz and Holmar from Thugfucker arrived. As usual it was a blast playing with Nii. It was nice and groovy with hints of tribal sounds. Behrouz and Holmar arrived around 12:30am and took the crowd into a frenzy. Do Not Sit was packed like a can of sardines and the vibes were thick. It was one of those nights that will resonate with us for a very long time. Now its time to prepare for my set on Saturday as make my West Palm Beach debut at the Vandal Warehouse ;) stay tuned for more updates throughout the week May the 4th be with you |
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July 2017
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