It’s that time of year: everyone has returned from a whirlwind sunny week by the pool/on a boat/on a roof top/on the beach in Miami to rain, the office and bank balances, and all we have left is the memories to keep us going. Cue rapid googling, youtubing, soundclouding and general sharing of all the things that rocked the week and will set us up for the Easter Bank Holiday.

Of course there were too many parties and DJs to list, and props already went out to some of our favourites last Friday, but we’re just going to mention a few people that have helped us get through this oh-so-tough 2-day week.

1. Joris Voorn. He was everywhere, from SET to the DJ Mag pool party, to Space, to Pete Tong, to The Victor, throwing in a few unscheduled boat party appearances along the way. He adapted his sets to fit the setting with a quick versatility and intelligence that made everything sound incredibly fresh, even a real oldie like Nalin & Kane’s Beachball.
2. James Zabiela. When James smiles, the whole world smiles with him, and it’s certainly a welcome treat to get given an album for free too. James played highlights from his new Renaissance Masters Series compilation, reminding us of his penchant for breaks and ability to play what sounds like an oxymoron; emotive tech.
3.Dennis Ferrer. He was awarded hero status for playing a double length set at the DJ Mag pool party when there was a no-show, and as we splashed around trying to dance knee deep in water on the pool steps we realised just how many releases this man is responsible for. A driving force behind beefy, shiny-happy soulful house; his own Hey Hey was a standout moment.
4. DJ Harvey and the Aquabooty party at Shore Club. Imagine the delight felt by Graeme Clark AKA The Revenge when he walked in just as the goosebump-inducing Stevie Wonder sample from his gorgeous track Night Flight rang out across a crowd whose every arm was in the air. Lanterns in the trees, Aeroplane playing by the pool, a light breeze, and a group of people who, under the influence of vintage vocals and space disco, by the end of the night felt like they’d known each other forever. Not a bad way for Joe Budious to celebrate his last Aquabooty after co-founding the night five years ago.
5. Sander Kleinenberg. Sander at Little Mountain Rocks was our last party of WMC 2010, and the atmosphere was electric from start to finish. So much so that Sander carried on playing until 6.30 after officially finishing at 5, ending with the encore to end all encores including Erotic City by Prince, Survivor’s Eye of The Tiger, and his own This Is Not Miami. The entire crowd became a sweaty mass of cuddling arms and off-key singing, and Sander got on the mic to tell us, “when I wrote this song I pictured it exactly like this.”

The whole ethos behind the Winter Music Conference is to showcase new tracks, so we’re unable to provide download links to a lot of these just yet. The ones we do have are very low quality and won’t play very loud. All the more reason to put them on your radar and go and buy them when they come out in time to recreate our own Miami during the famous UK Summer (!).

Miami tracks include:
Crookers – Cooler Couleur (Junkie XL remix)
Cassius – 1999 (Tim Green remix)
Nalin & Kane – Beachball (Joris Voorn remix)
Sander Kleinenberg – R.Y.A.N.L
The Revenge – Night Flight
Jan Driver – Tellyfoam
Dennis Ferrer – Hey Hey

James Zabiela at Pete Tong's Pool Party